INDIGENOUS MEDICINE

(1) The administration and management of the College of Indigenous Medicine, the Hospital of Indigenous Medicine and the Pharmacy, Herbarium and Dispensary attached thereto shall be vested in a board which shall be called the Board of Indigenous Medicine and shall consist of the following members :-

(2) Any member of the board who is appointed by the Minister may be removed from office by the
Minister.[1]

(3) Any member of the board who is appointed by the Minister[1] shall, if he leaves Ceylon with the intention of remaining abroad for a period exceeding six months or is absent from more than six consecutive meetings of the board, be deemed to have vacated his office.

(4) Every member of the board who is appointed by the Minister[1] shall, unless he earlier resigns or vacates his office or is removed therefrom, hold office for three years from the date of his appointment, but shall be eligible for reappointment.

(5) The board shall, in the exercise of its powers, the performance of its duties and the discharge of its functions under this Ordinance, be subject to the general direction and control of the Minister. [1]

(1) The board shall be a corporation with perpetual succession and a common seal and with capacity to acquire, hold and dispose of property and to sue and be sued by the name and style of the Board of Indigenous Medicine.

(2) All property which on the date on which this Ordinance comes into operation is vested in or held by any person or persons, for the use or benefit of the College or of the Hospital of Indigenous Medicine in existence at that date, shall with effect from that date be deemed to be vested in the board incorporated by this Ordinance, and shall be administered by the board for the purposes, and in accordance with the provisions, of this Ordinance and the regulations made thereunder.

(1) Every question which comes up for consideration before the board shall be dealt with at a meeting of the board and shall be determined by the majority of the members present and voting.

(2) The president shall preside over every meeting of the board at which he is present. In the absence of the president from any meeting, the members present may choose one of themselves to be chairman of the meeting.

(3) The quorum for any meeting of the board shall be three.

(4) In the event of an equality of votes on any question considered at a meeting of the board, the president or the member acting as chairman shall have a casting vote in addition to his original vote.

(5) Save as herein expressly provided, meetings of the board shall be held at such intervals and conducted according to such procedure, and the business of the board shall be transacted in such manner and subject to such conditions, as may be prescribed.

(1) Every appointment of an officer or servant of any description to the staff of the College and of the Hospital and the Pharmacy, Herbarium and Dispensary attached thereto, shall be made in accordance with the provisions of the Public Service Commission Rules, subject to such modifications as may be made therein by regulations made under this Ordinance ; and for the purposes of the application of the Public Service Commission Rules in each such case, the powers and functions vested by them in the head of a department shall be deemed to be vested in the board.

All officers or servants in the service of the board at any of the aforesaid institutions on the day immediately preceding the date on which this Ordinance comes into operation shall be deemed to be, and to have been from the date on which they were first appointed by the board, public servants for all purposes including the purposes of any scheme for the grant of pensions, retiring allowances or gratuities, or of benefits from any provident fund, to public servants upon the termination of their service under Government.

(2) Subject to such terms and conditions as may be prescribed, the board may, from time to time, make financial or other arrangements for awarding scholarships, exhibitions or prizes by way of reward or assistance to deserving students of the College.

(a) to provide courses of instruction in indigenous medicine to the students admitted to the College ;

(b) to hold the prescribed examinations at the prescribed intervals in the subjects in which instruction is provided ;

(c) to grant diplomas in indigenous medicine to students of the College who have been successful in the prescribed examinations and have fulfilled the prescribed conditions ;

(d) to maintain the Herbarium and the Pharmacy in efficient condition and to ensure an adequate supply of such medicines, medicinal appliances and goods, and medicated articles of food or drink, as may be necessary for the purposes of the Hospital and the Dispensary; and

(e) to provide at the Hospital and the Dispensary all such facilities as may be necessary for the treatment of diseases and for the supply of medicines, medicinal appliances or goods, and medicated articles of food or drink.

(1) The board shall maintain two registers, hereinafter referred to as ” the general register ” and ” the special register” for the registration of practitioners of indigenous medicine.

(2) The board shall enter in the appropriate register the prescribed particulars in respect of each practitioner so registered.

(1) No person shall be entitled to be registered
in the general register as a practitioner of indigenous medicine unless-

(2) No practitioner shall be entitled to be registered in the special register unless he satisfies the board that he possesses a specialized knowledge and sufficient experience and skill in any particular branch of either Ayurveda or Siddha or Unani medicine or surgery.

(3) The board may refuse to register any person, or may remove from a register the name of any person who has been registered under this Ordinance, on the ground-

(4) No person shall be entitled to be registered under this Ordinance as a practitioner of indigenous medicine by reason only of the fact that he is, for the purposes of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, a ‘ registered vederala’ within the meaning of section 42 of that Ordinance.

(1) Every person who is registered under this Ordinance as a practitioner of indigenous medicine shall be entitled to sue for and recover in due course of law, by action in a court or Rural Court of competent jurisdiction in Ceylon, any reasonable sum claimed by him as-

(2) No person who is not registered under this Ordinance as a practitioner of indigenous medicine shall be entitled to institute or maintain any action-at-law in any court or Rural Court in Ceylon for the recovery of any fees, charges or expenses of any description referred to in subsection (1).

(3) Any medical certificate or other document, or any opinion or statement issued, given or made as to the state of health of any person by a practitioner of indigenous medicine who is not registered under this Ordinance, shall not be accepted or admitted as evidence for any of the purposes of any proceedings held before or taken by any court or Rural Court in Ceylon.

(4) So much of section 40 of the Medical Ordinance as is inconsistent with the preceding provisions of this section is hereby repealed.

(1) The board may charge and levy fees and other charges at the prescribed rates for-

(2) All fees and other charges received or recovered by the board shall be credited to the Consolidated Fund.1

(1) The Minister[1] may make regulations for or in respect of all purposes or matters for which regulations are authorized or required by this Ordinance and all such other regulations as may be necessary for giving effect to the principles and carrying out the provisions of this Ordinance.

(2) No regulation made under this Ordinance shall have effect until it is approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives[1] and notification of such approval is published in the Gazette. Every regulation shall, upon the publication of such notification in respect thereof, be as valid and effectual as if it were herein enacted.