Sri Lanka Administrative Service Exam key terms

The constitutional provision directing the State to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana while assuring all religions the rights guaranteed by Articles 10 and 14(1)(e). It symbolises the primacy given to Buddhism without establishing it as a state religion.

Chapter III of the 1978 Constitution (Articles 10 to 17) guaranteeing freedoms such as speech, assembly, association, movement, religion and equality before the law, enforceable against executive and administrative action through Article 126 applications to the Supreme Court.

The procedural route by which a person alleging infringement of a fundamental right petitions the Supreme Court, which may grant relief within one month of the alleged violation, subject to leave to proceed being granted and exhaustion of other remedies considered.

The principle that the Constitution is the supreme law and any law inconsistent with it is void to the extent of inconsistency, with the Supreme Court empowered to determine constitutionality, including through pre-enactment review of bills under Article 121.

The Supreme Court's special procedure under Article 122 to decide within 24 hours, or such shorter period as the President directs, whether a bill marked urgent is inconsistent with the Constitution, used when the normal pre-enactment scrutiny timetable cannot be followed.

The 1987 constitutional amendment creating Provincial Councils with devolved subject lists and abolishing the concurrent list, together with the merger of the Northern and Eastern provinces, later severed by court ruling and executive action.

The scheme distributing powers between the centre and provinces through reserved, provincial and concurrent lists; the Thirteenth Amendment abolished the concurrent list for provinces, leaving Provincial Councils with subjects such as agriculture, health and local roads.

The constitutional arrangement under which the President is both head of state and head of government, directly elected, commanding the armed forces and appointing the Cabinet, with powers historically including dissolution of Parliament and pocket-veto style withholding of assent.

The 2015 amendment that curtailed presidential power by restoring the two-term limit, reducing the dissolution power, strengthening parliamentary oversight, establishing independent commissions and lowering the threshold for constitutional amendments, later partly reversed by subsequent amendments.

Bodies such as the Election Commission, Public Service Commission, Police Commission and Bribery Commission created to insulate appointments and oversight from political direction, with the Constitutional Council recommending appointees under the Nineteenth Amendment framework.

The constitutional body advising the President on appointments, promotions, transfers and disciplinary control of public officers, intended to professionalise the civil service and limit patronage, though its recommendations are not always binding.

The lawful freedom of a public officer to choose among permitted courses of action, which must be exercised reasonably, in good faith, for the purpose the power was granted, and without irrelevant considerations, failing which courts may quash the decision.

The twin common-law duties of a fair hearing (audi alteram partem) and an unbiased decision-maker (nemo judex in causa sua), breached whenever an administrative decision affecting rights is made without notice, opportunity to respond or impartiality.

The Court of Appeal's power under Article 140 to issue certiorari, prohibition, mandamus, quo warranto and habeas corpus against administrative and quasi-judicial bodies, the principal judicial check on unlawful public administration in Sri Lanka.

The office empowered to investigate complaints of maladministration by public bodies and report to Parliament, offering a non-judicial remedy where a citizen alleges unfair, delayed or improper administrative conduct not serious enough for litigation.

The 2016 statute giving citizens a right of access to information held by public authorities, subject to defined exemptions, with the Right to Information Commission hearing appeals against refusals by information officers.

The norms of transparency, accountability, rule of law, participation and responsiveness in public decision-making, used in Sri Lankan policy discourse and donor programmes as a benchmark for evaluating state institutions and service delivery.

The obligation of public officials to answer for the use of powers, funds and resources entrusted to them, enforced through Parliament, the Auditor General, the Committee on Public Accounts and the courts.

The constitutional officer who audits the accounts of all government departments, public corporations and local authorities and reports to Parliament, providing the evidential basis for the Public Accounts Committee's scrutiny.

The annual law authorising expenditure from the Consolidated Fund for specified heads and programmes, following the budget speech and committee-stage debate, and the legal basis for most government spending in the financial year.

The single account into which all government revenues are paid and from which expenditure is met only under parliamentary authority, distinguishing it from the Contingency Fund used for unforeseen needs before parliamentary sanction.

