Constitutional Provisions for Peace Building: A Qualitative Inquiry of the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka

Abstract

The term ‘peace’ encompasses various meanings, from denoting ‘the absence of war’ to representing ‘the establishment of equity’. Societies pursue peace through actionoriented endeavors, institutional mechanisms, and constitutional reforms. Among these, constitutional provisions are crucial in establishing a stable foundation for peace. Consequently, authorities conscientiously incorporate peace- related clauses when formulating or amending constitutions, a widespread global practice in postconflict contexts. In contrast, despite being a nation marked by conflicts, Sri Lanka has faced criticisms for perceived neglect of 'constitutional peace provisions' even after the civil war. Hence, this paper focused on exploring the coverage of the concept of ‘peace’, including its comprehensive categories (negative peace, positive peace, and structural peace) within the articles of the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. Commencing with an exploration of critiques surrounding Sri Lanka's post-civil war peace building efforts, the paper proceeds to explain the concept of ‘peace’, focusing on its broad categories. Finally, each facet of peace is examined through the lens of available constitutional provisions. This paper relies predominantly on secondary data and adopts a document review method. The study concludes that the Constitution of Sri Lanka encompasses numerous clauses targeting ‘positive’ and ‘structural’ peace building while remaining silent on ‘negative peace’. Consequently, critics who appear uninformed about the broader aspects of the peace concept may be unjust in their assessments of the overall constitutional peace provisions in Sri Lanka. However, the effectivenessof implementing these provisions warrants a separate and detailed analysis.

Keywords: Negative Peace, Positive Peace, Structural Peace, Constitutional Provisions