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Rajeev Amarasuriya to run for BASL President 2025/26

Published

1 year ago

2024/10/6

Rajeev

Attorney-at-Law Rajeev Amarasuriya will run for President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) for the year 2025/26 at the elections scheduled for February 2025, a news release said.He was elected Secretary of the BASL in February 2020 by a landslide receiving 83% of the votes cast, and commenced his tenure in the midst of the first country lockdown due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Amarasuriya, as Secretary of the BASL is credited for providing transformational leadership to the BASL during the period 2020–2022, which covered both the pandemic and the economic crisis, introducing many novel initiatives and completely changing the way the BASL conducted business, making use of new technology and other innovations.

He is also credited for transforming the way the BASL conducted Continuous Legal Education and Professional Development successfully reaching out to the entire membership irrespective of geographic location. He introduced the BASL Webinar Series conducted in all thrree Languages and completed 175 Webinars with the support of over 500 Lawyers as Resource Persons during these two years. These Webinars are to-date accessible publicly on the BASL YouTube Channel, the release said.

He also introduced the BASL Online Certificate Courses, which benefited approximately 2,000 Members and generated the highest revenue for the BASL at the time from courses. Many other such successful initiatives were commenced during his tenure.

Amarasuriya completed his primary and secondary education at Royal College, Colombo, where he was a Senior Prefect and the Editor of the College Magazine.

Having obtained 4A’s with an Island Ranking at his Advanced Level Examination and the Highest Number of Prizes at his last Royal College Prize Giving, he entered the Faculty of Law of the University of Colombo in the 1997/1998 batch and Graduated obtaining 2nd Class Upper Division Honours. He thereafter entered the Sri Lanka Law College for his Final Bar Examination where he topped the batch and received the Justice Siva Supramaniam Gold Medal, among other prizes.

Amarasuriya is a Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (UK), a Chartered Global Management Accountant, a Fellow Member of the Institute of Certified Management Accounts of Sri Lanka and is an Alumnus of the Harvard Kennedy School (Executive Education). He is also the recipient of the CIMA Star Gold Award by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) as the most outstanding CIMA Member below the age of 40 years at the time in 2013 and as a CIMA – LMD Trailblazer in 2021.

Having devilled in the Chambers of Dr. K. Kanag-Isvaran, PC and Mr. Sanjeeva Jayawardena, PC, and thereafter having worked as a Junior Counsel to Mr. Sanjeeva Jayawardena, PC for a decade until 2013, Amarasuriya is now an independent practitioner engaged in the areas of public law and most branches of civil litigation before the Appellate Courts. He also provides corporate and legal consultancy in a wide range of civil and commercial areas.

Having received approval from the Constitutional Council earlier this year, Amarasuriya assumed the role as a Member of the Governing Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (Formerly Monetary Board) as well as its Monetary Policy Board. He is also a Member of the Council of the University of Colombo and a Member of the Standing Committee of Legal Studies of the University Grants Commission.

He is also the Country Representative of the Commonwealth Legal Education Association and has been an Executive Committee Member of the Law Association for Asia and the Pacific (LAWASIA) since 2021.

He has been a Member of the Council of Legal Education of Sri Lanka, Commission Member of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka, Governing Board Member of the Sri Lanka National Arbitration Centre, Board Member of the Sri Lanka Accounting and Auditing Standards Board, President of the Alumni Association of the University of Colombo, Chairman of the National Law Conference in 2015, Convenor of the LAWASIA – Sri Lanka Golden Jubilee Conference in 2016, Founder Editor of the BASL Junor Bar Law Journal in 2005 and the BASL Sinhala Law Journal in 2021 and Visiting Lecturer and Examiner in Tax Law of the Faculty of Law, University of Colombo among several other appointments and offices. He has also spoken at many fora on varied topics of Law, both in Sri Lanka and overseas.

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Advisory for Heavy Rain issued for the Central, Uva, Sabaragamuwa, Eastern and North-central provinces and in Galle and Matara districts

Published

3 hours ago

2026/02/22

Priyan

Advisory for Heavy Rain Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre at 08.30 a.m. on 22 February 2026 valid for the period until 08.30 a.m. 23 February 2026

Due to the influence of the low level atmospheric disturbance in the vicinity of Sri Lanka, Heavy showers above 100 mm are likely at some places in Central, Uva, Sabaragamuwa, Eastern and North-central provinces and in Galle and Matara districts.

Therefore, general public is advised to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by heavy rain, strong winds and lightning during thundershowers

News

Matara Festival for the Arts’ inaugurated by the Prime Minister

Published

9 hours ago

2026/02/22

Priyan

The inaugural ceremony of the Matara Festival for the Arts, featuring a wide range of creations by local and international artists, was held on February 19 at the Old High Court premises of the Matara Fort, under the patronage of Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya.

The festival, centred around the Old High Court premises in Matara and the auditorium of the Matara District Secretariat, will be open to the public from 20 to 23 of February. The festival will be featured by visual art exhibitions, short film screenings, Kala Pola, and a series of workshops conducted by experts.

The inaugural event was attended by the Minister of Women and Child Affairs, Ms. Saroja Paulraj, along with artists, guests, and a large number of schoolchildren.

(Prime Minister’s Media Division)

News

Only single MP refuses salary as Parliament details pays and allowances

Published

13 hours ago

2026/02/22

Thilina Walpola

SJB Badulla District MP Nayana Wasalathilake is the only MP to forego salary and allowances, with all payments suspended following his written notification on August 20, 2025.

Only one Member of Parliament has chosen not to receive the salaries and allowances entitled to MPs, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya revealed in Parliament last Thursday, shedding light on the financial perks enjoyed by members of the Tenth Parliament.

Speaking on Thursday (Feb. 19) in response to a question from SJB Badulla District MP Chaminda Wijesiri, the Prime Minister outlined the full range of pay and allowances provided to parliamentarians.

According to Dr. Amarasuriya, MPs receive a monthly allowance of Rs. 54,285, an entertainment allowance of Rs. 1,000, and a driver’s allowance of Rs. 3,500—though MPs provided with a driver through the Ministry of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs are not eligible for the driver’s allowance.

Additional benefits include a telephone allowance of Rs. 50,000, a transport allowance of Rs. 15,000, and an office allowance of Rs. 100,000. MPs are also paid a daily sitting allowance of Rs. 2,500 for attending parliamentary sessions, with an additional Rs. 2,500 per day for participation in parliamentary sittings and Rs. 2,500 per day as a committee allowance.

Committee meetings held on non-parliament sitting days also attract Rs. 2,500 per day.

Fuel allowances are provided based on the distance between an MP’s electoral district and Parliament. National List MPs are entitled to a monthly allocation equivalent to 419.76 litres of diesel at the market price on the first day of each month.

Despite the comprehensive benefits, only SJB Badulla District MP Nayana Wasalathilaka has opted not to draw a salary or allowances. Dr. Amarasuriya said that in accordance with a written notification submitted by MP Wasalathilaka on August 20, 2025, payments have been suspended since that date.

The Prime Minister also confirmed that she, along with the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, committee chairs, ministers, deputy ministers, the Opposition Leader, and senior opposition whips, have all informed the Secretary-General of Parliament in writing that they will not claim the fuel allowance.

Challenging the ruling party’s voluntary pledge to forgo salaries, MP Wijesiri pointed out that all MPs except Wasalathilaka continue to receive their salaries and allowances. “On one hand you speak about the people’s mandate, which is good. But the mandate also included people who said they would voluntarily serve in this Parliament without salaries. Today we have been able to prove, Hon. Speaker, that except for one SJB MP, the other 224 Members are drawing parliamentary salaries,” he said.

The Prime Minister responded by defending the political culture and practice of allocating portions of MPs’ salaries to party funds. Referring to previous practices by the JVP and NPP, she said: “It is no secret to the country that the JVP has for a long time not personally taken MPs’ salaries or any allowances. I think the entire country knows that these go to a party fund. That is not new, nor is it something special to mention. The NPP operates in the same way. That too is not new; it is the culture of our political movement.”

When MP Wijesiri posed a supplementary question asking whether diverting salaries to party funds was an indirect method of taking care of MPs, Dr. Amarasuriya said: “There is no issue there. No question was raised; the Member made a statement. What we have seen throughout this week is an inability to understand our political culture and practice, and a clash with decisions taken by political movements that misused public funds. What is coming out is a certain mindset. That is why there is such an effort to find fault with the 159. None of these facts are new to people. He did not ask a question, so I have nothing to answer.”

The disclosures come days after the Government moved to abolish the parliamentary pension, a measure that has sparked renewed debate over MP compensation and the transparency of funds allocation.