List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka

Shirani Bandaranayake was the 43rd Chief Justice of Sri Lanka and the first and only woman to hold the position.

List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka^[1]

In this list, justices are placed in the order in which they took the judicial oath of office and thereby started their term of office. While many of the justices' positions prior to appointment are simply listed as "lawyer", many had part-time positions, such as teaching, or acted as counsel to various levels of government.

Justices

     † Denotes current justices

• ♦ Began as Provisional or Acting Puisne Justice
• ♠ Tenure demoted to de facto
• † Died in office

No.	Name	Province	Birth/death	Term of active service	Term of service as Chief	Length in days of active service	Length in days as Chief	Appointed by	Law school	Position prior to appointment
1	Codrington Edmund Carrington	England	1769 - 1849	March 1801 – 2 April 1806	March 1801 – 2 April 1806			North	—	Counsel to the East India Company
2	Edmund Henry Lushington	England	1766 - 1839	5 September 1801 – 1809	15 April 1807 - 1809			North	University of Cambridge	Barrister
3	Alexander Johnston	Scotland	1775 - 1849	15 April 1807 – 14 February 1809 6 November 1811 - 1819	6 November 1811 - 1819	671+?		Maitland	University of Göttingen	Advocate Fiscal of Ceylon
4	William Coke	England	1776 - 1818	6 March 1809 – 1 September 1818 ♦†	6 March 1809 – 1811[N 1]	3,466		Maitland	University of Oxford	Advocate Fiscal of Ceylon
5	Henry Byrne			5 November 1818 – 1819	—		—	Brownrigg		Barrister
6	Ambrose Hardinge Giffard	Ireland	1771 – 1827	8 April 1819 – 2 March 1827	8 April 1819 – 2 March 1827	2,885	2,885	Brownrigg	Trinity College, Dublin	Advocate Fiscal of Ceylon
7	Richard Ottley		1782 – 1845	8 May 1820 – 1833	1 November 1827 – 1833			Barnes		Chief Justice of Grenada
8	Henry Matthews	England	1789 – 1828	10 October 1827 – 1828	—		—	Barnes	King's College, Cambridge	Advocate Fiscal of Ceylon
9	Charles Marshall	England	1788 - 1873	14 June 1828 – 3 March 1836♦	18 February 1833 – 3 March 1836	2,850	1,109	Barnes	Jesus College, Cambridge
10	William Rough	England	1772 - 1838	18 February 1833 - 1838	—		—		Trinity College, Cambridge
11	William Norris			1834 – 1837	27 April 1836 – 1837			Wilmot-Horton		Advocate Fiscal of Ceylon
12	John Jeremie	Guernsey	1795 - 1841	10 March 1836 – 1840	—		—	Wilmot-Horton		Public prosecutor of Mauritius
13	John Fredrick Stoddart	Malta	1805 - 1839	2 June 1838 – 19 August 1839†	—	443	—		University of Glasgow
14	Anthony Oliphant	Scotland	1793 – 1859	22 October 1838 - 1854	22 October 1838 - 1854					Attorney General of the Cape Colony
15	J. G. Hildebrand			23 November 1839 –	—		—
16	William Ogle Carr	England	1802 - 1856	19 December 1939 - 1856	17 April 1854 – 1856			Stewart-Mackenzie		King's Advocate of Ceylon
17	John Stark			10 October 1840 –	—		—			Queen's Advocate of Ceylon
18	Christopher Temple			28 January 1854 –	—		—			Judge of the District Court of Colombo
19	Paul Ivy Sterling			20 November 1855 –	—		—			Attorney General of Hong Kong
20	William Carpenter Rowe		- 1860		1857 – 1859		—
21	Edward Shepherd Creasy	England	1812 - 1878	–	27 March 1860 - 1875				University of Cambridge
