In this presentation, the failure of the Sri Lankan state to protect the law is discussed as the greatest threat to Sri Lankan society remaining as a nation. Despite much rhetoric about the protection of the nation, the nation has been disintegrating, primarily because of the failure of successive governments to protect law and the institutions that are vital to the protection of rule of law. Thus, much of the discourse on patriotism in Sri Lanka is purely sentimental, when in fact the rule of law has reached its lowest depths. The cause of this disintegration is discussed in terms of the displacement of law by the 1978 Constitution, which has created an Executive President who is outside the jurisdiction of the courts. The undermining of the courts has led to the undermining of the authority of judges, policemen and prosecutors in the country. The trial system is becoming farcical, with the Attorney-General’s department being politicized and misusing indictments. The law is treated as an irrelevant factor and the distinction between legality and illegality is lost. This makes abuse of power and removal of protection of the individual and property possible. Thus, as law is displaced, there is nothing to hold together the social organization that is called a nation.
