Sri Lanka's Parliament has passed the Chief of Defence Staff (Repeal) Bill without a division following its second-reading debate on 9 September.
According to Parliament, the Bill was debated from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. before being passed without a division.
What the Bill does
The Bill seeks to repeal the Chief of Defence Staff Act, No. 35 of 2009.
That Act established the legal framework for the Chief of Defence Staff and functions relating to coordination between the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence.
Parliament says that under the repeal legislation, the separate position of Chief of Defence Staff is set to be abolished.
Assets to transfer to Defence Ministry
Parliament also states that when the new Act commences, all movable and immovable property belonging to the Office of the Chief of Defence Staff will transfer to the Ministry of Defence.
The Government has previously said that coordination between the three Armed Forces is increasingly being carried out through the Ministry of Defence as part of restructuring.
Commencement of the new law
Parliament has passed the Bill. Abolition of the separate office and transfer of its property take effect when the new law commences; the parliamentary vote alone does not establish that commencement has occurred.