Legal education in Sri Lanka is based on the constitution and the legal framework of Sri Lanka which is mainly based on Roman-Dutch law.
The modern legal education in Sri Lanka dates back to 1833 when the Supreme Court was allowed by Section 17 of the Charter of 1833, to "admit and enrol as Advocates and Proctors, persons of good repute and of competent knowledge and ability upon examination by one or more of the judges of the Supreme Court." In 1874, the Colombo Law College was established to carry out formal legal education.
At present in Sri Lanka to practice as a lawyer one needs to be enrolled as an attorney at law of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. This is achieved by passing law exams at the Sri Lanka Law College which are administered by the Council of Legal Education and spending a period of six months under a practicing attorney of at least eight years' standing.
Prospective attorneys can register in the Sri Lanka Law College through an entrance exam and follow a three-year program of legal study undertaking exams on each legal subject at the end of the year. Graduates who have gain an LL.B from a local or foreign university, may gain admission in the Law College and undertake these exams without attending lectures at the Law College. [1]
Legal education is the education of individuals in the principles, practices, and theory of law. It may be undertaken for several reasons, including to provide the knowledge and skills necessary for admission to legal practice in a particular jurisdiction, to provide a greater breadth of knowledge to those working in other professions such as politics or business, to provide current lawyers with advanced training or greater specialisation, or to update lawyers on recent developments in the law.
Proctor is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another.
The University of Colombo is a public research university located primarily in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is the oldest institution of modern higher education in Sri Lanka. Specialised in the fields of natural, social, and applied sciences as well as mathematics, computer sciences, and law. It is ranked among the top 10 universities in South Asia.
A law school is an institution or professional school specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a judge, lawyer, or other legal professional within a given jurisdiction.
An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are distinct practising certificates.
Christopher Gregory Weeramantry, AM was a Sri Lankan lawyer who was a Judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) from 1991 to 2000, serving as its vice-president from 1997 to 2000. Weeramantry was a judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka from 1967 to 1972. He also served as an emeritus professor at Monash University and as the president of the International Association of Lawyers against Nuclear Arms.
Sri Lanka Law College, formerly known as Ceylon Law College, is a law college, and the only legal institution where one can enroll as an Attorney-at-Law in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1874, under the then Council of Legal Education, in order to impart a formal legal education to those who wished to become Advocates and proctors in Ceylon. The main building of the college was constructed in 1911. It is located on Hulftsdorp Street in Colombo, Sri Lanka. As of late 2021, the current principal is Dr. Athula Pathinayake.
An Attorney at law in Sri Lanka is the only legal practitioners authorised to represent others in all court of law in the island and are also authorised to give advice regarding any matter of law. Alternative terms include lawyer.
Saleem Marsoof, PC is a Sri Lankan judge and lawyer. He is a judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka and former President of the Court of Appeal. He is also a non-resident Justice of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Fiji.
Kandapper Chinniah Kamalasabayson was a Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer, Solicitor General of Sri Lanka and Attorney General of Sri Lanka.
Mohamed Shibly Aziz, PC was a Sri Lankan lawyer. He served as Attorney General of Sri Lanka from 1995 to 1996 and served in the Constitution Council of Sri Lanka from 2015 to 2018.
Ajith Perera is a Sri Lankan politician and member of Parliament, who commenced his political career as a member of the Provincial Council of the Western Provincial Council in 2009. A lawyer by profession, he was first elected to the Parliament of Sri Lanka in 2010 as a member of the United National Party from the Kalutara District. He was re-elected to the Parliament in 2015.
The University of Colombo currently has seven faculties with 41 academic departments and two interdependent schools with five academic departments. All faculties and schools carries out courses of study and research in both graduate and undergraduate studies. In addition, the university has several institutions that specialize in different areas of research.
Rear Admiral Sarath Palitha Fernando, PC, VNF is a Sri Lankan lawyer. He is the former Attorney General of Sri Lanka and had served as Solicitor General of Sri Lanka and Judge Advocate of the Sri Lanka Navy.
Priyasath Dep PC is a Sri Lankan judge and lawyer. He was the 45th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka and a former Solicitor General of Sri Lanka.
Anil Goonaratne is a Sri Lankan judge and lawyer. He is a former judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, having served as a judge of the Court of Appeal and Additional Solicitor General.
Kankanithanthri T. Chitrasiri is a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka who was appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena in 2016 to replace Justice Rohini Marasinghe. He was justice of the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka, judge of the High Court and a magistrate.
Post-secondary qualifications are qualifications typically studied for after successful completion of secondary school. In Sri Lanka, this is usually after successful completion of the General Certificate of Education. A variety of different post-secondary qualifications are offered in Sri Lanka.
Yasantha Kodagoda is a Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. He was called to the Bar as an Attorney-at-Law of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka on 28 October 1988. Prior to being appointed by the President of Sri Lanka as the President of the Court of Appeal in March 2019, he served as an Additional Solicitor General of the Attorney General's Department. Having joined the Attorney General's Department of Sri Lanka in 1989 as a State Counsel, he rose to the positions of Senior State Counsel (1999), Deputy Solicitor General (2005), Senior Deputy Solicitor General (2014) and Additional Solicitor General (2015). He has 30+ years of experience as a Public Prosecutor and Legal Advisor to the Government of Sri Lanka. His specialization is in the field of criminal justice. In 2015, in recognition of his eminence in the legal profession, he was appointed President's Counsel. He completed his primary and secondary education at Ananda College Colombo he was a president Scout of ananda college and then attended Sri Lanka Law College. He obtained Master's degree in Public International Law with Merit (LL.M.) from the University College London (UCL) He acted as the Director of the Advanced Legal Studies Unit of the Sri Lanka Law College and the Director of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies of the Incorporated Council of Legal Education. He has served many Commissions of Inquiry as representative Counsel of the Attorney General. For over a decade, he has represented Sri Lanka before the UN Human Rights Commission and the UN Human Rights Council. He has also represented Sri Lanka before the UN Security Council's Working Group on Children in Armed Conflict, and has served as the Accredited Representative of the Government of Sri Lanka at the UN Committee Against Torture. He was a member of the EU-Sri Lanka Working Group on Trade and Economic Relations Cooperation 2016 and actively participated in Sri Lanka gaining the GSP+ trade concessions. Kodagoda is known as a book reviewer
Prasanna Sujeewa Jayawardena, PC was a Sri Lankan judge and lawyer. He was a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka.