Dr. Sunil Abeyaratne, an Attorney-at-Law with 38 years of active legal practice, will contest for the position of President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) for 2025-2026. He previously served as secretary to the BASL (2006-2008), Zonal Vice President, Executive Committee member, BASL Newsletter Editor (2000-2002), and BASL Law Journal Assistant Editor (1997-2006). During his 36 years on the Bar Council, he chaired the Continuing Legal Education, National Law Conference, and IT Law Committees.
He was elected Vice President of the Law Students’ Union at Sri Lanka Law College in 1985 with the highest majority. He is an alumnus of Royal College, Colombo where he actively involved in various extracurricular activities, including the school Cadet platoon.
A pioneer in IT law in Sri Lanka, Dr. Abeyaratne earned the first PhD in IT Law from the University of Colombo and boasts an impressive academic record, holding an LLM from Queen Mary College, University of London, an MBA from Indira Gandhi National Open University, and a Diploma in Forensic Medicine Science and Toxicology from the Faculty of Medicine, Colombo.
Enrolled as an Attorney-at-Law in 1986, he has had a distinguished career practicing civil, criminal, commercial, and public law in appellate and first-instance courts. His legal journey began under the mentorship of notable figures such as Nimal Senanayake PC (former BASL president), Daya Perera PC, and Thivanka Wickramasinghe PC. Dr. Abeyaratne is also a qualified International Commercial Arbitrator from the Centre of Commercial Law Studies, London.
During his tenure as Secretary of BASL, he launched ‘Law Week,’ set up the IT Law committee, and conducted an island-wide series of educational projects to educate members on IT Law as a new subject. He organized numerous conferences, including the first E-commerce seminar (2004) and the first National ICT Law conference (2006), and served as chairman of the sessions committee at the Presidents of Law Associations (POLA) conference in Colombo (2017). He represented BASL at the POLA conference in Canberra (2018) and attended IBA conferences in Mumbai (1995) and Amsterdam (2002).
Dr. Abeyaratne authored the first book on ICT Law in Sri Lanka, “Introduction to ICT Law,” and the “Lawyers Handbook on ICT Law.” He has written over 100 articles for national and international law journals and presented more than 100 research papers globally. As a PhD and MPhil supervisor, he is a visiting lecturer in ICT Law, Commercial Arbitration, Construction Law, and Criminal Law across various institutions, including the Faculty of Law Colombo and the Sri Lanka Police Academy. He introduced ICT Law as a new subject in these institutions and served as an international researcher at Yunnan University, Kunming (2015).
Since 2006, Dr. Abeyaratne has served LAWASIA, holding positions including Vice President (2014-2015) and Chairman of the Communication Data Protection and Technology Committee since 2022. He addressed LAWASIA conferences in multiple countries and will moderate and speak at the Kuala Lumpur Conference on Data Protection under AI on 14.10.2024.
In 2015, he addressed the 800th anniversary Magna Carta Conference in London on behalf of LAWASIA. He also spoke at the SAARC IT Law conference in 2009 and was nominated for the UNCITRAL conference in Hong Kong in 2019.
Dr. Abeyaratne served five years on the incorporated Council of Legal Education, introducing ICT Law as a subject at Sri Lanka Law College. He chaired the e-commerce review committee appointed by the Ministry of Justice and has held various leadership roles in organizations such as Lions Clubs International and Sri Lanka Jaycees.
His vision for the BASL includes maintaining its status as an apolitical professional body, securing members’ rights, uplifting the legal profession’s quality, and ensuring the rule of law. He aims to create new opportunities for junior members of the Bar to thrive in their noble profession while contributing to the country’s socioeconomic development.
