Deshamanya Ranjith Abeysuriya,
PC (1932 - 23 May 2014) was 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. He was the chairman of the
National Police Commission,
director public prosecutions of the
Attorney General's Department, president of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka and member of the Law Commission of Sri Lanka.
He was educated at
Mahinda College, Galle and 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 ...
before attending the newly established law department of 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 ...
along with
Lakshman Kadirgamar.
[ Passing the law exams at the ]Sri Lanka Law College
Sri Lanka Law College (abbreviated as SLLC), formerly known as Ceylon Law College, is a law college, and the only legal institution where one can enroll as a attorney-at-law in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1874, under the then Council of Legal ...
he became an advocate in 1955 and began his practice in Galle
Galle ( si, ගාල්ල, translit=Gālla; ta, காலி, translit=Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Souther ...
. Thereafter he joined the Attorney General's Department as 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 in 1968 gained a master's degree in Public Law from the Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
. In 1975 he became the director public prosecutions at the Attorney General's Department, however left to join the unofficial bar following political victimization. In 1988, he was appointed a President's Counsel
President's Counsel (postnominal PC) is an eminent lawyer who is appointed by the President of Sri Lanka to be one of the "President's Counsel learned in the law". The term is also recognized as an honorific which replaced the practice of appoint ...
. SAARC
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia. Its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, ...
Law. In 1998 he was made a member of the Law Commission and was awarded the title Deshamanya by the Government of Sri Lanka. In 2002 he was appointed chairman of the National Police Commission. He was a board member of the Duncan White
Major Deshamanya Duncan M. White MBE, ED (1 March 1918 – 3 July 1998) was a Sri Lankan sportsman. He was the first Ceylonese athlete to win an Olympic medal, winning silver in the 400-metre hurdles at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, Engl ...
Sports Foundation.
References
External links
Attorney General's Department
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abeysuriya, Ranjit
1932 births
2014 deaths
Ceylonese advocates
Sinhalese lawyers
Alumni of Mahinda College
Alumni of Royal College, Colombo
Alumni of the University of Ceylon
Stanford Law School alumni
President's Counsels (Sri Lanka)
People from Galle
Deshamanya
Sri Lankan expatriates in the United States