The Attorney General's Department is a

non-ministerial government department Non-ministerial government departments (NMGDs) are a type of department of the United Kingdom government that deal with matters for which direct political oversight has been judged unnecessary or inappropriate. They are headed by senior civil se ...

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 ...

that supports the

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

and his/her deputy the solicitor general. The department is headed by the attorney general and comes under the purview of the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

. The office of "Attorney General" was formally adopted in the year 1884.

Operational functions

Attorney General's Department provides legal assistance to the Central Government, Provincial Councils, Government Departments, Statutory Boards and other Semi Government institutions. Legal officers of the Department provide instructions to the Government and Governmental Institutions on Civil, Criminal, Constitutional and Commercial matters and represent the Government and Governmental Institutions for the Cases, instituted in the Supreme Court, other Courts and labor tribunals in the Island.

Organisation

Three main Divisions named Civil Division, Criminal Division and State Attorney Division have been established in the Department for Civil and Criminal Cases and the Establishment Division & Account Division have been established to conduct administrative work. In addition to those divisions, Corporation Division, EER Unit, which performs duties under Extra Emergency Regulations and Prevention of Terrorism Act, Child Abuse Cases Unit, Immigration & Emigration Unit, Public Petitions Unit and Supreme Court Unit have been established for the smooth functioning of the Attorney General's Department.

Current attorney general

As of May 2021,

Sanjay Rajaratnam Sanjay Rajaratnam, PC is a Sri Lankan lawyer. He is the current Attorney General of Sri Lanka. He previously served as the Acting Solicitor General of Sri Lanka from October 2019 up until May 2021. Education Rajaratnam received his primary ...

is the current attorney general of Sri Lanka, he was appointed by the Parliamentary Council approved, replacing the previous AG

Dappula de Livera Dappula de Livera is a Sri Lankan lawyer and the former Attorney General of Sri Lanka. He previously served as the Solicitor General of Sri Lanka from February 2018 and took over as acting attorney general from 29April 2019 until his formal appo ...

Organizational structure

Lawyers' of the Attorney General's Department are known as the ''Law Officers''. *

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

(AG) * Solicitor General (SG) * Senior Additional Solicitors General (SASG) * Additional Solicitors General (ASG) * Senior Deputy Solicitors General (SDSG) * Deputy Solicitors General (DSG) * Senior State Counsel * State Counsel * Assistant State Counsel * Senior State Attorney * State Attorney * Senior Assistant State Attorney * Assistant State Attorney

Former posts

* Senior Crown Counsel – replaced by Senior State Counsel * Crown Counsel – replaced by State Counsel * Crown Proctor – replaced by State Attorney

External links and references

Attorney General's Department

References

A Law of Sri Lanka {{Asia-law-stub