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Short title.
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1. This Law may be cited as the Sri Lanka Foundation Law.
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Establishment of the Sri Lanka Foundation.
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2. There shall be established Foundation which shall be called Sri Lanka Foundation, hereinafter in this Law referred to as the ” Foundation “.
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Constitution of the Foundation, and the Board of Management.
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3.
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(1) The Foundation shall consist of not less than ten and not more than fifteen persons appointed by the President, who shall constitute the Board of Management of the Foundation.
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(2) One of the members so appointed shall be nominated by the President as the Chairman of the Board of Management of the Foundation.
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(3) The affairs of the Foundation shall be carried out by the Board of Management of the Foundation.
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Term of office of members of the Foundation.
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4.
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(1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (2), every member of the Foundation, including the Chairman, shall hold and vacate his office in accordance with-the terms of his appointment, but he may resign his office by letter addressed to the President. He shall, on ceasing to be a member, be eligible for reappointment.
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(2) All the members of the Foundation, including the Chairman, shall be deemed to have vacated office upon the President ceasing to hold office as President, and accordingly the succeeding President shall appoint members to fill the vacancies created-
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Objects of the Foundation.
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5. The aims and Objects of the Foundation shall be-
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(a) the promotion of an understanding and belief in the democratic way of life and the protection of human rights;
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(b) the promotion in furtherance thereof, of international understanding and the co-operation in and universal respect for the observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, religion, colour or creed ;
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(c) the encouragement and promotion in furtherance thereof, of education and the acquisition and diffusion of knowledge among the masses in all branches of knowledge and social progress.
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The powers of the Foundation
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6.
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(1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (2), the Foundation shall have, for the purpose of achieving its objects, the power-
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(a) to establish or maintain an institution or institutions or educational or social centres,
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(b) to collaborate and enter into any contract or agreement with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation of the Federal Republic of Germany registered under the Societies Ordinance of the said Republic and having its registered office at Bonn in the said Republic and other foreign international or local organizations having the same or similar objects as the Foundation;
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(c) to hold or organize meetings, conferences, tours, lectures, seminars and courses of study;
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(d) to give assistance by grants, awards, prizes, bursaries, scholarships and facilities for deserving students with educational ability or aptitude;
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(e) to give, receive or collect gifts, grants, donations, subsidies and subscriptions whether in cash or otherwise;
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(f) to collect, classify, print, publish and distribute books, journals, magazines and reading material;
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(g) to make, draw, accept, endorse, negotiate, buy, sell and issue bills of exchange, cheques, promissory notes and other negotiable instruments;
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(h) to open and maintain current, savings and deposit account or accounts in any Bank or Banks;
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(i) to acquire and hold either as absolute or beneficial owner or as trustee or otherwise by purchase, exchange, gift, devise or bequest or in any other manner and to hold and enjoy in perpetuity or for any lesser period subject to any express trust or otherwise for the benefit or the furtherance of the objects of the Foundation any property movable or immovable of any kind or nature whatsoever;
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(j) to invest the funds vested in or belonging to the Foundation in adequate securities or in the purchase or acquisition of such lands, buildings, goods, chattels or other property as may be proper or necessary for the purposes of the Foundation;
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(k) to erect or cause to be erected any building or structure on any land belonging to or held by the Foundation;
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(l) to sell, lease, exchange or otherwise dispose of any movable or immovable property belonging to or held by the Foundation subject to any trust attaching to such property; and
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(m) to do all such acts or things as may be necessary for or conducive to the attainment of the aims and objects of the Foundation.
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(2)
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(a) The Foundation shall not support with its funds any object of a religious, racial or communal nature.
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(b) The Foundation shall not support with its funds any object or endeavour to impose on or procure the observance by its members or others of any regulation, restriction or condition which would make it a trade union.
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(c) In case the Foundation shall take or hold any property, the Foundation shall not sell, hypothecate, charge, lease or dispose of the same without such authority, approval or consent as may be required by law.
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Fund of the Foundation.
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7.
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(1) There shall be a Fund of the Foundation.
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(2) Any moneys that may from time to time be granted to the Foundation by way of gift or otherwise or by resolution of Parliament shall form part of the Fund of the Foundation.
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(3) All moneys belonging to the Fund shall be applied solely towards the promotion of the objects of the Foundation.
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(4) The Foundation may utilize the moneys of the Fund for defraying all expenditure incurred in the exercise of its powers and achievements of its objects under this Law.
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The Foundation to be a Corporation.
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8. The Foundation shall by the name assigned to it by section 2 be a body corporate and shall have perpetual succession and a common seal and may sue and be sued in such name.
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The seal of the Foundation.
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9. The seal of the Foundation-
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(a) shall be in the custody of such person as the Foundation may from time to time determine;
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(b) may be altered in such manner as may be determined by the Foundation; and
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(c) shall not be affixed to any document except with the sanction of the Foundation and in the presence of two members of the Foundation who shall sign the document in token of their presence.
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Procedure for the meetings of the Board Management,
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10. The Board of Management shall nave the power to make rules to regulate the procedure relating to its meetings.
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The Foundation may act despite vacancies,
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11. The Foundation may act notwithstanding a vacancy among its members so long as the number of members of the Foundation is sufficient to constitute a quorum for a meeting of the Foundation according to the rules of the Board of Management.
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Compulsory acquisition of land required by the Foundation.
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12. Any land required for the purposes of the Foundation shall be deemed to be needed for a public purpose and may be acquired by the Republic under the Land Acquisition Act and transferred to the Foundation.
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Accounts and audit thereof.
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13.
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(1) The Foundation shall cause its accounts to be kept in such form and in such manner as the Minister may direct.
