A State Counsel is a

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 ...

, representing the

Attorney General of Sri Lanka The attorney general of Sri Lanka is the Sri Lankan government's chief legal adviser, and its primary lawyer in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. The attorney general is usually a highly respected senior advocate, and is appointed by the ruling go ...

in the

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 ...

system of

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, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

as well as representing

the state A state is a political entity that regulates society and the population within a definite territory. Government is considered to form the fundamental apparatus of contemporary states. A country often has a single state, with various administrat ...

on behalf of the Attorney General on Criminal and civil proceedings related to the state or state institutions. State Counsels exercise the office of the Attorney General in the relevant district and or specific jurisdiction. State Counsels are not elected, and are instead

public servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

s gazetted as Law Officers of the Attorney General's Department. Appointment of State Counsel are at the discretion of the Attorney General, from qualified Attorneys at law of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka recognized and recommended for service by a panel of senior state officials. State counsels, representing the Honorable Attorney General in each high court of Sri Lanka, play a crucial role in the country's criminal justice system. They wield the powers of the Attorney General within their respective jurisdictions. Without a state counsel, a high court's operations would be severely hindered, given that the majority of cases in high courts are brought forth by the Attorney General. Individuals with substantial legal expertise are carefully chosen for the position of state counsel through a highly competitive interview process, widely regarded as one of the toughest in the country. A Senior State Counsel is the higher grade, appointed following several years of experience in the role of State Counsel. Prior to 1972 the post was known as

Crown Counsel Crown counsel are lawyers, generally in Common Law jurisdictions, who provide advice to the government and acts as prosecutors in cases. In various jurisdictions their title can vary and they could also be known as the Queen's Advocate, King's Adv ...

; the name was changed when

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, ...

became a

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

. Crown Proctors became State Attorneys, serving as instructing attorneys for civil and criminal cases of the department. There are similarities between the role of the State Counsel and the

Procurator Fiscal A procurator fiscal (pl. ''procurators fiscal''), sometimes called PF or fiscal (), is a public prosecutor in Scotland, who has the power to impose fiscal fines. They investigate all sudden and suspicious deaths in Scotland (similar to a corone ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Crown Prosecutor Crown prosecutor is the title given in a number of jurisdictions to the state prosecutor, the legal party responsible for presenting the case against an individual in a criminal trial. The title is commonly used in Commonwealth realms. Examples * ...

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

Crown Attorney Crown attorneys or crown counsel () or, in Alberta and New Brunswick, crown prosecutors are the prosecutors in the legal system of Canada. Crown attorneys represent the Crown and act as prosecutor in proceedings under the Criminal Code and vario ...

s in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

s in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

References

External links

The Law Officers, Attorney General's Department
Judiciary of Sri Lanka Attorneys general by country {{SriLanka-stub

See also

References

External links