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Short title.
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1. This Act may be cited as the Sarvodaya Trust Fund for the Advancement of Humanity, Development and Peace (Incorporation) Act, No. 31 of 1984.
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Incorporation of the Sarvodaya Trust Fund for the Advancement of Humanity, Development and Peace.
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2.
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(1) From and after the date of commencement of this Act, the Sarvodaya Trust Fund for the Advancement of Humanity, Development and Peace shall be a body corporate under the name and style of the ” Sarvodaya Trust Fund for the Advancement of Humanity, Development and Peace ” (hereinafter referred to as ” the Fund “).
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(2) The Fund shall, in the name assigned to it by subsection (1) and for the purposes herein mentioned, have perpetual succession, and may by the said name sue and be sued in all courts, and shall have a common seal with power to alter the same at its discretion.
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Board of Trustees of the Fund.
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3.
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(1) The administration, management and control of the Fund shall be vested in a Board of Trustees as hereinafter provided.
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(2)The Board of Trustees of the Fund(hereinafter referred to as”the Board”) shall consist of the following members appointed for life:
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1. Dr. Ahangamage Tudor Ariyaratne.
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2. Mr. Malliya Wadu Karunananda.
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3. Mr. Beragama Arachchige Dharma Gunasinghe.
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4. Mrs. Sita Virginia Rajasuriya.
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6. Prof. Nandasena Ratnapala.
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7. Dr. Pelenege Amarasinghe.
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9. Mr. Malwattage Edmund Walter Peeris.
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(3) The Founder shall be the Chairman of the Board and shall preside at all meetings of the Board. In the absence of the Chairman from any meeting, the members present at such meeting shall elect from among themselves a Chair man for that meeting.
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(4) The Board shall elect from among themselves a Secretary to the Board. It shall be the duty of the Secretary to send out notices of meetings, maintain a minute book in which he shall record all proceedings of meetings of the Board and discharge the functions and perform the duties as are delegated to him by the Board from time to time.
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(5) A person shall be disqualified from being appointed or continuing in office as a member of the Board if he
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(a) is a person who, having being declared an insolvent or bankrupt under any law in force in Sri Lanka or in any other country, is an undischarged insolvent or bankrupt;
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(b) is convicted of an offence involving moral turpitude ;
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(c) is under any law in force in Sri Lanka found or declared to be of unsound mind or mentally deficient ; or
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(d) neglects to act as a Trustee.
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(6) Where the Founder dies he shall be succeeded by his next or nearest of kin of the family.
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(7) Where any member of the Board, other than the Founder, is absent from Sri Lanka for a continuous period exceeding six months, the Founder may in writing appoint another person in place of such member, until such member returns to Sri Lanka.
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(8) Where a member of the Board, other than the Founder, dies or resigns or ceases to be a member of the Board in terms of subsection (5), the Founder shall in writing appoint another person in place of the member who dies or resigns or ceases to be a,member.
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(9) The members of the Board shall endeavour to arrive at unanimous decisions on all matters connected with the activities of the Board. But in the event of any difference of opinion among the members of the Board, the decision of the majority shall be binding and effectual.
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(10) The Board shall meet at least once in every three months and the quorum of any such meeting shall be five members.
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(11) No act or proceeding of the Board shall be deemed to be invalid by reason only of the existence of any vacancy amongst its members.
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(12) The members of the Board shall not be entitled to receive any remuneration by way of salary, allowance or honorarium, but may be reimbursed for actual out of pocket expenses incurred by them in the performance of their duties.
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Seal of the Fund.
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4. The seal of the Fund shall be in the custody of the Secretary and may be altered in such manner as may be determined by the Board. The seal shall not be affixed to any instrument except with the sanction of the Board and in the presence of two members of the Board who shall sign the instrument in token of their presence. Such signing shall be independent of the signing of any person as a witness.
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Objects of the Fund.
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5. The objects of the Fund shall be
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(a) to reward persons who, or groups or organisations which, without regard to national origin, have worked for the advancement of humanity, development and peace;
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(b) to support the Lanka Jatika Sarvodaya Shramadana Sangamaya in the achievement of its objects;
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(c) to reward persons who have done considerable service to promote the activities of the Lanka Jatika Sarvodaya Shramadana Sangamaya ; and
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(d) to do all other acts and things as may be necessary or conducive to the attainment of the above objects.
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Selection. Committees.
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6.
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(1) The Board shall appoint each year a selection committee (hereinafter referred to as “the Committee”) consisting of five persons who shall make recommendations to the Board in respect of the nomination of Laureates who in the opinion of the Committee are entitled to the award of prizes in view of their contributions towards the advancement of humanity, development and peace.
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(2) Nominations shall be sent to the Secretary of the Board not later than the thirty-first day of July each year specifying clearly the activities for which it is proposed that the prize be awarded; and
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(a) in the case of persons their identity, qualifications and positions and their addresses ; and
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(b) in the case of groups or organisations a description and the addresses of the said groups or organisations.
