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| Politics of Sri Lanka |
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This is a list of presidents and judges of the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka. They are listed in the order in which they took the judicial oath of office and commenced their term. [1] [2] [3]
| List of Presidents of the Court of Appeal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Name | Appointed by | Start / end / length of service | Ref. |
| 1 | D. Wimalaratne | Jayewardene | 7 September 1978 – 14 October 1980 2 years, 37 days | |
| 2 | Barnes Ratwatte II | Jayewardene | 15 October 1980 – 10 April 1981 177 days | |
| 3 | P. Colin-Thome | Jayewardene | 11 April – 28 December 1981 261 days | |
| 4 | J. F. A. Soza | Jayewardene | 29 December 1981 – 25 January 1982 27 days | |
| 5 | K. A. P. Ranasinghe | Jayewardene | 26 January – 14 November 1982 292 days | |
| 6 | M. M. Abdul Cader | Jayewardene | 15 November – 1 December 1982 16 days | |
| 7 | E. A. D. Athukorale | Jayewardene | 2 December 1982 – 26 November 1984 1 year, 360 days | |
| 8 | O. S. M. Seneviratne | Jayewardene | 27 November 1984 – 9 February 1986 1 year, 74 days | |
| 9 | G. P. S. De Silva | Jayewardene | 10 February 1986 – 16 December 1987 1 year, 309 days | |
| 10 | J. S. Abeywardena | Jayewardene | 17 December 1987 – 21 February 1988 66 days | |
| 11 | G. R. T. D. Bandaranayake | Jayewardene | 22 February 1988 – 3 March 1989 1 year, 9 days | |
| 12 | R. N. M. Dheeraratne | Premadasa | 3 April 1988 – 2 April 1989 1 year, 29 days | |
| 13 | P. Ramanathan | Premadasa | 3 April – 24 August 1989 143 days | |
| 14 | S. B. Gunawardena | Premadasa | 25 August 1989 – 15 October 1990 1 year, 51 days | |
| 15 | P. R. P. Perera | Premadasa | 16 October 1990 – 27 August 1991 315 days | |
| 16 | A. S. Wijetunga | Premadasa | 29 August – 16 October 1991 48 days | |
| 17 | K. Palakidnar | Premadasa | 17 October 1991 – 20 January 1994 2 years, 95 days | |
| 18 | Sarath N. Silva | Wijetunga | 21 January 1994 – 28 September 1995 1 year, 250 days | |
| 19 | S. Anandacoomaraswamy | Kumaratunga | 2 October 1995 – 8 April 1996 189 days | |
| 20 | Asoka De Zoysa Gunawardana | Kumaratunga | 10 April – 9 December 1996 243 days | |
| 21 | D. P. S. Gunasekara | Kumaratunga | 10 December 1996 – 6 October 1997 300 days | |
| 22 | L. H. G. Weerasekera | Kumaratunga | 7 October 1997 – 30 June 1998 266 days | |
| 23 | Ameer Ismail | Kumaratunga | 1 July 1998 – 30 May 1999 333 days | |
| 24 | Punyadasa Edussuriya | Kumaratunga | 1 June 1999 – 14 September 2000 1 year, 105 days | |
| 25 | H. S. Yapa | Kumaratunga | 15 September 2000 – 27 January 2001 134 days | |
| 26 | C. V. Vigneswaran | Kumaratunga | 28 January – 18 February 2001 21 days | |
| 27 | Asoka de Silva | Kumaratunga | 19 February – 1 August 2001 163 days | |
| 28 | U. De Z Gunawardana | Kumaratunga | 2–14 August 2001 12 days | |
| 29 | T. B. Weerasuriya | Kumaratunga | 15 August 2001 – 28 May 2002 286 days | |
| 30 | Chandra Nihal Jayasinghe | Kumaratunga | 29 May 2002 – 23 January 2003 239 days | |
