The unofficial bar in Sri Lankan courts refer to the lawyers engaged in a private legal practice, [1] as opposed to the official bar, which is made up of lawyers working for the Attorney-General's Department. The President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka is considered as the de facto leader of the unofficial bar. While the Attorney-General is considered as the leader of the official bar.
A bar association is a professional association of lawyers as generally organized in countries following the Anglo-American types of jurisprudence. The word bar is derived from the old English/European custom of using a physical railing to separate the area in which court business is done from the viewing area for the general public.
A President's Counsel is an eminent lawyer who is appointed by the President of Sri Lanka as an individual "learned in the law". The term is an honorific that replaced the Queen's Counsel (QC), which Sri Lanka ceased apponting when it became a republic in 1972. It is equivalent to the appointment of a King's Counsel in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms, and that of Senior Counsel in Commonwealth republics, bearing the same privileges, such as sitting within the Bar of court.
Sri Lanka Law College, formerly known as Ceylon Law College, is a law college, and the only legal institution where one can enroll as a 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.
Lt. Colonel Daya Perera, PC was a Sri Lankan diplomat and lawyer, who was the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Canada and Ambassador to the United Nations in New York City.
The Attorney General's Department is a non-ministerial government department in Sri Lanka that supports the attorney general and his/her deputy the solicitor general. The department is headed by the attorney general and comes under the purview of the Ministry of Justice. The office of "Attorney General" was formally adopted in the year 1884.
Deshamanya Herman Leonard de Silva, PC was a Sri Lankan lawyer and diplomat. He was the former Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations. He was a former President and honorary life member of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka.
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.
Peter Mohan Maithree Peiris, PC is a Sri Lankan lawyer who served as the Attorney General of Sri Lanka from 2008 to 2011 and was the de facto Chief Justice of Sri Lanka from 2013 to 2015 when President Maithripala Sirisena declared his appointment void ab initio in 2015.
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 former 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. But defeated in 2020.
Deshamanya Ranjith Abeysuriya, PC was a Sri Lankan lawyer. He was the chairman of the National Police Commission, director public prosecutions of the Attorney General's Department, president of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka and member of the Law Commission of Sri Lanka.
Justice Kanagasabapathy J. Sripavan is a Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer and judge. He was Deputy Solicitor General, judge and president of the Court of Appeal, Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka and the 44th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka.
The legal system in Sri Lanka comprises collections of codified and uncodified forms of law, of many origins subordinate to the Constitution of Sri Lanka which is the highest law of the island. Its legal framework is a mixture of legal systems of Roman-Dutch law, English law, Kandian law, Thesavalamai and Muslim law. This mixture is a result of the diverse history of the island as a result criminal law is based on English law while much of the common law is Roman-Dutch law, with certain aspects such as marriage, divorce, and inheritance associated with Kandian law, Thesavalamai and Muslim law based on the community and geography.
George Edmund de Silva was a Ceylonese lawyer and politician. He was the first Cabinet Minister of Industries, Industrial Research and Fisheries in independent Sri Lanka (1947–1948), a Member of Parliament and State Council.
Tilak Janaka Marapana PC is a Sri Lankan lawyer. He was the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Assignments. He is a Member of Parliament appointed from the national list and had served as Minister of Law and Order, Prison Reforms from September 2015 to November 2015 and Minister of Defence (2001–2003) and Minister of Transport, Highways and Aviation (2002–2004). As Minister of Defence, he was the only non Presidential or Prime Ministerial holder of the portfolio. A lawyer by profession and a President's Counsel, he had served as a government prosecutor in the Attorney General's Department for twenty six years, serving as Solicitor General and Attorney General.
Deshamanya Justice Victor Tennekoon QC was a Sri Lankan lawyer and jurist. He served as the 35th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka, as well as the 33rd Attorney General and 23rd Solicitor General. From 1979 to 1984 Tennekoon served as Chancellor of the University of Peradeniya.
Justice 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.
Edmund Walter Perera Seneviratne Jayawardena, QC was a Sri Lankan lawyer and diplomat. He was the 24th Solicitor General of Ceylon and Sri Lankan Ambassador to the Soviet Union.