In Sri Lanka, a Justice of the Peace and Unofficial magistrate (also known as Acting magistrate) is a judicial appointment made by the

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

to a particular jurisdiction under the ''Judicature Act No 02 of 1978''. An Unofficial magistrate is a senior

Attorney at law Attorney at law or attorney-at-law, usually abbreviated in everyday speech to attorney, is the preferred term for a practising lawyer in certain jurisdictions, including South Africa (for certain lawyers), Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and the Un ...

(with 15 years or more practice), who is a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the s ...

and has the powers and authority vested in a

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 judic ...

except the power to hear, try, or determine civil or criminal cases. Persons appointed as Unofficial magistrates may use the post-nominal JP, UM. Commonly found in magistrate courts in remote areas where there are only one Magistrate and/or Additional Magistrate, it is a nominal position awarded to a senior lawyer of the court, who as the unofficial magistrate site on behalf of the magistrate in his/her absence and postpone hearings to a later date, grant bail and remand arrested suspects pending magisterial inquiry.

History

The post was formally known as Justice of the Peace and Un-Official Police Magistrate (JP UPM) when the magistrate courts were known as police magistrate courts. Under the ''Ordinance No. 16 on 1865 section 28'', unofficial magistrates had powers to appoint persons to the special police reserve, where requested to do by a

Superintendent of Police Superintendent (Supt) is a rank in the British police and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries, the full version is superintendent of police (SP). The rank is also used in most British Overseas Territories ...

or an

Assistant Superintendent of Police Assistant superintendent, or assistant superintendent of police (ASP), is a rank that was used by police forces in the British Empire and is still used in many police forces in the Commonwealth. It was usually the lowest rank that could be held b ...

. These powers were used during the 1915 riots.

Municipalities

Under the provisions of the ''Municipal Councils Ordinance'', the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

and Deputy Mayor of a Municipal Council are ex-official Justice of the Peace and Unofficial magistrate for the administrative district in which the Municipality is situated. This would be to cover the functions of the Municipal Magistrate Court in the absence of the Magistrate assigned to it.

Criticism

Although unofficial magistrates have the power to grant

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countrie ...

, accusations have been made that certain lawyers presiding as unofficial magistrates have granted bail to their clients.Appointment of unofficial magistrates
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Notable appointees

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

Razik Fareed, OBE, JP, UM * Gate Mudaliyar Edmund Peiris, JP, UM * Sam J.C.Kadirgamar Sr, JP, UM *

James Aubrey Martensz James Aubrey Martensz (25 September 1885 – 26 March 1963) was a Ceylonese lawyer and politician. James Aubrey Martensz was born 25 September 1885, the oldest son, in a family of twelve, to James Andries Martensz (a planter) and Edith Maud n� ...

, CBE, JP, UM *

T. Rudra Thillainathan Rudra, JP, UM (1909–1960) was a Ceylonese politician. He was the mayor of Colombo from 1953 to 1954. Rudra's father Thillainathan hailed from Vaddukkoddai and he grew up in Wellawatte. He became a champion weight lifter and gain ...

, JP, UM * T.G. Gooneratne, JP, UM

References

{{reflist
Justice of the Peace and Unofficial Magistrate
Law of Sri Lanka * *

History

Municipalities

Criticism

Notable appointees

See also

References