22	Richard Morgan			–	—		—			Queen's Advocate of Ceylon
23	George Lawson			–	—		—
24	Henry Byerley Thompson		- 1867	1 January 1863 –	—		—			Queen's Advocate of Ceylon
25	Charles Henry Stewart			11 January 1867 – ♦[N 2]	—		—
26	Richard Cayley	England		26 July 1874 – 1882	1 October 1879 – 1882		—			Queen's Advocate of Ceylon
27	Lovell Burchett Clarence			5 July 1879 –	—		—
28	Harry Dias Bandaranaike			5 July 1879 – [N 3]	—		—
29	William Hackett			3 February 1877 - 1877	3 February 1877 - 1877		—
30	John Budd Phear	England		18 October 1877 –	—		—
31	Archibald Campbell Lawrie		1837 - 1914	6 July 1892 – 1901	—		—			Judge of the District Court of Kandy
32	Jacobus de Wet	South Africa		31 May 1882 – 29 May 1883	31 May 1882 – 29 May 1883	363	363
33	Bruce Burnside	Bahamas		21 May 1883 – 1893[N 4]	21 May 1883 – 1893		—			Queen's Advocate of Ceylon
34	John Winfield Bonser			13 November 1893 – 1902	13 November 1893 – 1902					Chief Justice of the Straits Settlements
35	George Henry Withers			–	—		—
36	Dodwell Browne			–	—		—
37	Fredrick Charles Moncrieff			4 April 1900 –	—		—
38	Henry Lorentz Wendt			15 October 1901 – 28 November 1910	—		—
39	John Page Middleton			28 January 1902 – 1912	—		—			Puisine Judge of the Supreme Court of Cyprus
40	Charles Layard	Western		26 April 1902 – 18 June 1906	26 April 1902 – 18 June 1906	1,514	1,514
41	Joseph Richard Grenier			28 November 1910 – 1912♦[N 5]	—		—
42	Alexander Wood Renton			3 September 1905 – 1918	22 August 1914 - 1918		—
43	Alfred George Lascelles	England		1 May 1911 – 1914	1 May 1911 – 1914		—
44	Joseph Turner Hutchinson	England		23 October 1906 – 1 May 1911	23 October 1906 – 1 May 1911	1,651	1,651
45	James Cecil Walter Pereira			4 July 1912 –	—		—
46	James Arthur Van Langenburg			–	—		—
47	Thomas De Sampayo			1915 –	—		—		University of Cambridge	Commissioner of Assize
48	George Francis Macdaniel Ennis			5 August 1912 –	—		—
49	Walter Shaw			10 December 1914 –	—		—			Chief Justice of British Honduras
50	Gualterus Stewart Schneider			–	—		—
51	Anton Bertram		1869 - 1937	26 July 1918 – 1925	26 July 1918 – 1925				University of Cambridge	Attorney General of Ceylon
52	Hermann Albert Loos			–	—		—
53	William Thomas Porter			12 January 1922 –	—		—
54	Thomas Garvin		1881 - 1940	21 June 1921 – 1935	—		—	Manning	Colombo Law College	Solicitor General of Ceylon
55	John Adrian St. Valentine Jayewardene		1877 – 1927	1923 –	—		—		Manning	Judge of the District Court of Colombo
56	Llwellyn Chisholm Dalton			14 March 1925 –	—		—
57	Lewis Matthew Maartensz			18 February 1935 –	—		—
58	Maas Thajoon Akbar		1880 - 1944	–	—		—		University of Cambridge	Solicitor General of Ceylon
59	Charles Ernest St. John Branch		1865 - 1939	3 July 1925 – 25 May 1926	3 July 1925 – 25 May 1926	326	326		Durham University
60	Stanley Fisher		1867 -	11 December 1926 – 1930	11 December 1926 – 1930					Chief Justice of Trinidad and Tobago
61	Robert William Lyall Grant			17 Februrary 1926 –	—		—
62	Allen Drieberg			19 September 1927 –	—		—
63	Eugene Wilfred Jayewardene	Western	1874 - 1932	May 1928 –	—		—	Fletcher		Member of the Colombo Municipal Council
64	Philip James Macdonell		1873 - 1940	3 October 1930 - 1936	3 October 1930 - 1936					Chief Justice of Trinidad and Tobago
