Mahinda Rajapaksa is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015;the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2005,2018,and 2019 to 2022;the Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2004 and 2018 to 2019,and the Minister of Finance from 2005 to 2015 and 2019 to 2021. He has been a Member of Parliament (MP) for Kurunegala since 2015.
The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka is the highest court in Sri Lanka and the final judicial instance of record. Established in 1801 and empowered to exercise its powers subject to the provisions of the Constitution of Sri Lanka,the Supreme Court has ultimate appellate jurisdiction in constitutional matters and takes precedence over all lower courts. The Sri Lankan judicial system is a complex blend of common law and civil law. In some cases,such as those involving capital punishment,the decision may be passed on to the President of Sri Lanka for clemency petitions. The current Chief Justice of Sri Lanka is Jayantha Jayasuriya.
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 chief justice of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the head of the judiciary of Sri Lanka and the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. Established in 1801,the chief justice is one of ten Supreme Court justices;the other nine are the puisne justices of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. The post was created in 1801. The chief justice is nominated by the Constitutional Council,and appointed by the president. The first chief justice was Codrington Edmund Carrington. The 47th and current chief justice is Jayantha Jayasuriya.
Maithripala Yapa Sirisena is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the seventh President of Sri Lanka from 9 January 2015 to 18 November 2019. Sirisena is Sri Lanka's first president from the North Central Province of the country and does not belong to the traditional Sri Lankan political elite. He is currently a member of parliament from Polonnaruwa.
Wijeyadasa Rajapakse,MP,PC is a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician. He is the current Minister of Justice and previously served in the same ministry from 2015 to 2017. He was the Prime Minister's nominee for the Constitutional Council During the 2018 Sri Lankan constitutional crisis,he had briefly served as the Minister of Education and Higher Education and his post was suspended by the court in 2018.
Upatissa Atapattu Bandaranayake Wasala Mudiyanse Ralahamilage Shirani Anshumala Bandaranayake,known as Shirani Bandaranayake,served as the 43rd Chief Justice of Sri Lanka. Although a qualified lawyer,she has never practiced law. After university Bandaranayake entered academia,holding a number of senior positions at the University of Colombo,including associate professor of law and the dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Colombo. She was first appointed to the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka in 1996,becoming Sri Lanka's first female Supreme Court Judge. Bandaranayake was appointed chief justice in May 2011 following the mandatory retirement of Asoka de Silva. Bandaranayake was controversially impeached by Parliament and then removed from office by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in January 2013. and on 28 January 2015 the government of Sri Lanka,had removed all obstacles for Bandaranayake to hold her position as the 43rd Chief Justice by the President Maithripala Sirisena,on the ground that her 2013 impeachment was unlawful and as such the appointment of Mohan Peiris,her successor,was void Ab initio. This paved the way for Bandaranayake to resume duties on 28 January 2015. She retired from the position on 29 January 2015,one day after her reappointment,claiming support for a free and fair Judiciary in Sri Lanka.
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.
Shirani Bandaranayake,the 43rd Chief Justice of Sri Lanka,was impeached by Parliament and then removed from office by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in January 2013. Bandaranayake was accused of a number of charges including financial impropriety and interfering in legal cases,all of which she has denied. The impeachment followed a series of rulings against the government by the Supreme Court,including one against a bill proposed by Minister Basil Rajapaksa,President Rajapaksa's brother. Bandaranayake was replaced as chief justice by former Attorney General Mohan Peiris. Peiris is considered to be an ally of President Rajapaksa and his appointment is seen by critics as further consolidation of power by the president and his family. Bandaranayake refused to recognise the impeachment and lawyers groups refused to work with the new chief justice. Bandaranayake's controversial impeachment drew much criticism and concern from within and outside of Sri Lanka. On 28 January 2015 she was reinstated and retired on 29 January,the next day.
Justice Sundaram Sriskandarajah was a leading Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer and judge.
Events from the year 2013 in Sri Lanka.
Dissanayake Mudiyanse Anuradha Lanka Pradeep Jayaratne is a Sri Lankan politician. He is a member of parliament. He was the former State Minister of Rural irrigation and tanks development,former member of the Central Provincial Council and is the son of the former Sri Lankan Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne.
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.
Presidential elections were held in Sri Lanka on 8 January 2015,two years ahead of schedule. The incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa was the United People's Freedom Alliance's candidate,seeking a third term in office. The United National Party (UNP)-led opposition coalition chose to field Maithripala Sirisena,the former Minister of Health in Rajapaksa's government and general secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) –the main constituent party of the UPFA –as its common candidate.
The following is a timeline of the Presidency of Maithripala Sirisena from his first announcement as presidential candidate in November 2014 to the present.
The 15th Parliament of Sri Lanka was the meeting of the Parliament of Sri Lanka with its membership determined by the results of the 2015 parliamentary election,held on 17 August 2015. The parliament met for the first time on 1 September 2015 and was dissolved on 3 March 2020.
Hettikankanange Nalin Jayalath Perera is a Sri Lanka judge who served as the 46th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka.
Kulahath Sisira Jayawilal de Abrew is a sitting Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka who was appointed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2014 to replace Justice Nimal Gamini Amaratunga. In May 2016 de Abrew was appointed to the Judicial Service Commission by President Maithripala Sirisena.
A constitutional crisis began in Sri Lanka when President Maithripala Sirisena appointed former president and member of parliament Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister on 26 October 2018 before formally dismissing the incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe,resulting in two concurrent Prime Ministers. Wickremesinghe and the United National Party (UNP) viewed the appointment as illegal,and he refused to resign.
