A valuable source for both the practitioner and the student
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Dr. Jayatissa Costa’s 20th publication has been launched under the title, Law of Elections. It has 392 pages with 17 chapters. The electoral process is the foundation upon which democratic institutions rest, and the importance of this book at this stage of democratic governance of Sri Lanka must be emphasised.
The book surveys both the applicable statute law and judicial precedents in a crisp and succinct manner. The latter are dealt in a way that the ratio of each relevant decision could be clearly understood by the reader. The Statute Law is reproduced and a short précis of its application is provided to the reader.
The book surveys a number of relevant and closely associated areas to the electoral process. Chapter one provides the historical process that helped develop the Electoral Process from the Colebrooke reforms of 1833 to the present time. Dr. Costa takes the reader through several colonial and post-colonial constitutional processes right up to and including the electoral process under the present, 1978 Constitution.
| book facts: Law of Elections by Dr. Jayatissa De Costa P.C. Reviewed by Dr. Lakshman Marasinghe |
In chapter two the author deals with the most difficult method of voting, to understand, the method of “Proportional Representation”. That was introduced in the 1978 constitution. The author provides examples from the various electoral districts that took part in the electoral processes under the 1978 Constitution. The clarity of his exposition of that process helps the reader understand that most intricate method of voting.
In the next two chapters the author provides the law applicable to nominations and the laws both statutory and of judicial precedents applicable to the conduct of an election. Such critical areas of the process as the ‘counting of the votes’ and ‘declaration of the results have been dealt with too.
The next six chapters provide a survey of the ‘election offences’. They make references to “personation, treating, undue influence, bribery, false statements and illegal practices”. These are broad areas which are dealt extensively in specialised tomes. What the author has provided in the six chapters are carefully crafted introductions to these six areas. The reader would be appraised of the issues under each of the offences and would then be able to peruse them more thoroughly from other sources. Besides making references to these, the author provides a complete and a holistic picture of the offences that helps keep the electoral process clean.
In Part V of the book the author provides the law applicable to four particular types of electoral processes. They are the Presidential, Provincial Councils, Local Authorities and Referendum under Article 83 of the Constitution. The author refers to several statutes which help these electoral processes to run smoothly. He discusses these laws showing the way to the reader to undertake further enquiries that may be made whenever matters reach the stage of proceedings in courts of law.
Chapters 16 and 17 deal with election petitions and agency. The chapter on petitions will provide most valuable insights, both to the practitioner and the student alike.The last chapter on agency, showing how acts contrary to the law committed by an agent of a candidate might make the candidate suffer the consequences of those acts may well fall under the category of election offences. Such agent’s misdemeanors may be tantamount to an election offence for which the candidate may become liable. It might, therefore have been best served if the contents of the chapter on ‘Agency’ were dealt, as a part of and within the conspectus of election petitions.
Aside from my brief comment regarding the chapter on ‘Agency’, the book on the “Law of Elections” is a most valuable contribution to the jurisprudence of the electoral process of Sri Lanka. It has been well researched and is well written.
It should be a valuable source material for both the practitioner and the student.
( The reviewer is Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Windsor, Canada)