Ainsley Clive "Bunty" de Zoysa, PC (1923 - 22 September 1983) was a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

n criminal lawyer.

Early life and education

Born to

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

Francis de Zoysa Sir Francis Sreenath de Zoysa Abeysiriwardena, KC (1874–1942) was a Ceylonese lawyer and statesmen. He was a member of the State Council of Ceylon and a president of the Ceylon National Congress. Legal career He was born in the coastal village ...

, KC an

Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

and member of the first

State Council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...

and Lady Ethel Perera Amarasekera Siriwardena, his brothers were

DIG Digging, also referred to as excavation, is the process of using some implement such as claws, hands, manual tools or heavy equipment, to remove material from a solid surface, usually soil, sand or rock (geology), rock on the surface of Earth. Di ...

Sydney de Zoysa Sydney Godfrey de Zoysa (January 15, 1909 - October 20, 1994) was a Sri Lankan senior police officer. A former Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) of Range II and Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Internal Security, he was one of co-co ...

Stanley de Zoysa Stanley de Zoysa (27 June 1907 - 10 December 1970) was a Sri Lankan businessmen and politician. He was the former Cabinet Minister of Finance (1956–1959) in S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike's government, subsequently Minister of Interior (1959–1960 ...

and

Lucien de Zoysa Lucien Edward de Zoysa (1917 – 1995) was a Ceylonese cricketer who played first-class cricket between 1947 and 1954. He became a stage actor, playwright, author, and cricket commentator on radio. Early life and education Lucien de Zoysa was one ...

Richard de Zoysa Richard Manik de Zoysa (Tamil: இரிச்சர்ட் டி சோய்சா) ( Sinhala:රිචඩ් ද සොයිසා) (18 March 1958 – 18 February 1990) was a well-known Sri Lankan journalist, author, human rights activ ...

was his nephew. He was educated at the

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo is a selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton in Janua ...

and at the

Ceylon 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 enroll as a attorney-at-law in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1874, under the then Council of Legal ...

, taking oaths as an Advocate in 1949.

Legal career

Having practiced under Dr

Colvin R de Silva Colvin Reginald de Silva (1907 – 27 February 1989; commonly known as Colvin R. de Silva) was a Cabinet Minister of Plantation Industries and Constitutional Affairs, prominent member of parliament, Trotskyist leader and lawyer in Sri Lanka. ...

, Bunty de Zoysa joined the Attorney General’s Department 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 Advo ...

in 1951, on the invitation of

Alan Rose Sir Alan Edward Percival Rose was a British barrister and colonial judge. Early life and education Rose was born in London, the son of author Charles Edward Rose. He was educated at Aldenham School and Trinity College, Cambridge. He served in ...

, the Attorney General. He developed a reputation as a criminal prosecutor. Dissatisfied with the lack of proportions, Bunty de Zoysa along with H. L. de Silva resigned from the Attorney General’s Department and joined the Unofficial bar, where he quickly developed a successful practice as a criminal lawyer in both the original and in the appellate courts. He was appointed a

President's Counsel President's Counsel (postnominal PC) is an eminent lawyer who is appointed by the President of Sri Lanka to be one of the "President's Counsel learned in the law". The term is also recognized as an honorific which replaced the practice of appoint ...

, elected President of the Bar Association and served as a Board Director of the

Bank of Ceylon Bank of Ceylon (BOC; Sinhala: ලංකා බැංකුව ''Lanka Bænkuwa'', Tamil: இலங்கை வங்கி ''Ilangai Vangi'') is a state-owned, major commercial bank in Sri Lanka. Its head office is located in an iconic cyli ...

from 1977 to 1983. He led the Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry into misuse of power by

Sirima Bandaranaike Sirima Nicole Wiratunga (14 February 1964 – 7 December 1989), known simply by her first name Sirima, was a singer who sang in English and French. She was primarily known for her duet " Là-bas", recorded in 1987 with Jean-Jacques Goldman, which w ...

and

Felix Dias Bandaranaike Felix R. Dias Bandaranaike ( Sinhala:ෆීලික්ස් ඩයස් බණඩාරනායක) (5 November 1930 – 26 June 1985) was a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, who served as Cabinet Minister of Finance, Parliamentary Secret ...

, during the Bandaranaike government between 1970 and 1977.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Zoysa, Ainsley Clive President's Counsels (Sri Lanka) Sinhalese people Sri Lankan lawyers Ceylonese advocates Alumni of Royal College, Colombo 1923 births 1983 deaths People from British Ceylon