Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

Oswald Leslie De Kretser III was a Ceylonese (

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) judge. He was a judge of the

Supreme Court of Ceylon The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණය, Sri Lanka Sreshthadikaranaya; ta, இலங்கை உயர் நீதிமன்றம், Ilankai uyar neetimanram) is th ...

. Born to Oswald Leslie De Kretser II a

Puisne Justice A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...

of the

, 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 ...

. There he won the Governors Prize for Latin Prose, Director's Prize for Classics, the Harward Prize for Ancient History and Cecil Perera Prize for History. Entering the

University College, Colombo Ceylon University College was a public university college in Ceylon. Established in 1921, it was Ceylon's first attempt at university education. The college didn't award degrees under its own name but prepared students to sit the University of Lo ...

in 1928, he gained a BA from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

and became a

proctor Proctor (a variant of ''procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts: * In law, a proctor is a historical class of lawye ...

in 1937. Between 1940 and 1943, he served 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 ...

and Assistant to the

Legal Secretary of Ceylon The Legal Secretary of Ceylon, was an officer of state of the British Colonial Administration of Ceylon from 1931 to 1947, appointed from the Colonial Legal Service. The Legal Secretary one of three officers of state of the Board of Ministers o ...

and went on to join the

Ceylon Judicial Service The Judicial Service in Sri Lanka forms the professional judges of the Judiciary of Sri Lanka. It consists of the judges of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, High Courts and the judicial officers ( District judges and Magistrate The te ...

as an Acting

Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

in Chilaw in 1943. There after he was appointed acting Additional Magistrate Colombo in 1944, acting Magistrate Jaffna in 1945, District Judge Tangalle in 1947, District Judge Balapitiya in 1949, District Judge Chilaw and Puttalam in 1950, District Judge Nuwara Eliya in 1952 and District Judge Panadura in 1953. In 1968 he was appointed to the Bench of the Supreme Court, holding the post until his retirement in 1972. He was the President of the Light Opera Society of Ceylon and had the honor of having a rare species of fish, Malpulutta kretseri, named after him. He was married to Sonia Jean Marshall, they had four children.

References

External links

CORNELIS DE KRETSER – Family #1124
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Kretser, Oswald Leslie III 1910 births 20th-century Sri Lankan judges Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Alumni of the Ceylon University College Year of death missing Puisne Justices of the Supreme Court of Ceylon District Courts of Sri Lanka judges Magistrates of Sri Lanka British Ceylon judges Ceylonese proctors