The fundamental law pertaining to the languages in Sri Lanka is enshrined in Chapter IV of the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (1978). The provisions thereof have been amended by the 13th and 16th Amendments to the Constitution respectively in 1987 and 1988. Moreover, Article 12 (2) of Chapter III of the Constitution recognizes the right to language as a fundamental right.
The Sinhala and Tamil languages are both Official and National Languages in Sri Lanka while English is the Link Language. Apart from the statutory provisions for the implementation of the Official Languages Policy, administrative provisions have been made in implementing the same.