Selection of new President’s Counsels: Candidates in other categories overlooked

Friday, 29 December 2023 00:20 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Recently, the President, exercising his authority, appointed 10 President’s Counsels - Chamantha Weerakoon, Dr. Asanga Gunawansa, Mohamed Adamaly, Harsha Fernando, Dr. Sivaji Felix, Faisza Markar, Kaushalya Nawaratne, Upul Kumarapperuma, Viran Corea and Eraj de Silva.

These appointments were made based on the recommendation of the Chief Justice (CJ), who requested the assistance of former Chief Justice C.J. Siripavan to shortlist 174 applications.

From this pool, only 32 lawyers who have appeared in the superior courts in Colombo were selected.

Sources said unfortunately, the selection process seemed to have overlooked outstation lawyers, criminal lawyers, and lawyers falling under sections 2 and 3 of the guidelines. These sections include jurists and senior public officers who have made substantial contributions to the field of law.

Only the additional Solicitor Generals of the Attorney General’s Department and recently the Legal Draftsman and his assistant.