Asoka Nihal Ranjit Hewagama (born 22 July 1942) is 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 lawyer, who served as the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

' legal draftsman for 23 years, and also for some time as the Solicitor-General and the president of the Solomon Islands Bar Association.

Career

Hewagama began his career as an assistant legal draftsman in his native Sri Lanka, serving from 1972 to 1975. He then served as assistant parliamentary counsel and then parliamentary counsel in Jamaica from 1975 to 1985. The

Commonwealth Secretariat The Commonwealth Secretariat is the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is responsible for facilitating co-operation between members; organising meetings, including the Commonwealth Heads o ...

later recommended him for a position in the Solomon Islands, and he arrived there in 1985. After his first two years, then-

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 ...

Frank Kabui Sir Frank Utu Ofagioro Kabui, GCMG, CSI, OBE KStJ (born 20 April 1946) was the Governor General of the Solomon Islands from 7 July 2009 to 7 July 2019. He is also a trained judge, having been his country's first law graduate in 1975, and is a ...

asked him to stay on for another few years, and then extended his contract again, and then hired him in a permanent role. In early 2006, Hewagama wrote an article in the ''Solomon Star'' warning Solomon Islanders to be wary of donors who lobbied for changes in existing laws, describing them as seeking to "undermine" the legal system. In June 2007, police raided Hewagama's office and removed documents; Hewagama's lawyer stated that the police did not have a warrant for the confiscated items and that they were privileged documents as well. Upon an injunction filed by Hewagama's lawyer, the High Court ordered the documents returned. A hearing the next morning was delayed when no legal representative for the police attended court; a call to the

Director of Public Prosecutions The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. The title is used mainly in jurisdictions that are or have been members o ...

Ronald Bei Talasasa revealed that the police were unaware of the proceedings, and he promised to send a representative to the High Court forthwith. However, the hearing was delayed. In July 2007, Hewagama was removed from his position as legal draftsman, reportedly at the instigation of PM

Manasseh Sogavare Manasseh Damukana Sogavare (born 17 January 1955) is the sixth and current Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, serving since 24 April 2019. He previously held the office in 2000–2001, 2006—2007 and 2014–2017; in all he has served over ni ...

. The official reason given was dissatisfaction with his performance of his duties. The Cabinet was not consulted before the PM ordered the Public Service Department to terminate Hewagama. At the time, Hewagama indicated that he would file a court challenge to his termination, though by two weeks later he had not done so. Instead, he returned to his native Sri Lanka after that; Frank Kabui was elected to head the Solomon Islands Bar Association in his place. He is now a consultant in

intellectual property law Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

at Omar and Associates in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

Personal life

Hewagama obtained his

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

at the

University of Ceylon The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka (earlier Ceylon) from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the Univer ...

in 1969, and was admitted and enrolled as an advocate 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 ...

in 1971. He is an executive committee member of the Solomon Islands Tennis Federation, despite his departure reportedly most recently reappointed in 2010. He has a wife and son. Despite his long years in the Solomon Islands, he never naturalised as a citizen there.

Works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hewagama, Ranjit 1942 births Living people Alumni of the University of Ceylon Sri Lankan expatriates in Jamaica 20th-century Solomon Islands lawyers Sri Lankan expatriates in the Solomon Islands 20th-century Sri Lankan lawyers 21st-century Solomon Islands lawyers