65	Lucian Macull Dominic de Silva			–	—		—
66	William Edward Barber			–	—		—
67	Francis Harold Bertram			19 February 1935 –	—		—
68	Kenneth Poyser			–	—		—
69	Francis Soertsz		- 1951	12 November 1936 –	—		—
70	Sidney Abrahams	England	1885 - 1957	3 July 1936 – 1939	3 July 1936 – 1939				University of Cambridge
71	Francis Moseley			2 August 1936 –	—		—
72	Vincent Fernando			11 November 1937 –	—		—
73	Hector Hearne			21 May 1937 –	—		—
74	Arthur Eric Keuneman			4 March 1938 –	—		—		University of Cambridge
75	Oswald Leslie De Kretser II	Western	1882 - 1959	8 April 1938 – 1945	—		—	Caldecott	University College, Colombo	Commissioner of Assize
76	Arthur Wijewardena		1887 - 1964	22 August 1938 – 1950	15 January 1949 – 1950				University of Cambridge	Solicitor General of Ceylon
77	J. H. B. Nihill			18 November 1938 –	—		—
78	John Curtois Howard			1 December 1939 – 1945	1 December 1939 – 1945					Attorney General of Cyprus
79	G. H. F. Cannon			–	—		—
80	Edward Jayetileke			14 May 1942 – 11 October 1951	1950 – 11 October 1951	3,437		Caldecott		Solicitor General of Ceylon
81	Alan Rose			11 January 1945 – 1956	11 October 1951 – 1956
82	A. R. H. Canakeratne			28 March 1945 –	—		—
83	Manikku Wadumestri Hendrick de Silva			–	—		—			Attorney General of Ceylon
84	Felix Reginald Dias Bandaranaike I		1861 - 1947	3 September 1946 –	—		—		University of Cambridge	Judge of the District Court of Colombo
85	Chellappah Nagalingam		1893 - 1958	22 July 1947 – 1958	—		—		Ceylon Law College	Attorney General of Ceylon
86	Ralph Windham			23 July 1947 –	—		—
87	Hema Henry Basnayake		1902 -	23 October 1947 – 3 August 1964	1 January 1956 – 3 August 1964	6,129	3,137	Senanayake		Attorney General of Ceylon
88	Noel Gratiaen			22 March 1948 –	—		—	Senanayake		Attorney General of Ceylon
89	E. H. T. Gunasekera			1 March 1949 – 25 January 1962	—	4,713	—	Senanayake
90	M. F. S. Pulle			28 September 1949 –	—		—	Senanayake
91	V. L. St. C. Swan			1 May 1950 –	—		—	Senanayake
92	H. A. de Silva			30 November 1950 –	—		—	Senanayake
93	Kairshasp Choksy	Western		–	—		—
94	Henry Weerasooriya			10 July 1953 – 24 February 1964	—	3,881	—	Senanayake
95	K. D. de Silva			10 July 1953 –	—		—	Senanayake
96	Miliani Sansoni			10 May 1954 – 17 November 1966	3 August 1964 – 17 November 1966	4,574	836	Kotelawala
97	Hugh Fernando		1910 - 1976	16 May 1955 – 17 November 1973	20 November 1966 - 17 November 1973	6,760	2,554	Kotelawala
98	Thusew Samuel Fernando			2 May 1956 –	—		—	Bandaranaike	Colombo Law College	Solicitor General of Sri Lanka
99	Nadaraja Sinnetamby			3 May 1956 –	—		—	Bandaranaike
100	Lionel de Silva			5 November 1959 – ♦	—		—	Dahanayake
101	Leonard de Silva			16 August 1966 –	—		—	Senanayake
102	Henry Thambiah	Northern	1906 – 1997	1 December 1961 – 27 May 1968	—	2,369	—	Bandaranaike	University College, Colombo Ceylon Law College University of London	Commissioner of Assize
103	Kingsley Herath			25 January 1962 –	—		—	Bandaranaike
104	Asoka Abeyesundere	Southern	1906 - 1988	20 April 1962 – 3 May 1968	—	2,205	—	Bandaranaike	Ceylon Law College
105	Ponnuduraiswamy Sriskandarajah		1905 - 1968	22 June 1962 – 8 February 1967	—	1,692	—	Bandaranaike	Ceylon University College Ceylon Law College	Commissioner of Assize