The gap between government revenue and total expenditure in a period, financed by domestic and foreign borrowing, and expressed as a percentage of GDP when comparing Sri Lanka's position with peer economies.

The assessment of whether a government can service its debt without indefinite new borrowing, measured through debt-to-GDP ratios, interest-to-revenue ratios and refinancing needs, central to Sri Lanka's recent debt restructuring.

The record of a country's transactions with the rest of the world, covering trade in goods and services, income and transfers, whose deficits must be financed by capital inflows or reserves, shaping exchange rate and import policy.

A development strategy shielding domestic producers from foreign competition through tariffs, quotas and licensing, historically used in Sri Lanka before liberalisation in 1977 to build local industry and save foreign exchange.

The reduction of tariffs, quotas and controls on external trade, adopted in Sri Lanka from 1977 and pursued through free trade agreements and WTO commitments, aimed at export competitiveness and efficiency.

A composite measure of average achievement in health, education and income, on which Sri Lanka has historically ranked high relative to its income level, reflecting early investment in free education and health care.

Programmes transferring cash or in-kind support to poor and vulnerable households, such as Samurdhi and its successors, designed to cushion shocks while minimising targeting errors and work disincentives.

A project design tool presenting goals, purpose, outputs, activities and assumptions in a matrix, together with indicators and means of verification, used to test whether a proposed intervention is coherent and evaluable.

The paired functions of tracking implementation progress against plans and assessing whether outcomes were achieved, using indicators, baselines and reviews to inform corrective action and future planning.

A management approach that defines desired outcomes first and organises resources, processes and accountability around achieving them, rather than around inputs and activities alone.

A scheduling technique identifying the longest sequence of dependent activities that determines the minimum project duration, so that float on other activities can be used without delaying completion.

The elite colonial-era cadre of district administrators and ministry officials, later renamed the Sri Lanka Administrative Service, which supplied the generalist civil service leadership of the post-independence state.

The village-level government officer who certifies residence, income and identity, maintains village registers and links citizens to state services, forming the base of Sri Lanka's administrative hierarchy.

The administrative unit below the district, headed by a Divisional Secretary who coordinates development and welfare activities, supervises Grama Niladharis and exercises land and licensing functions.

The district-level administrative office headed by the District Secretary, historically called the Kachcheri, coordinating central government functions, disaster response and development within the district.

The ancient dry-zone system of reservoirs, canals and paddy fields built by Sri Lankan kingdoms, illustrating centralised water management whose restoration remains a theme in heritage and irrigation policy.

UNESCO inscription of sites such as Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya, Kandy and Galle Fort, which shapes conservation law, tourism policy and land-use controls around protected monuments.

Institutions, legal codes and administrative structures inherited from Portuguese, Dutch and British rule, including the civil law framework, land registration and the district administrative system still visible today.

The constitutional and political controversy over the status of Sinhala, Tamil and English, including the 1956 Sinhala Only policy, the 1978 recognition of Tamil as an official language and the 1987 trilingual link-language provisions.

The expectation that public officers and administrative service candidates demonstrate competence in Sinhala, Tamil and English, with examinations and incentives promoting trilingual service delivery, especially in Tamil-speaking areas.

The comparison of quantities by division and the equation of two ratios, used to solve allocation, mixture and scale problems where a total is divided in a stated proportion.

A fraction expressed per hundred, and the measure of increase or decrease relative to an original base, commonly used in budget, growth and statistical questions in the quantitative paper.

The sum of values divided by their count, and the variant in which each value is multiplied by a weight before division, used when groups of unequal size must be combined.

Reasoning from given premises to a conclusion that must follow if the premises are true, tested through statements about categories and quantified relationships in the logical reasoning section.

A structured interview prompt asking a candidate to describe a past situation, the action taken and the result, allowing assessors to infer competencies such as leadership, judgement and teamwork from evidence rather than assertion.

Assessment of how a candidate would respond to a described workplace dilemma, judged against the values and constraints of public service, including integrity, impartiality and respect for procedure.

Knowledge of recent legislation, economic developments, international agreements and public debates that a candidate is expected to relate to administrative responsibilities, tested in the general knowledge paper and at interview.