| 31 | Shiranee Tilakawardane | Kumaratunga | 24 January – 24 November 2003 304 days | |
| 32 | N. K. Udalagama | Kumaratunga | 25 November 2003 – 24 March 2004 120 days | |
| 33 | Saleem Marsoof | Kumaratunga | 31 March 2004 – 19 January 2005 294 days | |
| 34 | Andrew Somawansa | Kumaratunga | 20 January 2005 – 28 May 2006 1 year, 128 days | |
| 35 | D. J. De S. Balapatabendi | M. Rajapaksa | 29 May – 12 December 2006 197 days | |
| 36 | P. Wijeratne | M. Rajapaksa | 13 December 2006 – 26 February 2007 75 days | |
| 37 | K. Sripavan | M. Rajapaksa | 27 February 2007 – 26 March 2008 1 year, 28 days | |
| 38 | Chandra Ekanayake | M. Rajapaksa | 27 March – 30 October 2008 217 days | |
| 39 | Sathya Hettige | M. Rajapaksa | 31 October 2008 – 9 June 2011 2 years, 221 days | |
| 40 | S. Sriskandarajah | M. Rajapaksa | 24 June 2011 – 23 January 2014 2 years, 213 days | |
| 41 | Sisira de Abrew | M. Rajapaksa | 26 February – 6 May 2014 69 days | |
| 42 | A. W. A. Salam | M. Rajapaksa | 9 June – 4 September 2014 87 days | |
| 43 | Vijith Malalgoda | M. Rajapaksa | 9 September 2014 – 9 May 2017 2 years, 242 days | |
| 44 | P. R. Walgama | Sirisena | 10 May – 17 June 2017 38 days | |
| 45 | Lalith Dehideniya | Sirisena | 18 June 2017 – 14 January 2018 210 days | |
| 46 | Padman Surasena | Sirisena | 15 January 2018 – 9 January 2019 359 days | [4] |
| 47 | Yasantha Kodagoda | Sirisena | 28 March 2019 – 2 February 2020 311 days | [5] |
| 48 | Dilip Nawaz | G. Rajapaksa | 3 February – 30 November 2020 301 days | [6] |
| 49 | Arjuna Obeyesekere | G. Rajapaksa | 1 December 2020 – 13 June 2021 194 days | [7] |
| 50 | Priyantha Fernando | G. Rajapaksa | 14 June 2021 – 5 February 2023 1 year, 236 days | [8] |
| 51 | Bandula Karunarathna | Wickremesinghe | 6 February 2023 – 16 June 2025 2 years, 130 days | [9] [a] |
| 52 | Rohantha Abeysooriya | Dissanayake | 19 June 2025 – present 175 days | [10] |
| List of Judges appointed to the Court of Appeal | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Name | Appointed by | Start / end / length of service | Ref. | |
| Judge | President of the Court | ||||
| 1 | D. Wimalaratne | Jayewardene | 1st President 7 September 1978 – 14 October 1980 2 years, 37 days | ||
| 2 | Barnes Ratwatte II | Jayewardene | 2nd President 15 October 1980 – 10 April 1981 177 days | ||
| 3 | A. Vythialingam | Jayewardene | — | ||
| 4 | P. Colin-Thome | Jayewardene | 3rd President 11 April – 28 December 1981 261 days | ||
| 5 | J. F. A. Soza | Jayewardene | 4th President 29 December 1981 – 25 January 1982 27 days | ||
| 6 | K. A. P. Ranasinghe | Jayewardene | 5th President 26 January – 14 November 1982 292 days | ||
| 7 | M. M. Abdul Cader | Jayewardene | 6th President 15 November – 1 December 1982 16 days | ||
| 8 | K. C. E. De Alwis | Jayewardene | — | ||
| 9 | R. Victor Perera | Jayewardene | — | ||
| 10 | E. A. D. Athukorale | Jayewardene | 7th President 2 December 1982 – 26 November 1984 1 year, 360 days | ||
| 11 | H. Rodrigo | Jayewardene | — | ||
| 12 | Herbert Thambiah | Jayewardene | — | ||
| 13 | L. H. De Alwis | Jayewardene | — | ||
