Attorney General of Sri Lanka

Attorney General of Sri Lanka
Incumbent
Jayantha Jayasuriya
since 11 January 2016 (2016-01-11)
Attorney-General's Department
Style The Honourable
Nominator The President
Appointer The President
with Constitutional Council advice and consent
Term length No fixed term
Formation 19 February 1801 (1801-02-19)
First holder James Dunkin
as Advocate Fiscal of Ceylon
Deputy Solicitor General of Sri Lanka
Website Attorney General of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Coat of arms of Sri Lanka, showing a lion holding a sword in its right forepaw surrounded by a ring made from blue lotus petals which is placed on top of a grain vase sprouting rice grains to encircle it. A Dharmacakra is on the top while a sun and moon are at the bottom on each side of the vase.
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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 the acting Suhada Gamlath. The president does not have any power to make orders, mandatory or otherwise, to the attorney general. He heads the Attorney-General's Department.

Unlike the Attorney General of the United States, the Attorney General of Sri Lanka does not have any executive authority, and is not a political appointee; those functions are performed by the Minister of Justice. The Attorney General is assisted by the Solicitor General of Sri Lanka and several Additional Solicitors General.

List of Attorneys General

Data based on:

# Attorney General Province Took office Left office Appointed by
Advocate Fiscal of Ceylon (1801-1833)
1 James Dunkin 19 February 1801 1802 Frederick North
2 Alexander Johnston Scotland 7 August 1802 1806
3 James Dunkin 22 April 1806 1808 Thomas Maitland
4 William Coke England 5 September 1808 1811
5 Ambrose Hardinge Giffard Ireland 26 February 1811 1821
6 Henry Matthews 1 November 1821 1829 Edward Barnes
7 William Norris 28 February 1829 1833 Edward Barnes
King's Advocate of Ceylon (1833-1838)
8 William Ogle Carr England 2 April 1833 1838 Robert Wilmot-Horton
Queen's Advocate of Ceylon (1838-1884)
9 John Stark 10 December 1838 1840 James Alexander Stewart-Mackenzie
10 Arthur William Buller 17 October 1840 1848
11 Henry Collingwood Selby 23 June 1848 1858 George Byng
12 Henry Byerley Thompson 3 May 1858 1863 Henry George Ward
13 Richard Morgan 1 January 1863 1876 Charles Justin MacCarthy
14 Richard Cayley England 4 April 1876 1879 William Henry Gregory
15 Bruce Burnside Bahamas 24 October 1879 1883 James Robert Longden
16 Francis Flemming 4 July 1883 1884
Attorney General of Ceylon (1884-1972)
16 Francis Flemming 1 January 1884 1886 Arthur Hamilton-Gordon
17 Samuel Grenier 30 September 1886 1892
18 Charles Layard Western 1 November 1892 1902 Arthur Havelock
19 Alfred Lascelles England 18 June 1902 1911 Joseph West Ridgeway
20 Anton Bertram 18 May 1911 1918 Henry McCallum
21 Henry Gollan 15 October 1918 1924 John Anderson
22 Lancelot Henry Elphinstone 6 October 1924 1929 William Manning
23 Edward St. John Jackson 12 May 1929 1936 Herbert Stanley
24 John Curtois Howard 27 July 1936 1936 Reginald Edward Stubbs
25 John William Ronald Illangakoon 1 October 1936 1942
26 Manikku Wadumestri Hendrick de Silva 7 July 1942 1946 Henry Monck-Mason Moore
27 Chellappah Nagalingam 25 January 1946 1947
28 Edward Percival Rose 23 October 1947 1951
29 Hema Henry Basnayake 11 October 1951 1956 Herwald Ramsbotham
30 Edward Fredrick Noel Gratiaen 2 May 1956 1957 Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke
31 Douglas St. Clive Budd Jansze 1 April 1957 1966
32 Abdul Caffoor Mohamad Ameer 1966 1970 William Gopallawa
Attorney General of Sri Lanka
33 Victor Tennekoon Central 1 July 1970 1975 William Gopallawa
34 Shiva Pasupati 5 June 1975 1988
35 Pandikoralalage Sunil Chandra De Silva 1988 1992 J. R. Jayewardene
36 Tilak Marapana Sabaragamuwa 1992 1995 Ranasinghe Premadasa
37 Shibly Aziz 1995 1996 Chandrika Kumaratunga
38 Sarath N. Silva 1996 1999
39 Kandapper Kamalasabayon Eastern 1999 2007
40 Chitta De Silva Western 2007 2008 Mahinda Rajapaksa
41 Mohan Peiris 2008 2011
42 Eva Wansundera North Western 2011 2012
43 Palitha Fernando 17 July 2012 23 October 2014
44 Yuwanjana Wijayatilake 23 October 2014 10 January 2016
45 Jayantha Jayasuriya 11 January 2016 Present Maithripala Sirisena

See also

References

  1. ↑ Amerasinghe, A. Ranjit B (1986), The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka : the first 185 years, Sarvodaya Book Pub. Services, ISBN 978-955-599-000-4

External links

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