Shirani Bandaranayake

Shirani Bandaranayake
43rd Chief Justice of Sri Lanka
In office
28 January 2015 – 29 January 2015
Appointed byMaithripala Sirisena
Preceded byMohan Peiris (De facto)
Succeeded byK. Sripavan
In office
18 May 2011 – 13 January 2013
Appointed byMahinda Rajapaksa
Preceded byAsoka de Silva
Succeeded byMohan Peiris (De facto)
Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka
In office
30 October 1996 – 18 May 2011
Appointed byChandrika Kumaratunga
Personal details
Born
Upatissa Atapattu Bandaranayake Wasala Mudiyanse Ralahamilage Shirani Anshumala Bandaranayake

April 1958 (age 66)
Kurunegala, North Western Province, Dominion of Ceylon
(Now Sri Lanka)
SpousePradeep Kariyawasam
ChildrenShaveen Bandaranayake Kariyawasam
Alma materAnuradhapura Central College
University of Colombo
School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
ProfessionAcademic, Lawyer

Upatissa Atapattu Bandaranayake Wasala Mudiyanse Ralahamilage Shirani Anshumala Bandaranayake (born April 1958), known as Shirani Bandaranayake (Sinhala: ශිරාණි බණ්ඩාරනායක), served as the 43rd[1] Chief Justice of Sri Lanka.[2] Although a qualified lawyer, she has never practiced law. After university Bandaranayake entered academia, holding a number of senior positions at the University of Colombo, including associate professor of law and the dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Colombo. She was first appointed to the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka in 1996, becoming Sri Lanka's first female Supreme Court Judge.[3] Bandaranayake was appointed chief justice in May 2011 following the mandatory retirement of Asoka de Silva. Bandaranayake was controversially impeached by Parliament and then removed from office by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in January 2013.[4][5] and on 28 January 2015 the government of Sri Lanka, had removed all obstacles for Bandaranayake to hold her position as the 43rd Chief Justice by the President Maithripala Sirisena, on the ground that her 2013 impeachment was unlawful and as such the appointment of Mohan Peiris, her successor, was void Ab initio. This paved the way for Bandaranayake to resume duties on 28 January 2015.[6] She retired from the position on 29 January 2015, one day after her reappointment, claiming support for a free and fair Judiciary in Sri Lanka.

  1. ^ Judicial Service Association of Sri Lanka Retrieved 18 June 2011.
  2. ^ "Overview". Judicial Service Commission Secretariat. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  3. ^ "Sri Lanka's first female Chief Justice to take oaths on Tuesday". Colombo Page. 15 May 2011. Archived from the original on 19 May 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  4. ^ Magnier, Mark (13 January 2013). "Sri Lankan president dismisses nation's first female chief justice". Los Angeles Times.
  5. ^ "Sri Lankan president ratifies chief justice's dismissal in impeachment standoff with judiciary". The Washington Post/Associated Press. 13 January 2013.[dead link]
  6. ^ "Shirani is back as CJ, Mohan out | Colombo Gazette". Archived from the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2015.