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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 appointing 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.
The attorney general of Sri Lanka is the Sri Lankan government's chief legal adviser,and its primary lawyer in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. The attorney general is usually a highly respected senior advocate,and is appointed by the ruling government. The current attorney general is Sanjay Rajaratnam. The president does not have any power to make orders,mandatory or otherwise,to the attorney general. He heads the Attorney General's Department which is the public prosecutor.
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.
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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.
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Shanthi Eva Wanasundera PC is a Sri Lankan judge and lawyer. She is a former puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. Prior to her appointment as puisne justice,in 2012,she served as Solicitor General and Attorney General of Sri Lanka.
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Dappula de LiveraPC is a Sri Lankan lawyer and the former Attorney General of Sri Lanka. He previously served as the Solicitor General of Sri Lanka from February 2018 and took over as acting attorney general from 29 April 2019 until his formal appointment in May 2019.
In 2015 a coup d'état was allegedly attempted in Sri Lanka by former president Mahinda Rajapaksa in order to remain in power after he had been voted out in the 2015 Sri Lankan presidential election. Rajapaksa,who was expected to easily win a third term in office lost to Maithripala Sirisena,a former ally and member of the Rajapaksa administration. Though ultimately there was a peaceful transition between governments,some government officials claim Rajapaksa made an attempt to deploy the army and police to stop the counting of votes when initial results showed he was heading for defeat.
Sanjay Rajaratnam,PC is a Sri Lankan lawyer. He is the former Attorney General of Sri Lanka. He previously served as the Acting Solicitor General of Sri Lanka from October 2019 up until May 2021.
References
- 1 2 3 "Yuwanjana Wanasundera Wijayathilake sworn in as new Attorney General of Sri Lanka". ColomboPage. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
- 1 2 "News". Attorney General's Department. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
- ↑ "History". Attorney General's Department. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
- ↑ "Yuwanjana Wanasundera Wijayathilake new AG". Digatha News. Retrieved 7 April 2016.