Hema Henry Basnayake, QC (3 August 1902 – ?) was the 31st Chief Justice of Ceylon as well as the 29th

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 16th Solicitor General. He was appointed in 1956 succeeding acting

Chellappah Nagalingam Justice Chellappah Nagalingam, KC (25 October 1893 – 25 October 1958) was a leading Ceylonese judge and lawyer. He was a Judge of the Supreme Court of Ceylon and served as acting Governor-General of Ceylon in 1954. He also served as acting C ...

and was Chief Justice until 1964.

Legal career

Basnayake was admitted as 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, ...

on 9 March 1927. Starting his

legal practice Legal practice is sometimes used to distinguish the body of judicial or administrative precedents, rules, policies, customs, and doctrines from legislative enactments such as statutes and constitutions which might be called "laws" in the strict s ...

in the Unofficial Bar, he 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 Advo ...

on several occasions between May 1928 to June 1932. On 20 June 1932, he was appointed Crown Counsel. From Oct 1937 to September 1937, he served as Commissioner for preparation and revision of the Legislative Enactments of Ceylon. In 1939, he served as acting Assistant Legal Draftsman and was promoted to Senior Crown Counsel on 1 October 1944. During this time he served on several occasions as acting Solicitor General. On 1 March 1945, he was appointed Solicitor General and took silks as a

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1946. He served as acting Attorney General on several occasions. On 23 October 1947, he was appointed a Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Ceylon. On 11 October 1951, he was appointed

and held the position until 31 December 1955. He prosecuted journalist Herbert Hulugalle on charge of contempt of court and secured a conviction resulting in a two day jail sentence for Hulugalle. Hulugalle was defended by J. R. Jayewardene. On 1 January 1956, he was appointed Chief Justice of Ceylon, succeeding Sir Alan Rose and held the position until his retirement on 31 July 1964. He was succeeded by

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 Grat ...

. He succeeded

Peter de Abrew Peter De Abrew, MBE (1862–1940) was a Ceylonese industrialist and philanthropist. Born to William de Abrew, a successful businessman of Portuguese descent, Peter De Abrew was educated at the Colombo Academy (now Royal College, Colombo). Going i ...

as a trustee of Musaeus College in 1940 and served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees.

Sinha Basnayake Sinha Basnayake, PC is a Sri Lankan lawyer. He was a former Director of the General Legal Division of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs and a member of the Internal Justice Council. Son of the prominent lawyer Hema Henry Basnayake, QC ...

is his son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basnayake, Hema Henry 1902 births Year of death missing 20th-century Sri Lankan people Chief justices of Sri Lanka Attorneys General of Ceylon Solicitors General of Ceylon Ceylonese Queen's Counsel Ceylonese advocates Sinhalese judges People from British Ceylon