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 ...

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 ...

is the Sri Lankan government's chief legal adviser, and its primary lawyer in the

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

. The Attorney General is usually a highly respected Senior Advocate, and is appointed by the ruling government. The current Attorney General is Sanjay Rajaratnam. The president does not have any power to make orders, mandatory or otherwise, to the attorney general. He heads the Attorney General's Department which is the public prosecutor. Unlike the

Attorney General of the United States The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

, the Attorney General of Sri Lanka does not have any executive authority, and is not a political appointee; those functions are performed by the Minister of Justice. The Attorney General is assisted by the

Solicitor General of Sri Lanka The Solicitor General of Sri Lanka is a post subordinate to the Attorney General of Sri Lanka. The Solicitor General of Sri Lanka assists the Attorney General, and is assisted by four Additional Solicitors General. Note that the post was Solicit ...

and several Additional Solicitors General.

Appointment

Under section 54 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka, the

President of Sri Lanka The President of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ජනාධිපති ''Śrī Laṃkā Janādhipathi''; ta, இலங்கை சனாதிபதி ''Ilankai janātipati'') is the head of state and head of government of t ...

appoints the Attorney General on advice of the government. The general practice is the serving Solicitor General succeeds the outgoing Attorney General. However, there have been instances where exceptions have been made. Under the 17th Amendment and 19th Amendment to the Constitution, the Attorney General along with the Chief Justice, the Judges of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, the Members of the Judicial Service Commission, and four other officials are placed in a constitutionally guaranteed position of security from removal from office.

Powers and duties

The powers and duties of the Attorney General are derived from the ''Administration of Justice Law, No. 44 of 1973'' and the ''Code of Criminal Procedure Act''.

Salary and entitlements

Traditionally the Attorney General is addressed by the honorific '' The Honourable''. The Attorney General draws a monthly salary and pensionable allowance (as at 2017) of Rs 240,000 and other allowances of 332,800. He/she is entitled to an official vehicle and an official residence or an allowance of Rs 50,000 in place of such. Further a books allowance of Rs 30,000 and ''allowance for not engaging in private practice'' of Rs 150,000 is provided. The position is pensionable and holders are entitled to government duty free permits.

List of attorneys general

Data based on: * Amerasinghe, A. Ranjit B. (1986), ''The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka: the first 185 years'', Sarvodaya

References

External links