The United National Party (UNP) stated today (15) that the Party has challenged the Government’s proposed Port City Economic Commission bill at the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. Accordingly, the Party has filed two petitions on behalf of the General-Secretary of the UNP and the Chairman of the UNP. The Attorney-General has been named as a respondent in the petition. The Party questions as to why the process of this bill, which is of national importance, has been carried out in a hurried manner, lacking any proper transparency. “This important piece of legislation has been presented to the Parliament on the eve of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, failing to allow for proper examination and consultation,” the UNP Central Media Unit said. The Party has challenged the Bill on the grounds that it is inconsistent with Parliament’s control over public finances, allows for the abuse of power and fails to ensure a transparent system of checks and balances. Furthermore, the Party states that the Bill is considered to be in violation of Articles 3 & 4 of the Constitution in regard to the Legislative, Judicial and Executive powers of the citizens of the country.