Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka

Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka
Emblem of Sri Lanka
6°56′06″N79°51′42″E / 6.93507°N 79.86172°E / 6.93507; 79.86172
Established	1971
Jurisdiction	Sri Lanka
Location	Hulftsdorp, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Coordinates	6°56′06″N79°51′42″E / 6.93507°N 79.86172°E / 6.93507; 79.86172
Authorised by	Government of Sri Lanka
Appeals to	Supreme Court of Sri Lanka
Number of positions	20
Website	courtofappeal.lk
President of the Court of Appeal
Currently	Nalin Abeysooriya
Since	19 June 2025

The Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka, commonly known as the Appeal Court, is the second most senior court in the Sri Lankan legal system, with only the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka above it. Established in 1971, under the Court of Appeal Act No. 44 of 1971, the Appeal Court has jurisdiction to hear appeals from the High Court or any lower court; its own decisions may be additionally appealed to the Supreme Court. The Appeal Court is headed by the president of the Court of Appeal. ^[1]

Composition

Size of court

The Court of Appeal consists of the president of the Court of Appeal and not fewer than six and not more than nineteen other judges, as stipulated in Article 137 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka. ^[2] The court was expanded to its current size on 29 October 2020 through the Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution. Previously, it comprised the president of the Court of Appeal and a maximum of eleven other judges. ^{[3] [4]}

Dress

Appeal Court judges wear dark purple gowns when attending court. On special ceremonial occasions (such as ceremonial sittings of the Appeal Court) they wear dark purple gowns, barrister's bands, mantle, and a long wig.

Judges of the Court

See also: List of presidents and judges of the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka

As of 12 August 2025, the most recent judges to join the court are Nalin Abeysooriya, Francis Gunawardena and Adithya Patabendige, whose tenures commenced on 19 June 2025.

As of 19 June 2025

  President of the Court of Appeal

Current Judges of the Court of Appeal [5]
No.	Judge	Appointed by	Start date / length of service	Current status	Ref.
–	Nalin Abeysooriya	–	–	52nd President of the Court of Appeal Appointed by: Dissanayake 19 June 2025 54 days	[6]
1	Sriyanath Karalliyadde	G. Rajapaksa	1 December 2020 4 years, 254 days	Judge	[7]
2	Ratnapriya Gurusinghe	G. Rajapaksa	1 December 2020 4 years, 254 days	Judge	[7]
3	Dhammika Ganepola	G. Rajapaksa	1 December 2020 4 years, 254 days	Judge	[7]
4	Mayadunne Corea	G. Rajapaksa	1 December 2020 4 years, 254 days	Judge	[7]
5	Prabaharan Kumararatnam	G. Rajapaksa	1 December 2020 4 years, 254 days	Judge	[7]
6	Sasi Mahendran	G. Rajapaksa	14 June 2021 4 years, 59 days	Judge	[8]
7	Ahsan Marikar	Wickremesinghe	6 February 2023 2 years, 187 days	Judge	[9]
8	Sanjeeva Morais	Wickremesinghe	7 August 2023 2 years, 5 days	Judge	[10]
9	Gihan Kulatunga	Wickremesinghe	6 September 2024 340 days	Judge	[11]
10	Damitha Thotawatta	Wickremesinghe	6 September 2024 340 days	Judge	[11]
11	Amal Ranaraja	Wickremesinghe	6 September 2024 340 days	Judge	[11]
12	Mahen Gopallawa	Wickremesinghe	6 September 2024 340 days	Judge	[11]
13	Sarath Dissanayake	Dissanayake	9 January 2025 215 days	Judge	[12]
14	Rohitha Hettiarachchi	Dissanayake	9 January 2025 215 days	Judge	[12]
15	Sumudu Premachandra	Dissanayake	11 March 2025 154 days	Judge	[13]
16	K. Priyantha Fernando	Dissanayake	11 March 2025 154 days	Judge	[13]
17	Annalingam Premashankar	Dissanayake	11 March 2025 154 days	Judge	[13]
18	Francis Gunawardena	Dissanayake	19 June 2025 54 days	Judge	[6]
19	Adithya Patabendige	Dissanayake	19 June 2025 54 days	Judge	[6]

References

1. Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka
2. "The Constitution of the D. S. R. of Sri Lanka (as amended up to 31 October 2022) – Revised edition 2023" (PDF). www.parliament.lk. 31 October 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 May 2025. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
3. "Parliament of the D. S. R. of Sri Lanka: Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution" (PDF). www.parliament.lk. 29 October 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 September 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
4. Padmasiri, Ranjith; Rubatheesan, S. (1 November 2020). "SC bench to be expanded from 11 to 17; CA 12 to 19". www.sundaytimes.lk. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
5. "Honourable Judges of the Court of Appeal". courtofappeal.lk. 17 February 2025. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
6. "New President and two Judges of Appeals Court sworn in". www.adaderana.lk. 19 June 2025. Archived from the original on 19 June 2025. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
7. "President appoints new judges to the Supreme Court & Court of Appeal". english.newsfirst.lk. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
8. "New Judge of the Supreme Court and new President of the Court of Appeal sworn in". Times Online. 14 June 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
9. "President Court of Appeal, Justice Fernando takes oaths as SC judge". Times Online. 6 February 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
10. "High Court Judge Morais sworn in as Court of Appeal judge". Times Online. 7 August 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
11. "President appoints new judges to Court of Appeal". www.adaderana.lk. 6 September 2024. Archived from the original on 11 September 2024. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
12. "President appoints two new judges to Court of Appeal". www.dailymirror.lk. 9 January 2025. Archived from the original on 9 January 2025. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
13. "Three new Court of Appeal Justices sworn in". www.adaderana.lk. 11 March 2025. Archived from the original on 11 March 2025. Retrieved 11 March 2025.

External links

• Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka website
• Supreme Court of Sri Lanka website
• Ministry of Justice and National Integration website
• Database of Supreme Court decisions