| 14 | O. S. M. Seneviratne | Jayewardene | 8th President 27 November 1984 – 9 February 1986 1 year, 74 days | ||
| 15 | H. A. G. De Silva | Jayewardene | — | ||
| 16 | B. E. De Silva | Jayewardene | — | ||
| 17 | G. P. S. De Silva | Jayewardene | 9th President 10 February 1986 – 16 December 1987 1 year, 309 days | ||
| 18 | J. S. Abeywardena | Jayewardene | 10th President 17 December 1987 – 21 February 1988 66 days | ||
| 19 | Siva Selliah | Jayewardene | — | ||
| 20 | C. L. T. Moonemalle | Jayewardene | — | ||
| 21 | T. D. G. De Alwis | Jayewardene | — | ||
| 22 | G. R. T. D. Bandaranayake | Jayewardene | 11th President 22 February 1988 – 3 March 1989 1 year, 9 days | ||
| 23 | D. G. Jayalath | Jayewardene | — | ||
| 24 | M. Jameel | Jayewardene | — | ||
| 25 | R. N. M. Dheeraratne | Jayewardene | 12th President 3 April 1988 – 2 April 1989 1 year, 29 days | ||
| 26 | P. Ramanathan | Jayewardene | 13th President 3 April – 24 August 1989 143 days | ||
| 27 | S. B. Gunawardena | Jayewardene | 14th President 25 August 1989 – 15 October 1990 1 year, 51 days | ||
| 28 | P. R. P. Perera | Jayewardene | 15th President 16 October 1990 – 27 August 1991 315 days | ||
| 29 | A. S. Wijetunga | Jayewardene | 16th President 29 August – 16 October 1991 48 days | ||
| 30 | T. N. Abeywira | Jayewardene | — | ||
| 31 | K. Viknarajah | Jayewardene | — | ||
| 32 | K. Palakidnar | Jayewardene | 17th President 17 October 1991 – 20 January 1994 2 years, 95 days | ||
| 33 | Sarath N. Silva | Jayewardene | 18th President 21 January 1994 – 28 September 1995 1 year, 250 days | ||
| 34 | S. Anandacoomaraswamy | Jayewardene | 19th President 2 October 1995 – 8 April 1996 189 days | ||
| 35 | W. N. D. Perera | Jayewardene | — | ||
| 36 | Asoka De Zoysa Gunawardana | Jayewardene | 20th President 10 April – 9 December 1996 243 days | ||
| 37 | S.J.D. De S. Wijeratne | — | |||
| 38 | D. P. S. Gunasekara | 21st President 10 December 1996 – 6 October 1997 300 days | |||
| 39 | H. W. Senanayake | — | |||
| 40 | L. H. G. Weerasekera | 22nd President 7 October 1997 – 30 June 1998 266 days | |||
| 41 | Ameer Ismail | Premadasa | 23rd President 1 July 1998 – 30 May 1999 333 days | ||
| 42 | C. A. O. Grego | — | |||
| 43 | Punyadasa Edussuriya | 24th President 1 June 1999 – 14 September 2000 1 year, 105 days | |||
| 44 | R. B. Ranaraja | — | |||
| 45 | H. S. Yapa | 25th President 15 September 2000 – 27 January 2001 134 days | |||
| 46 | F. N. D. Jayasuriya | — | |||
| 47 | C. V. Vigneswaran | Kumaratunga | 26th President 28 January – 18 February 2001 21 days | ||
| 48 | Asoka de Silva | Kumaratunga | 27th President 19 February – 1 August 2001 163 days | ||
| 49 | U. De Z. Gunawardana | 28th President 2–14 August 2001 12 days | |||
| 50 | T. B. Weerasuriya | 29th President 15 August 2001 – 28 May 2002 286 days | |||
| 51 | Chandra Nihal Jayasinghe | Kumaratunga | 30th President 29 May 2002 – 23 January 2003 239 days | ||
| 52 | P. H. K. Kulatilleka | — | |||
| 53 | D. Jayawickrema | — | |||
| 54 | Shiranee Tilakawardane | Kumaratunga | 31st President 24 January – 24 November 2003 304 days | ||
| 55 | N. K. Udalagama | 32nd President 25 November 2003 – 24 March 2004 120 days | |||
