The Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka 163 CHAPTER XXII INTERPRETATION 170. In the Constitution – Interpretation “civic disability” shall have the same meaning as in the Special Presidential Commissions of Inquiry Law, No. 7 of 1978, as on the commencement of the Constitution; “commencement of the Constitution” means the date appointed by the Proclamation made under Article 172; “conclusion of the General Election” means the time at which Members of Parliament for all the electoral districts in respect of which a poll has been taken on the date or dates specified in the Proclamation made under Article 70(5) have been declared elected by the respective returning officers, or when on the results declared more than half the total membership of Parliament consists of Members belonging to any single recognized political party or independent group, whichever event occurs earlier; “existing law” and “existing written law” mean any law and written law, respectively, in force immediately before the commencement of the Constitution which under the Constitution continue in force; “judicial officer”,154[other than in Article 111M], means any person who holds office as (a) a Judge of the Supreme Court or a Judge of the Court of (b) any Judge of the High Court or any Judge, presiding officer or member of any other Court of First Instance, tribunal or institution created and established for the administration of Justice or for the adjudication of any labour or other dispute but does not include a person who performs arbitral functions or a public officer whose principal duty or duties is or are not the performance of functions of a judicial nature. 154 - Substituted by the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution Sec. 22(1) for "other than in Article 114".