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(3)
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(a) The Board shall have the power to rule on the admissibility of nominations and to decide on the award of the prizes and the Board’s decision shall be final. The Board shall announce its decision not later than the Fifth day of November each year.
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(b) The prizes shall as a rule be awarded every year. The Board may however decide to refrain from awarding any prize and in which event the amount of such prize that is not awarded shall revert to the Fund’s assets.
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Award of prizes.
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7.
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(1) As a rule a prize shall be awarded to a single person, group or organisation. In exceptional cases the Board may divide a prize into two or more equal shares where it considers that a number of activities each merit an award.
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(2) Where a Laureate refuses a prize, the amount of the prize refused shall remain the property of the Fund.
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(3) A prize shall not be awarded posthumously. However if a Loureate dies between the date on which the award is announced and the date scheduled for the award ceremony, the amount of the prize shall be awarded to the winner’s heir or heirs.
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(4) Where a Laureate or his heirs indicate their desire to accept a prize but is prevented from so doing by force majeure the amount of the prize shall be held for them for a period of five years and thereafter revert to the Fund’s assets.
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Powers and functions of the Board.
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8.
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(1) The Board shall, in the name of the Fund, have the power to do all things necessary for, or conducive or incidental to, the carrying out of the objects of the Fund,
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(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the powers conferred by sub section (1), the Board shall have the following powers and functions:
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(a) to acquire and hold any property, movable or immovable which may become vested in it by this Act or by virtue of any purchase, grant, gift, devise or otherwise;
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(b) to sell, mortgage, lease, grant, convey, devise, assign, exchange or otherwise dispose any such property;
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(c) to erect any building on any land vested, acquired or held by the Fund;
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(d) to invest moneys belonging to the Fund in such securities as may be determined by the Board ;
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(e) to open, operate and close bank accounts and to borrow or raise money with the property of the Fund as security, or without such security, for the purposes of the Fund ;
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(f) to raise funds and to receive grants, gifts or donations in cash or kind whether from local or foreign sources; and
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(g) to do all such other acts and things as are incidental or conducive to the carrying out of the objects of the Fund :
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Provided however that the Board shall not use any money belonging to the Fund in the purchase or lease of any immovable property, unless the Board by a resolution which has been passed at a meeting by a majority which is not less than two thirds of the number of members present at such meeting decides so to do.
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Payments into the Fund.
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9. There shall be paid into the Fund:
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(a) any funds raised or grants, gifts or donations received locally or from, abroad or moneys realised or collected; and
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(b) any income derived from investments of or other receipts due to the Fund.
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Payments out of the Fund.
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10. There shall be paid out of the Fund :
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(a) moneys necessary for the award of prizes to Laureates;
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(b) expenses incurred in the working, establishment and maintenance of the Fund ;
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(c) the out of pocket expenses incurred by the Trustees the salaries to officers, servants and other employees; and
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(d) all such other payments as are approved by the Board as being necessary for the purpose of carrying out the objects of the Fund.
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Accounts and audit.
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11.
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(1) The Board shall cause proper books of accounts to be kept of the income and expenditure, assets and liabilities and all other transactions of the Fund.
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(2) The accounts of the Fund shall be audited by a qualified Auditor or Auditors appointed by the Board.
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(3) The income and expenditure account and the balance sheet shall be signed by two members of the Board authorized to do so by a resolution passed by the Board.
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(4) The financial year of the Board shall be the calendar year.
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Power to make rules.
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12.
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(1) The Board may from time to time, at a General meeting and by a majority of votes of not less than two- thirds of the members of the Board present and voting thereat, make rules not inconsistant with this Act. or other written law, as the Board may deem expedient, with regard to all or any of the following matters:
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(a) the conduct and duties of the Board and the procedure to be observed in the transaction of the affairs of the Fund ;
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(b) the award or prizes and matters connected there with or incidental thereto;
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(c) the conduct, duties and functions of the employees of the Fund;
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(d) the administration and management of the property of the Fund, the maintenance and the opening of bank accounts and the operation of such accounts;
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(e) the raising of funds, and the collection and acceptance of gifts, grants and donations; and
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(f) any other matter connected with or incidental to the objects of the Fund.
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Such rules when made may, at a like meeting and like manner be altered, added to, amended or rescinded.
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(2) The members of the Board shall be subject to the rules of the Trust.
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Saving of the rights of the Republic and others.
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13. Nothing in this Act contained shall, prejudice or affect the rights of the Republic, or of any body politic or corporate or of any other persons, except such as are mentioned in this Act, and those claiming by, from or under them.
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Founder
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14. In this Act ” Founder ” means the person referred to as such in the first-mentioned paragraph of the Preamble to the Deed, and after his death, shall mean the next or nearest of kin of the family of the Founder.
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Schedules
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