| 56 | Saleem Marsoof | Kumaratunga | 33rd President 31 March 2004 – 19 January 2005 294 days | ||
| 57 | N. E. Dissanayake | — | |||
| 58 | A. R. N. Fernando | — | |||
| 59 | Chandradasa Nanayakkara | — | |||
| 60 | Andrew Somawansa | 34th President 20 January 2005 – 28 May 2006 1 year, 128 days | |||
| 61 | G. W. Edirisuriya | — | |||
| 62 | Nimal Gamini Amaratunga | Kumaratunga | — | ||
| 63 | D. J. De S. Balapatabendi | 35th President 29 May – 12 December 2006 197 days | |||
| 64 | P. Wijayaratne | 36th President 13 December 2006 – 26 February 2007 75 days | |||
| 65 | K. Sripavan | Kumaratunga | 37th President 27 February 2007 – 26 March 2008 1 year, 28 days | ||
| 66 | Gamini A. L. Abeyratne | — | |||
| 67 | Chandra Ekanayake | 38th President 27 March – 30 October 2008 217 days | |||
| 68 | S. I. Imam | — | |||
| 69 | L. K. Wimalachandra | — | |||
| 70 | S. Sriskandarajah | Kumaratunga | 40th President 24 June 2011 – 23 January 2014 2 years, 213 days | ||
| 71 | W. C. R. Silva | — | |||
| 72 | Sisira de Abrew | Kumaratunga | 41st President 26 February – 6 May 2014 69 days | ||
| 73 | Eric Basnayake | M. Rajapaksa | — | ||
| 74 | Sathya Hettige | M. Rajapaksa | 39th President 31 October 2008 – 9 June 2011 2 years, 221 days | ||
| 75 | Rohini Marasinghe | M. Rajapaksa | — | ||
| 76 | Sarath de Abrew | M. Rajapaksa | — | ||
| 77 | Anil Goonaratne | M. Rajapaksa | — | ||
| 78 | A. W. A. Salam | 42nd President 9 June – 4 September 2014 87 days | |||
| 79 | A. H. M. Upaly Abeyrathne | — | |||
| 80 | D. S. C. I. Lecamwasam | — | |||
| 81 | K. T. Chitrasiri | M. Rajapaksa | — | ||
| 82 | Nalin Perera | M. Rajapaksa | — | ||
| 83 | Deepali Wijesundara | — | |||
| 84 | N. S. Rajapaksa | — | |||
| 85 | P. W. D. C. Jayathilake | — | |||
| 86 | W. M. M. Malanie Gunaratne | — | |||
| 87 | Vijith Malalgoda | M. Rajapaksa | 43rd President 9 September 2014 – 9 May 2017 2 years, 242 days | ||
| 88 | Dilip Nawaz | M. Rajapaksa | 48th President 3 February – 30 November 2020 301 days | ||
| 89 | P. R. Walgama | 44th President 10 May – 17 June 2017 38 days | |||
| 90 | M. M. A. Gaffoor | — | |||
| 91 | H. C. J. Madawala | — | |||
| 92 | L. T. B. Dehideniya | 45th President 18 June 2017 – 14 January 2018 210 days | |||
| 93 | Kumudini Wickremasinghe | Sirisena | — | ||
| 94 | S. Devika. de L. Tennakoon | — | |||
| 95 | Padman Surasena | Sirisena | 20 January 2016 – 15 January 2018 1 year, 360 days | 46th President 15 January 2018 – 9 January 2019 359 days | [11] [4] |
| 96 | Arjuna Obeyesekere | Sirisena | 23 April 2018 – 1 December 2020 2 years, 222 days | 49th President 1 December 2020 – 13 June 2021 194 days | [12] [7] |
| 97 | Mahinda Samayawardhena | Sirisena | 23 April 2018 – 1 December 2020 2 years, 222 days | — | [12] |
| 98 | Yasantha Kodagoda | Sirisena | — | 47th President 28 March 2019 – 2 February 2020 311 days | [5] |
| 99 | Priyantha Fernando | Sirisena | 9 January 2019 – 14 June 2021 2 years, 156 days | 50th President 14 June 2021 – 5 February 2023 1 year, 236 days | |
| 100 | L. U. Jayasuriya | — | |||
| 101 | S. Thurairaja | Sirisena | — | ||
