Hugh Norman Gregory Fernando,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(17 November 1910 – 24 March 1976) was

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, ...

lawyer and judge. He was the 33rd

Chief Justice of Ceylon 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 t ...

and had served as Legal Draftsman of Ceylon.

Early life and education

Born to V. M. Fernando, a Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Ceylon, Fernando was educated at

St. Joseph's College, Colombo St. Joseph's College is a selective-entry Roman Catholic school in Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1896 by French Missionaries led by Rev. Father Christophe Ernest Bonjean. The college has over 4,000 enrolled students with a staff of over 450 as o ...

and at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, where he gained a BA degree and was called to the 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 ...

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 Ceylon, he was 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 ...

Legal career

Having acted as a

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 ...

between December 1935 to September 1936, he was appointed Assistant Legal Draftsman on 1 October 1936. On secondment he served as Secretary of the Mortgage Law Commission and the Committee Investigating Representations from Departments where strikes occurred. He was promoted to Senior Assistant Legal Draftsman on 20 April 1945. In February 1948, he was appointed a member of the Company Law Commission. Having served as Acting Legal Draftsman from October 1948 to January 1949, he was appointed Legal Draftsman on 7 January 1949. In August 1953, he served as Acting Solicitor General. Thereafter he was appointment as

Puisne Justice Puisne judge and puisne justice () are terms for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. The term comes from a combination of the two French words, (since, later) and (born) which have been combined as or ; meaning ...

of the Supreme Court of Ceylon in 1955."A Historic Injustice" In The Supreme Court - The Facts
/ref> He was appointed in 1966 succeeding

Miliani Sansoni Deshamanya Miliani Edward Claude Sansoni (18 November 1904 – 1979) was a Ceylonese judge, who served as the 32nd Chief Justice of Ceylon. Early life and education Born on 18 November 1904 to Claude Aldons Sansoni, JP, a Proctor and Hilda Gr ...

and was Chief Justice until 1973. He was succeeded by

Gardiye Punchihewage Amaraseela Silva Gardiye Punchihewage Amaraseela Silva was the 34th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka. He was appointed in 1973 succeeding Hugh Norman Gregory Fernando and was Chief Justice until 1974. He was succeeded by Victor Tennekoon Victor Tennekoon QC (9 Sept ...

Honors

He was appointed an Officer in the Order of the British Empire in the

1953 Coronation Honours The 1953 Coronation Honours were appointments by Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours on the occasion of her coronation on 2 June 1953. The honours were published in '' The London Gazette'' on 1 June 1953.New Zealand list: The rec ...

Family

His son,

Mark Fernando Mark Damien Hugh Fernando, PC (27 February 1941 – 20 January 2009) was a jurist and former judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. He died after a long bout with cancer on 20 January 2009. He was known as a Judge who stood up for judicial ...

also served as Judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernando, Hugh Norman Gregory Chief justices of Sri Lanka Chief justices of Ceylon 20th-century Sri Lankan people People from British Ceylon 1910 births 1976 deaths Sinhalese people Sri Lankan lawyers Sri Lankan barristers Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Alumni of the University of Oxford Members of Gray's Inn Ceylonese Officers of the Order of the British Empire