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(2) The Foundation shall cause its books to be balanced as on the thirty-first day of December in each year and shall, before the thirty-first day of March next, cause to be prepared an income and expenditure account and a balance sheet containing a summary of the assets and liabilities of the Foundation made up to the first-mentioned date. The income and expenditure account and the balance sheet shall be signed by the Chairman of the Foundation, and by such officer of the Foundation as may be authorized by the Foundation to do so.
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(3) The Foundation shall have its accounts audited each year by the Auditor- General. For the purpose of assisting him in the audit of such accounts, the Auditor- General may employ the services of any qualified auditor who shall act under his direction and control.
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(4) For the purpose of meeting the expenses incurred by him in auditing the accounts of the Foundation the Auditor- General shall be paid from the funds of the Foundation such remuneration as the Minister may determine with the concurrence of the Minister in charge of the subject of Finance. Any remuneration received from the Foundation by the Auditor-General shall, after deduction of any sums paid by him to any qualified auditor employed by him for the purpose of such audit, be credited to the Consolidated Fund.
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(5) For the purposes of this section, the expression ” qualified auditor ” means-
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(a) an individual who, being a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka, or of any other Institute established by law, possesses a certificate to practice as an Accountant issued by the Council of such Institute; or
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(b) a firm of Accountants each of the resident partners of which, being a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka or of any other Institute established by law, possesses a certificate to practice as an Accountant issued by the Council of such Institute.
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(6) The Auditor-General and any person assisting him in the audit of the accounts of the Foundation shall have access to all such books, deeds, contracts, accounts, vouchers and other documents of the Foundation, as the Auditor-General may consider necessary for the purposes of the audit, and shall be furnished by the members or officers of the Foundation with such information within their knowledge as may be required for such purposes.
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(7) The Auditor-General shall examine the accounts of the Foundation and furnish a report-
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(a) stating whether he has or has not obtained all the information and explanations required by him ;
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(b) stating whether the accounts referred to in the report are properly drawn up so as to exhibit a true and fair view of the affairs of the Foundation; and
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(c) drawing attention to any item in the accounts which in his opinion may be of interest to Parliament in any examination of the activities and accounts of the Foundation.
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(8) The Auditor-General shall transmit his report to the Foundation.
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Annual report.
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14.
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(1) The Foundation shall annually prepare a written report of the Foundation’s work and finances during the year completed, including any information furnished to, and directions given by, the Minister, and shall transmit to the Minister-
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(a) a copy of such report;
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(b) a copy of the income and expenditure account and balance sheet in respect of such year certified by the Auditor-General; and
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(2) The Minister of the Auditor-General’s shall lay copies of the reports and statements referred to in subsection (1) before Parliament.
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State land and State buildings.
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15. Any State land or any State building may, subject to such conditions as may be determined by the Minister with the concurrence of the Minister for the time being in charge of the subject of State lands, be made available for the use of, or be alienated to, the Foundation for the purpose of the Foundation or for the residence of any officer or servant of the Foundation.
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Exemptions from certain duties and taxes.
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16.
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(1) The Foundation shall be exempt from the payment of any customs duty on any goods imported by the Foundation if the Minister in consultation with the Minister in charge of the subject of Finance approves of such exemption.
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(2) In the case of any instrument containing any agreement between the Foundation and any other person and providing for making a payment to the Foundation as a contribution to the general support of the Foundation’s work, both the Foundation and such other person shall be exempt from the payment of any stamp duty on such instrument.
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(3) Any person making a payment to the Foundation as a contribution to the general support of the Foundation’s work, may claim the amount of the payment as a deduction from income, in the year in which the payment is actually made, for the purposes of computing liability for income tax, and the payment shall be deemed not to be a taxable gift for the purposes of the Inland Revenue Act, No. 4 of 1963, or the Inland Revenue Act (No. 28 of 1979).
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Protection of members, c., of the Foundation for action taken under this Law or on the direction of the Foundation.
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17.
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(1) No suit or prosecution shall lie against any member, officer, servant or agent of the Foundation for any act which in good faith is done or is purported to be done by him under this Law or on the direction of the Foundation.
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(2) Any expense incurred by the Foundation in any suit or prosecution brought by or against the Foundation before any court shall be paid out of the funds of the Foundation, and any costs paid to, or recovered by, the Foundation in any such suit or prosecution shall be credited to the funds of the Foundation.
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(3) Any expense incurred by any such person as is referred to in subsection (1) in any suit or prosecution brought against him before any court in respect of any act which is done or is purported to be done by him under this Law or on the direction of the Foundation shall, if the court holds that such act was done in good faith, be paid out of the funds of the Foundation, unless such expense is recovered by him in such suit or prosecution.
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No writ to issue against person or property of a member of the Foundation.
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18. No writ against person or property shall be issued against a member of the Foundation in any action brought against the Foundation.
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Regulations.
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19.
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(1) The Foundation may make regulations generally for the purpose of giving effect to the principles and provisions of this Law and particularly in respect of any matter which is stated or required by this Law to be prescribed, or for or in respect of which regulations are required or authorized by this Law to be made.
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(2) No regulation made under this Law shall have effect until it is approved by the Minister, confirmed by Parliament and published in the Gazette.
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Transitional.
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20.
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(1) From and after the coming into operation of this Law, any contractual arrangements made and entered into by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation of the Federal Republic of Germany, registered under the Societies Ordinance of the said Republic, with a company limited by guarantee, registered in Sri Lanka under the Companies Ordinance*, and called “The Lanka Foundation “, shall be deemed to be null and void.
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(2) The Sri Lanka Foundation may upon such terms and conditions as are mutually agreed upon with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, make new arrangements for the continuation of any work and the completion of any project in progress under such contractual arrangements as are referred to in subsection (1).
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(* Repealed and replaced by the Companies Act, No. 17 of 1982)
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