Jayantha Fernando joins boutique law firm Heritage Partners

Jayantha Fernando

Boutique law firm specialising in corporate, securities and financial law, Heritage Partners has appointed Jayantha Fernando as a Partner and the Head of its Technology, Media and Telecommunications and Data Protection practice.

Fernando has over 25 years international experience in a range of ICT legal and policy issues. He has a specialised Masters (LLM) Degree in Telecommunications and Internet Law. He pioneered drafting of several legislation impacting electronic transactions, digital and mobile payments, cybercrime, cyber security and data protection. He led Sri Lanka’s entry into the Budapest Cybercrime Convention (2015) and the UN Electronic Communications Convention (2015), both firsts for South Asia. 

During 2019-2022 Fernando chaired the Data Protection Law Drafting Committee, leading a team of experts to draft the first comprehensive privacy law enacted in south Asia, which was finalised consequent to seven stakeholder consultations and public reviews. He also chaired the Cyber Security Law Committee.

For seven years he had oversight responsibility for the “e-Sri Lanka Development Project”, the flagship digital development initiative of the World Bank, with which he was involved through the design phase (2001-2003) and thereafter was one of the 3 leadership team members, during its entire implementation phase until December 2013. As part of the ICT Task force established in 2002, he drafted the legal blueprint to establish ICTA and thereafter Sri Lanka CERT-CC.

A Founder Director of Sri Lanka CERT, he also served as its Chairman. Fernando was a Director and past Chairman of .LK Domain Name Registry, a former Commissioner of SEC Sri Lanka and a Director of Colombo Stock Exchange. He developed the legal framework for use of digital signatures for banking sector and as a member of the Joint SEC/CSE Committee for Digitisation of Stock Exchange, drafted regulations to establish the country’s first e-KYC.

He was active in ICANN (www.icann.org) and served as Associate Chair of ICANN NomCom and Vice Chair of ICANN GAC for two terms. In 2016 he became the first South East Asian to be elected to the nine member global Bureau of the Budapest Cybercrime Convention Committee (T-CY) at the Council of Europe, in Strasbourg, France. In recognition of 20 years of service in the sphere of digital policies and laws, Fernando was presented a lifetime achievement award at the national Zero One Digital Awards in 2017. In his spare time he lectures widely on ICT Legal Issues at local and foreign Universities.

He is a British Chevening Scholar (2002) and an Eisenhower Fellow (2012).