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Jayantha Jayasuriya P.C. 29th Attorney General of Sri Lanka
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Jayantha Jayasuriya
Jayantha Chandrasiri Jayasuriya, P.C. was appointed Sri Lanka’s 29th Attorney General by President Maithripala Sirisena.
He was admitted and enrolled as an Attorney-at-Law of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka in September 1982 and counts 33 years of service in the AG’s Dept, having joined the same year as a State Counsel.
He was promoted Senior State Counsel in 1996, Deputy Solicitor General in 2004, Additional Solicitor General in 2011 and Senior Additional Solicitor General in 2014. He was appointed as President’s Counsel in March 2012.
During his long career at the Dept, Mr. Jayasuriya functioned as the head of the Criminal Division of the AG’s Department and appeared in several important and sensational cases including the “Sandeep Lakshan Murder Trial”- murder of an 8-year-old boy, “Angulana Double Murder Trial”, “Royal Park Murder Trial” and “Anuruddha Ratwatte Bribery Case”.
Whilst serving at the AG’s Dept, Mr. Jayasuriya assisted the Presidential Commission of Inquiry in relation to the activities of Non-Governmental Organisations and the Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry in relation to the Malpractices and Corruption in State Institutions.
Mr. Jayasuriya was a Board Member of the Sri Lanka Child Protection Authority and a Member of the Sri Lankan Delegation to the International Cooperation Review Group of FATF Face to Face Meeting.
He also functioned as Legal Consultant to the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Central Bank. Mr. Jayasuriya worked for the United Nations as a Trial Attorney in two War Crimes Tribunals, i.e. United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Ruwanda and United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia. He was awarded “Prosecutor of the Year 2012” by the International Association of Prosecutors.
He is also a Visiting Lecturer and an Examiner of the Sri Lanka Law College and the Kotalawala Defence Academy. Mr Jayasuriya is a Vice President of the Asia Crime Prevention Foundation, Sri Lanka Chapter.
Mr Jayasuriya being a Commonwealth scholar from 1993 to 1996, has a Master of Philosophy (MPhil.) from the University of Hong Kong. He is also a Solicitor in England & Wales.
He is married with two children.