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Two urgent Bills put to the House for approval within the span of less than a month, is a cause for concern, however progressive the legislation maybe.
While there may be some justification for pushing as urgent legislation, amendments to the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol which made it mandatory to carry pictorial warnings covering 80 per cent of cigarette packets, as related regulations had been debated earlier, the decision to introduce the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) Bill as an Urgent Bill is a more serious cause for concern.

While the NMRA legislation had the overwhelming backing of the House, the lack of time for the public to scrutinise the Bill before it was passed by Parliament, was a matter raised by Galle District Independent MP Ajith Kumara. He was the only one who sought more time to study the Bill and move amendments, a request turned down by the Government.

Health Minister Dr Rajitha Senaratne’s contention was that, the issue of a National Drug Policy (NDP) for the country has been under discussion for more than 40 years and hence, there was no need for further discussion on the matter. So, while a four-decade long discussion may have ended on Friday with the enactment of the NDP related Bill, the public have been deprived of a wider debate on the contents of the Bill prior to its enactment.

As urgent Bills are referred to the Supreme Court for determination directly by the President, interested parties were denied the opportunity to make representations to court, either in favor or against the Bill, and minus a post-enactment judicial review procedure, any amendment to the Bill, which will become law within the next few weeks, once certified by the Speaker, can be made only by way of an amendment to this Act.

Both Bills that were deemed urgent by the Cabinet of Ministers are included in the 100-Day programme of President Maithripala Sirisena.  To underscore the importance he attaches to this Bill, President Sirisena opened its Parliamentary debate on Wednesday outlining the background to the Bill that he championed during the years he served as Minister of Health. “I made several attempts to introduce this Bill during the previous regime but it was ignored. First, the draft of the Bill went missing from the Legal Draftsman’s office, while its approval by Cabinet too was blocked,”he said.

The President alleged that a powerful person in the previous regime had collected Rs 2.5 million each from at least 400 pharmaceutical companies to shelve the Bill. Both JVP MPs Anura Dissanayaka and Ajith Kumara wanted amendments moved to the Bill before it was approved by the House on Friday, but their requests were turned down as the proposed amendments had not been handed over on time.

However, Health Minister Dr Senaratna assured them that amendments can be introduced to the Bill on a later date if necessary. While the passing of the Bill brings to an end the long standing demand for a more regulated system in the country to deal with medicinal drugs, much will depend on its proper enforcement. Several legislators cautioned against expecting favorable changes such as the immediate drop in prices.

With several other important Bills pending, including the Right to Information (RTI) legislation as well as Constitutional and electoral amendments, the Government would do well to avoid setting a precedence of enacting “Urgent Bills”, thus depriving the people a wider discussion on issues before they become law.