| 102 | Gamini Amarasekera | Sirisena | 11 July 2017 – 9 January 2019 2 years, 121 days | — | [13] |
| 103 | Shiran Gooneratne | Sirisena | 11 July 2017 – 1 December 2020 3 years, 143 days | — | [13] |
| 104 | Janak de Silva | Sirisena | 11 July 2017 – 1 December 2020 3 years, 143 days | — | [13] |
| 105 | Achala Wengappuli | Sirisena | 22 February 2018 – 1 December 2020 2 years, 283 days | — | |
| 106 | Bandula Karunarathna | Sirisena | 6 March 2019 – 6 February 2023 3 years, 337 days | 51st President 6 February 2023 – 16 June 2025 2 years, 130 days | [14] [9] |
| 107 | Ruwan Fernando | — | |||
| 108 | Prasantha De Silva | G. Rajapaksa | — | [7] | |
| 109 | Pradeep Keerthisinghe | G. Rajapaksa | — | [7] | |
| 110 | Neil Iddawala | G. Rajapaksa | — | [7] | |
| 111 | K. K. A. V. Swarnadhipathi | G. Rajapaksa | — | [7] | |
| 112 | D. N. Samarakoon | G. Rajapaksa | — | [7] | |
| 113 | Wickum A. Kaluarachchi | — | |||
| 114 | Sobitha Rajakaruna | G. Rajapaksa | — | ||
| 115 | Menaka Wijesundara | G. Rajapaksa | — | [7] | |
| 116 | Sampath B. Abeykoon | G. Rajapaksa | — | [7] | |
| 117 | Sampath Wijeratne | G. Rajapaksa | — | [7] | |
| 118 | M. T. Mohammed Laffar | G. Rajapaksa | 1 December 2020 – 18 June 2025 4 years, 199 days | Acting president 2 February – 18 June 2025 136 days | [7] [b] [15] |
| 119 | Sriyanath Karalliyadde | G. Rajapaksa | 1 December 2020 – 12 November 2025 4 years, 346 days | — | [7] [16] |
| 120 | Ratnapriya Gurusinghe | G. Rajapaksa | 1 December 2020 5 years, 10 days | — | [7] |
| 121 | Dhammika Ganepola | G. Rajapaksa | 1 December 2020 5 years, 10 days | — | [7] |
| 122 | Mayadunne Corea | G. Rajapaksa | 1 December 2020 5 years, 10 days | — | [7] |
| 123 | Prabaharan Kumararatnam | G. Rajapaksa | 1 December 2020 5 years, 10 days | — | [7] |
| 124 | Sasi Mahendran | G. Rajapaksa | 14 June 2021 4 years, 180 days | — | [7] |
| 125 | Ahsan Marikar | Wickremesinghe | 6 February 2023 – April 2025 2 years, 54 days | — | [9] |
| 126 | Sanjeeva Morais | Wickremesinghe | 7 August 2023 2 years, 126 days | — | [17] |
| 127 | Gihan Kulatunga | Wickremesinghe | 6 September 2024 – 10 December 2025 1 year, 95 days | — | [18] [19] |
| 128 | Damitha Thotawatta | Wickremesinghe | 6 September 2024 1 year, 96 days | — | [18] |
| 129 | Amal Ranaraja | Wickremesinghe | 6 September 2024 1 year, 96 days | — | [18] |
| 130 | Mahen Gopallawa | Wickremesinghe | 6 September 2024 1 year, 96 days | — | [18] |
| 131 | Sarath Dissanayake | Dissanayake | 9 January 2025 336 days | — | [20] |
| 132 | Rohitha Hettiarachchi | Dissanayake | 9 January 2025 336 days | — | [20] |
| 133 | Sumudu Premachandra | Dissanayake | 9 January 2025 336 days | — | [21] |
| 134 | K. Priyantha Fernando | Dissanayake | 11 March 2025 275 days | — | [21] |
| 135 | Annalingam Premashankar | Dissanayake | 11 March 2025 275 days | — | [21] |
| 136 | Rohantha Abeysooriya | Dissanayake | — | 52nd President 19 June 2025 175 days | [10] |
| 137 | Francis Gunawardena | Dissanayake | 19 June 2025 175 days | — | [10] |
| 138 | Adithya Patabendige | Dissanayake | 19 June 2025 175 days | — | [10] |