HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Kanagasabapathy J. Sripavan ( ''Kaṉakacapāpati Ciṟīpavaṉ'', ; born 29 February 1952) is a
Sri Lankan Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, form the plurality in the Eastern Province a ...
lawyer and judge. He was Deputy
Solicitor General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...
, judge and president of the Court of Appeal,
Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka This is a list of justices of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. They are listed in the order in which they took the judicial oath of office and commenced their term. List of justices 19th century 20th century 21st century See als ...
and the 44th
Chief Justice of Sri Lanka 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 ...
.


Early life and family

Sripavan was born on 29 February 1952. He is the son of Nadaraja Kanagasabapathy, an employee of Kankesanthurai Cement Factory. He was educated at
Jaffna Hindu College Jaffna Hindu College (; ; abbreviated as JHC) is a National school (Sri Lanka), national school in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1887 by a group of Hinduism in Sri Lanka, Hindu people who wanted an English language alternative to the Christi ...
between 1962 and 1972. He joined
Sri Lanka Law College Sri Lanka Law College (abbreviated as SLLC), formerly known as Ceylon Law College, is a law college, and the only legal institution where one can enrol as an Attorney-at-Law in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1874, under the then Council of Le ...
in 1974 and passed out as an
attorney at law Attorney at law or attorney-at-law, usually abbreviated in everyday speech to attorney, is the preferred term for a practising lawyer in certain jurisdictions, including South Africa (for certain lawyers), Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and the Unit ...
in 1976, obtaining a first class in the Intermediate Examination.


Career

After qualifying Sripavan enrolled as an
attorney-at-law Attorney at law or attorney-at-law, usually abbreviated in everyday speech to attorney, is the preferred term for a practising lawyer in certain jurisdictions, including South Africa (for certain lawyers), Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and the Unit ...
on 23 August 1977 and practised law at the unofficial Bar of Sri Lanka between 1977 and 1978. He then joined the Attorney General's Department as an acting State Counsel on 13 February 1978. He became a permanent State Counsel on 1 January 1979. He was promoted to Senior State Counsel on 3 March 1989. Sripavan was appointed Deputy
Solicitor General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...
on 22 February 1996. He was the head of the Court of Appeal Unit and worked on Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court cases including Bills and Fundamental Rights applications. He supervised state counsels and revenue matters. Sripavan continued his legal studies whilst working, obtaining a diploma in Industrial Law from the
University of Colombo The University of Colombo (informally Colombo University or UoC) is a Public University, public research university located primarily in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is the oldest institution of modern higher education in Sri Lanka. Specialised in t ...
in 1992 and
Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...
from the Queen Mary and Westfield College, part of the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
, in 1994. Sripavan was appointed a judge of the Court of Appeal on 29 May 2002. He went on to become president of the Court of Appeal on 5 March 2007. He was appointed to the Supreme Court on 27 March 2008, replacing retiring Justice Nihal Jayasinghe. He was acting Chief Justice on three occasions.


Chief justice

In January 2013 43rd Chief Justice
Shirani Bandaranayake Upatissa Atapattu Bandaranayake Wasala Mudiyanse Ralahamilage Shirani Anshumala Bandaranayake (born April 1958), known as Shirani Bandaranayake (), served as the 43rd Chief Justice of Sri Lanka. Although a qualified lawyer, she has never practic ...
was controversially
impeached Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eu ...
by the
Parliament of Sri Lanka The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා පාර්ලිමේන්තුව ''Śrī Laṇkā Pārlimentuvā'', Tamil: இலங்கை நாடாளுமன்றம் '' ...
. Bandaranayake was subsequently removed from office by
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa (; ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the sixth President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015; the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2005, 2018, and 2019 to 2022; the ...
.
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
Mohan Peiris was appointed chief justice by Rajapaksa. Rajapaksa lost the 2015 presidential election after which the government led by newly elected President
Maithripala Sirisena Maithripala Yapa Sirisena (; ; born 3 September 1951) 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, S ...
ruled that Bandaranayake's removal was "null and void" as it had not followed proper procedure. Peiris was sent a letter stating that his appointment had been illegal and then Bandaranayake was re-instated as chief justice on 28 January 2015. Peiris however claims that his removal from office is unconstitutional, saying that he neither retired, resigned or vacated office. After resuming her position Bandaranayake announced that she would retire the following day - 29 January 2015. Sripavan was sworn in as Sri Lanka's 44th chief justice on 30 January 2015. He retired as chief justice on 28 February 2017.


References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sripavan, K. 1952 births 21st-century Sri Lankan people Alumni of Jaffna Hindu College Alumni of Queen Mary University of London Alumni of Sri Lanka Law College Chief justices of Sri Lanka Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka judges Living people People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka Presidents of the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka Puisne justices of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Tamil people Sri Lankan lawyers