Lucien Macull Dominic de Silva, QC, PC (25 April 1893 – 28 November 1962) was a Ceylonese lawyer and judge, who was a

Solicitor General of Ceylon The solicitor general of Sri Lanka is a post subordinate to the attorney general of Sri Lanka. The solicitor general of Sri Lanka assists the attorney general, and is assisted by four additional solicitors general. Note that the post was solicit ...

, sat on the

Supreme Court of Ceylon The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka (; ) is the 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 Supreme C ...

and the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 August ...

Education

Born in

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

to G. de Silva. De Silva was educated at

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo also known as; Royal Colombo, Colombo Royal College or Colombo Royal) is a Single-sex education, boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started by Joseph Marsh (priest), Joseph Mar ...

Trinity College, Kandy Trinity College, Kandy is a private Anglican boys' school located in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It offers both day and boarding facilities. It was founded in 1872 by British Anglican missionaries of the Church Missionary Society, modelled on Britis ...

, and entered

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

in 1911. He graduated in 1914 with a BA in

Mathematical Tripos The Mathematical Tripos is the mathematics course that is taught in the Faculty of Mathematics, University of Cambridge, Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. Origin In its classical nineteenth-century form, the tripos was a di ...

Legal career

He was called to the English Bar as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

in 1916 from the

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

. On his return to he enrolled as an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

and started his legal practice in the

unofficial bar The unofficial bar in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separa ...

. He was appointed Solicitor-General for Ceylon in 1931, serving till 1934 and was appointed a Ceylonese

King's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1932. In 1932, he served briefly

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad range of sk ...

Attorney General for Ceylon. In 1933, he was appointed

Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Ceylon 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 ...

. He retired from the service of the government of Ceylon in 1934. In 1938 he was appointed an English

in 1932. He was appointed chairman of the Commission to Enquire into Bribery, State Council, Ceylon from 1941 to 1943, which found several elected members of

State Council of Ceylon The State Council of Ceylon was the unicameral legislature for Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), established in 1931 by the Donoughmore Constitution. The State Council gave universal adult franchise to the people of the colony for the first time. It ...

has accepted bribes, resulting in their removal from the State Council. He thereafter served as the chairman of the Commission to enquire into Law relating to Mortgage, Credit Facilities and Protection of Lands of Agriculturists, Ceylon, 1943–45; chairman, Delimitation Commission, Ceylon, 1946. He was Ceylon's delegate to the Commonwealth Conference on Citizenship, 1947; chairman, Commission to enquire into Law Relating to Companies, Ceylon, 1948; Ceylon Delegate, Commonwealth Relations Conference, Canada, 1949. In 1951, the Ceylon government decided to seek the appointment of a semi-permanent judge from the island to the

, and de Silva was selected to fill the vacancy. For tax reasons, on 1 October 1952, de Silva was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Ceylon. In January 1953, de Silva reached London and began to sit on the Judicial Committee. De Silva became a

Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher c ...

of Gray's Inn and was elected an honorary fellow of St John's College, Cambridge in 1956. He married Anne Edwards, daughter of George G. Edwards, of Liandrinio, Montgomeryshire in 1930. They had no children. He died on 28 November 1962 following a brief illness at his home in Willow Brook, Hassocks, Sussex.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Silva, Lucien Macull Dominic Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Ceylonese members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Puisne justices of the Supreme Court of Ceylon Solicitors general of Ceylon Ceylonese Queen's Counsel English King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel 20th-century Sri Lankan judges Sri Lankan barristers Ceylonese advocates Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Alumni of Trinity College, Kandy Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge Members of Gray's Inn 1893 births 1962 deaths