The attorney general of Sri Lanka is the Sri Lankan government's chief

legal Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a Socia ...

adviser, and its primary lawyer in the

Supreme Court of Sri Lanka The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka (; ) is the Supreme court, highest court in Sri Lanka and the final judicial instance of record. Established in 1801 and empowered to exercise its powers subject to the provisions of the Constitution 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 Parinda Ranasinghe Jnr. The president does not have any power to make orders, mandatory or otherwise, to the attorney general. He heads the Attorney General's Department which is the

public prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in civil law. The prosecution is the legal party responsible ...

. Unlike the

attorney general of the United States The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government. The attorney general acts as the principal legal advisor to the president of the ...

, the attorney general of Sri Lanka does not have any

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

authority and is not a

political appointee Appointment may refer to: Law *The prerogative power of a government official or executive to select persons to fill an honorary position or employment in the government (political appointments, poets laureate) *Power of appointment, the legal a ...

; those functions are performed by the

minister of justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

. The attorney general is assisted by the

solicitor general of Sri Lanka The solicitor general of Sri Lanka is a post subordinate to the Attorney General of Sri Lanka, attorney general of Sri Lanka. The solicitor general of Sri Lanka assists the attorney general, and is assisted by four additional solicitors general. ...

and several additional solicitors general.

Appointment

Under section 54 of the

Constitution of Sri Lanka The Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (, ) has been the constitution of the island nation of Sri Lanka since its original promulgation by the National State Assembly on 7 September 1978. it has been formally amended ...

, the

president of Sri Lanka The president of Sri Lanka ( ''Śrī Laṅkā Janādhipati''; ''Ilaṇkai janātipati'') is the head of state and head of government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The president is the chief executive of the union governm ...

appoints the attorney general on advice of the government. The general practice is the serving solicitor general succeeds the outgoing attorney general. However, there have been instances where exceptions have been made. Under the 17th Amendment and 19th Amendment to the Constitution, the attorney general along with the chief justice, the judges of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, the members of the Judicial Service Commission, and four other officials are placed in a constitutionally guaranteed position of security from removal from office.

Powers and duties

The powers and duties of the attorney general are derived from the ''Administration of Justice Law, No. 44 of 1973'' and the ''Code of Criminal Procedure Act''.

Salary and entitlements

Traditionally the attorney general is addressed by the honorific ''

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style ...

''. The attorney general draws a monthly salary and pensionable allowance (as at 2017) of Rs 240,000 and other allowances of 332,800. He/she is entitled to an official vehicle and an official residence or an allowance of Rs 50,000 in place of such. Further a books allowance of Rs 30,000 and ''allowance for not engaging in private practice'' of Rs 150,000 is provided. The position is pensionable, and holders are entitled to government duty free permits.

List of attorneys general

Data based on: * Amerasinghe, A. Ranjit B. (1986), ''The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka: the first 185 years'',

Sarvodaya Sarvōdaya ( ''wikt:सर्व, sarv-'' "all", ''wikt:उदय, uday'' "rising") is a Sanskrit term which generally means "universal uplift" or "progress of all". The term was used by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi as the title of ...

References

External links