ABSTRACT
The cabinet carries out law-making and is generally dominated by the prime minister. The Sri Lankan case study indicates that parliament plays a much different role than earlier writers have indicated. Instead, parliament and its members act as a linkage mechinism, moderating and filtering the demands of the rural levels to the national level of government. The legislator's role as ombudsman, evolving out of the traditional beliefs about authority, resulted in the unique role of the member of parliament as a mediator of public demands. It was noted that Sri Lanka had established a very impressive record of representative and democratic government despite low levels of economic development and the relatively traditional orientations of the citizenry. Michael Mezey in a description of the function of Third World legislatures ony briefly touches on what appears to be the most important function served by the Sri Lankan legislature.