106	Gardiye Punchihewage Amaraseela Silva			22 June 1962 – 1974	1973 – 1974		—	Bandaranaike
107	Lionel Sirimanne			–	—		—	Bandaranaike
108	Vaithalingam Manicavasagar	Western	1906 - 1993	17 December 1964 – 14 December 1967	—	1,092	—	Bandaranaike	Colombo Law College	Commissioner of Assize
109	Anthony Alles	Central	1911 – 2003	1964 – 1974	—		—	Bandaranaike	University of Ceylon Ceylon Law College University of London	Solicitor General of Sri Lanka
110	Veeravagu Sivasubramaniam		1908 - 1985	1966 – 1970	—		—	Senanayake	University of London	Commissioner of Assize
111	George Samerawickrame			18 November 1966 – 9 April 1981	—	5,256	—	Senanayake
112	Victor Tennekoon	Central	1914 -	8 February 1967 – 1 July 1970 1 January 1974 - 8 September 1977	1 January 1974 - 8 September 1977	1,239+1,346	1,346	Senanayake	University of London Ceylon Law College	Judge of the Court of Appeal
113	Christopher Weeramantry	Western	1926 -	1967 – 30 April 1972	—		—	Senanayake	University of Ceylon University of London	Commissioner of Assize
114	Oswald Leslie De Kretser III	Western	1910 -	1968 – 21 January 1972	—		—	Senanayake	University College, Colombo University of London	Judge of the District Court of Panadura
115	Samarapilimudalige Wijayatilake	Central	1912 - 1990	1968 – 16 May 1975	—		—	Senanayake	University College, Colombo Ceylon Law College	Commissioner of Assize
116	Pandita Gunawadena			1968 – 10 February 1971	—		—	Senanayake
117	Vincent Thamotheram		1915 -	23 March 1970 – 1980	—		—	Senanayake	Ceylon University College Ceylon Law College	Commissioner of Assize
118	Hector Deheragoda			22 February 1972 – 27 December 1976	—	1,770	—	Bandaranaike
119	Cuda Banda Walgampaya			22 February 1972 – 3 January 1976	—	1,411	—	Bandaranaike
120	Jaya Pathirana		- 2000	22 February 1972 – 1978	—		—	Bandaranaike
121	Dharmadasa Wimalaratne			10 April 1972 - ? 20 October 1980 – 15 September 1985	—	1,791	—	Bandaranaike
122	Tellipalai Rajaratnam		1920 - 1994	10 April 1972 – 1978	—		—	Bandaranaike		Commissioner of Assize
123	Donald Sirimanne			1973 –	—		—	Gopallawa
124	Cyril Udalagama			1 January 1974 –	—		—	Gopallawa
125	T. A. de S. Wijesundera			1 January 1974 –	—		—	Gopallawa
126	Malcolm Perera			1 January 1974 –	—		—	Gopallawa
127	Izadean Mohamed Ismail			1 January 1974 – 18 December 1981	—	2,908	—	Gopallawa
128	Joe Weereratne			1 January 1974 –	—		—	Gopallawa
129	Arulampalam Vythialingam			1 January 1974 –	—		—	Gopallawa
130	Noel Tittawela			1 January 1974 –	—		—	Gopallawa
131	Suppiah Sharvananda	Northern	1923 - 2007	1 January 1974 – 1988	29 October 1984 – 1988			Gopallawa	Colombo Law College University of London
132	Somaratne Walpita			1 January 1974 –	—		—	Gopallawa
133	Wilmot Gunasekera			2 May 1974 –	—		—	Gopallawa
134	Barnes Ratwatte II		1918 - 2004	2 December 1974 – ? 11 April 1981 – 22 November 1983	—	955	—	Gopallawa Jayewardene	Ceylon Law College	President of the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka
135	Raja Wanasundera	Sabaragamuwa	1924 - 2012	5 June 1975 – ?	—		—	Gopallawa	University College, Colombo Ceylon Law College University of London Stanford University	Solicitor General of Sri Lanka
136	Percy Colin-Thomé	Southern	1922 -	12 January 1976 – 1977 29 December 1981 – ?	—		—	Gopallawa Jayewardene	University of Ceylon University of Cambridge	Judge of the High Court of Colombo
