Savitri Goonesekere is a jurist and

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

from Sri Lanka. She is an international expert on the rights of children.

Education

Goonesekere studied at

Ladies' College, Colombo (Latin) , motto_translation = This is the victory, even our faith - 1 John 5: 4 , location = 66 Sir Ernest de Silva mawatha, Colombo 7 , country = Sri Lanka , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Sri Lanka Colombo Municipality , pushpin_image ...

, and obtained arts and law degrees at the

University of Peradeniya The University of Peradeniya ( si, පේරාදෙණිය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය, ta, பேராதனைப் பல்கலைக்கழகம்) is a public university in Sri Lanka, funded by the University ...

in 1961, graduating with First Class Honours. She attended Harvard Law School as a Smith-Mundt Fulbright scholar, where she obtained her master’s degree in 1962.

Career

Goonesekere began her academic career as the first woman law lecturer in the Department of Law, University of Ceylon. She held the post of Senior Lecturer when the Department of Law was moved from the Peradeniya campus to Colombo in 1965, and was established as the University of Ceylon, Colombo. She also taught in the Faculty of Law, Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria, from 1977 to 1982. In 1983 Goonesekere was appointed as Professor of Law at the Open University of Sri Lanka, the first woman to hold this position, and was subsequently appointed the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Prof. Goonesekere returned to the University of Colombo in 1995 as Senior Professor of Law, and was the first woman Vice Chancellor of the University of Colombo from 1999 to 2002. Prof. Goonesekere was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Letters from the Open University of Sri Lanka and an honorary Doctorate of Law by the University of Colombo, in recognition of her contributions to these institutions. A prolific writer, Goonesekere was instrumental in the evolution of modern legal education in Sri Lanka. Her works on

family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriage ...

and child labour issues include: ''Child Labour in Sri Lanka: Learning from the Past'' (ILO:1993); ''Children, Law and Justice: A South Asian Perspective'' (Sage: 1998); and as editor, ''Violence, Law, and Women's Rights in South Asia'' (Sage:2004).

Other activities

* Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, Member of the Board (since 2016)

Recognition

* 2008 –

Fukuoka Prize The is an award established by the city of Fukuoka and the Fukuoka City International Foundation (formerly The Yokatopia Foundation) to honor the outstanding work of individuals or organizations in preserving or creating Asian culture. There are ...

* On 27 March 2019, Goonesekere was celebrated as one 12 Women Changemakers by the Sri Lanka parliament.

Selected Works

“The Legal Status of the Female in the Sri Lanka Law on Family Relations” (Gunasena:1980) “Children, Law and Justice: A South Asian Perspective” (Sage: 1998)

References

External links

Asian Development bank
Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Sri Lankan jurists Sinhalese writers Sinhalese people Sri Lankan academics Alumni of the University of Colombo Academic staff of the University of Colombo Sri Lankan women academics Alumni of the University of Peradeniya Harvard Law School alumni {{SriLanka-bio-stub