Hettikankanange Nalin Jayalath Perera (born 29 April 1954) is a Sri Lanka judge who served as the 46th

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 ...

Education and early career

Educated at

St. Thomas' College, Kotte St. Thomas College () is a Catholic school in Kotte, Sri Lanka. A national school, it serves a mix of boys and girls, from grades 1 to 13. History St. Thomas' College was established by Rev. Father Zacharias Dabrera, Missionary Oblates of Mary I ...

and S. Thomas' College, Gurutalawa, he studied law at the

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 ...

, passing out in 1977. His contemporaries included

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 ...

and

Jeyaraj Fernandopulle Jeyaraj Fernandopulle (, , 11 January 1953 – 6 April 2008) was a Sri Lankan politician who served as a cabinet Minister and a Member of Parliament in Sri Lanka. He was a Roman Catholic and hailed from a minority ethnic group Colombo Ch ...

. Having taken oaths 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 ...

, he worked under

Daya Perera Lt. Colonel Daya Perera, PC (died June 16, 2013) was a Sri Lankan diplomat and lawyer, who was the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Canada and Ambassador to the United Nations in New York City. Education Educated at Royal College Colombo, Pere ...

.SC judge Nalin Perera sworn in as new Chief Justice of Sri Lanka
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Judicial career

Lower courts

Perera served as a Primary Court judge from 1980, in Embilipitiya and Welimada. In 1984, he was appointed as a

Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

. He functioned as the Magistrate of

Mount-Lavinia Mount Lavinia (, ) is a suburb in Colombo, Sri Lanka located within the administrative boundaries of the Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia municipal limits. The area is a mostly residential suburb, known as Colombo's beach retreat it is famed for its "Go ...

, Walasmulla,

Kalutara Kalutara (, ) or Kalutota is a major city in Kalutara District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is also the administrative capital of Kalutara District. It is located approximately south of the capital Colombo. The city holds a unique posit ...

and

Colombo Fort Fort (Colombo) (Sinhala: ; Tamil: ) is the central business district of Colombo in Sri Lanka. It is the financial district of Colombo and the location of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and the World Trade Centre of Colombo from which the CSE ...

. He became a

District Judge District Judge may refer to: * A United States federal judge, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate * A judge in a state court (United States), where the state is divided into judicial districts * * A judge in the district courts ...

in 1990.

High court

In 2001 he was appointed a High Court Judge and served in

Ratnapura Ratnapura (, ; , ) ("City of Gems" in Sinhala and Tamil) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Sabaragamuwa Province, as well as the Ratnapura District, and is a traditional centre for the Sri Lankan gem trade. It is loca ...

Kandy Kandy (, ; , ) is a major city located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy from 1469 to 1818, under the Kingdom of Kandy. The city is situated in the midst of ...

and

Nuwara Eliya Nuwara Eliya ( ; ) is a city in the hill country of the Central Province, Sri Lanka. Its name means "city on the plain (table land)" or "city of light". The city is the administrative capital of Nuwara Eliya District, with a picturesque landsc ...

. He served as a Criminal High Court judge and became one of the first High Court Judges appointed to the newly formed Civil Appellate High Courts in Kandy. While High Court Judge of Ratnapura, he presided over the trial of the murder of Padmasiri Thrimavitharana.

Appeal court

In 2011, he was appointed a Justice of the

Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

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 ...

and

served until 2016.

Supreme court

He was appointed by

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 ...

as a Justice of the Supreme Court in March 2016 to replace Justice Sarath de Abrew on his retirement. In October 2018, he was nominated by President

to the Constitutional Council for post of Chief Justice on the retirement of Justice Priyasath Dep. Following the approval of the Constitutional Council, he took oaths as the 46th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka on 12 October. After serving six months in office Perera retired upon reaching the age of 65. A ceremonial farewell was held by the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

on 5 April. Perera's successor,

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 ...

Jayantha Jayasuriya Jayantha Chandrasiri Jayasuriya, President's Counsel, PC () is a lawyer who served as the 47th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka from April 2019 to October 2024. Jayasuriya was approved by the Constitutional Council (Sri Lanka), Constitutional Council ...

was approved by the Constitutional Council on the 26 April.

Family

He is married to Shirani Perera, who is a lawyer. His sister was Justice Sherin Madawala, former Court of Appeal Judge. He and his sister were the first brother and sister to serve in the Court of Appeal.Justice Nalin Perera sworn in as 46th Chief Justice
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perera, Nalin 20th-century Sri Lankan lawyers 21st-century Sri Lankan people Alumni of Sri Lanka Law College Chief justices of Sri Lanka Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka judges Judges of the high courts of Sri Lanka Living people Puisne justices of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka Sinhalese people Sri Lankan lawyers 1954 births