137	Neville Samarakoon		1919 - 1990	– 21 October 1984	1977 – 21 October 1984			Jayewardene	University College, Colombo Colombo Law College
138	Victor Perera			24 July 1981 – 18 August 1983	—	755	—	Jayewardene
139	Anton Soza	Western	1919 - 2013	26 January 1982 – 3 February 1984	—	738	—	Jayewardene	University of London	Judge of the Court of Appeal
140	Parinda Ranasinghe			15 November 1982 – 1991	1988 – 1991			Jayewardene	Colombo Law College
141	Abdul Cader			8 December 1982 – 28 May 1985	—	902	—	Jayewardene
142	Heevi Rodrigo			8 December 1982 – 4 December 1984	—	727	—	Jayewardene
143	E. A. D. Atukorale			27 November 1984 –	—		—	Jayewardene
144	Herbert Thambiah	Northern	1926 – 1992	27 November 1984 – 1992	1991 – 1991			Jayewardene	University of Ceylon Ceylon Law College	Judge of the Court of Appeal
145	Lucian Hector de Alwis			27 November 1984 –	—		—	Jayewardene
146	O. S. M. Seneviratne			10 February 1986 –	—		—	Jayewardene
147	H. A. G. de Silva			10 February 1986 –	—		—	Jayewardene
	Mark Fernando		1941 - 2009	4 March 1988 – 2005	—		—	Jayewardene	University of Ceylon, Peradeniya
	A. R. B. Amerasinghe		1937 - 2013	–	—		—
	A. R. N. Fernando			–	—		—
	Ameer Ismail			1990 – 1994	—		—	Premadasa	University of Ceylon Ceylon Law College	President of the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka
	Andrew Ranjan Perera			–	—		—
	Pathmanathan Ramanathan		1932 - 2006	–	—		—		University of Wales	President of the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka
	K. M. M. B. Kulatunge			–	—		—
	G. P. S. de Silva			–	1991 — 1999
	Sarath N. Silva			1995 – 16 September 1999	16 September 1999 – 7 June 2009		3,552	Kumaratunga	Sri Lanka Law College University of Brussels	President of the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka
	Shirani Bandaranayake	North Western	1958 -	30 October 1996 – 13 January 2013 28 January 2015 – 29 January 2015	18 May 2011 – 13 January 2013 28 January 2015 – 29 January 2015	5,919+1	606+1	Kumaratunga	University of Colombo University of London	Lawyer
	C. V. Vigneswaran	Western	1939 -	March 2001 – October 2004	—		—	Kumaratunga	University of Ceylon Ceylon Law College	Judge of the Court of Appeal
	Asoka de Silva		1946 -	1 August 2001 – 17 May 2011	8 June 2009 – 17 May 2011	3,576	708	Kumaratunga	University of Peradeniya University of Colombo University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign	President of the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka
	Nihal Jayasinghe			19 February 2003 – 29 February 2008	—	1,836	—	Kumaratunga	University of Colombo	Judge of the Court of Appeal
	Nimal Dissanayake			– 23 April 2008	—		—	Kumaratunga
	Shiranee Tilakawardane			19 February 2003 - 5 April 2014	—	1,901	—	Kumaratunga	Sri Lanka Law College	President of the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka
	Nimal Gamini Amaratunga			January 2005 – March 2014	—		—	Kumaratunga	University of Colombo International Maritime Law Institute	Judge of the Court of Appeal
	Saleem Marsoof			February 2005 – 2014	—		—	Kumaratunga	University of Colombo, University of San Diego School of Law	President of the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka
	Andrew Somawansa	North Western Province		28 May 2006 – October 2008	—		—	Rajapaksa	University of Ceylon University of Nevada	President of the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka
	Jagath Balapatabendi	Southern Province		–	—		—	Rajapaksa	Ceylon Law College	Judge of the Court of Appeal
	Kanagasabapathy Sripavan†		1952 –	27 March 2008 – present	30 January 2015 – present	2,933[2]	433[3]	Rajapaksa	Sri Lanka Law College	Judge of the Court of Appeal
	P. A. Ratnayake			2 May 2008 – 15 February 2013	—	1,751	—	Rajapaksa	University of Brussels
	Chandra Ekanayake†			November 2008 – present	—		—	Rajapaksa	Sri Lanka Law College	President of the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka
	S. I. Imam	Central Province		9 January 2009 – 20 February 2013	—	1,503	—	Rajapaksa		Judge of the Court of Appeal
	R. K. S. Suresh Chandra			June 2010 –	—		—	Rajapaksa
	Sathya Hettige			10 July 2011 – 18 April 2014	—	1,013	—	Rajapaksa	University of Colombo	President of the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka
	Priyasath Dep†			10 July 2011 – present	—	1,733[4]	—	Rajapaksa	University of Colombo International Institute of Social Studies	Solicitor General of Sri Lanka
	Eva Wansundera†	North Western		7 July 2012 – present	—	1,370[5]	—	Rajapaksa	Sri Lanka Law College University of Leicester	Attorney General of Sri Lanka
	Mohan Peiris♠			15 January 2013 – 28 January 2015	15 January 2013 – 28 January 2015	743	743	Rajapaksa	Sri Lanka Law College	Attorney General of Sri Lanka
	Rohini Marasinghe			26 April 2013 – 2015	—	1,077	—	Rajapaksa	University of Hartford	Judge of the Court of Appeal
	Buwaneka Aluwihare†			4 December 2013 – present	—	855[6]	—	Rajapaksa		Additional Solicitor General of Sri Lanka
	Sisira De Abrew†			7 May 2014 – present	—	701[7]	—	Rajapaksa		President of the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka
	Sarath De Abrew			7 May 2014 – 2015	—	701	—	Rajapaksa
	Priyantha Jayawardena†			7 May 2014 – present	—	701[8]	—	Rajapaksa	Sri Lanka Law College University of Aberdeen
	Upali Abeyratne†			17 December 2014 – present	—	477[9]	—	Rajapaksa		Judge of the Court of Appeal
	Anil Goonaratne†			30 January 2015 – present	—	433[10]	—	Sirisena	Sri Lanka Law College University of Exeter	Judge of the Court of Appeal
	K. T. Chitrasiri†			3 December 2015 – present	—	126[11]	—	Sirisena	University of Sri Lanka Queen Mary University of London	Judge of the Court of Appeal
	H. N. J. Perera†			3 March 2016 – present	—	35[12]	—	Sirisena		Judge of the Court of Appeal

See also

• List of Chief Justices of Sri Lanka
• List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka by court composition

Notes

1. Provisional Chief Justice
2. On leave (1 January - 28 April 1871)
3. Acting Chief Justice (1-10 October 1879, 9 January - 5 June 1888)
4. On leave (25 November 1890 - February 1891)
5. Acting Justice (12 May 1903 – 28 November 1910)

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
2. Current to most recent page update.
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12. Current to most recent page update.

Bibliography

• Amerasinghe, A.R.B. (1986). The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka : the first 185 years. Ratmalana, Sri Lanka: Sarvodaya Book Pub. Services. ISBN 955599000X.