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Rajeev Amarasuriya to run for BASL President 2025/26

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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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Enthusiasm of voters and candidates at low ebb: Polls monitors

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Rohana Hettiarachchi

By Rathindra Kuruwita

More than 8,800 candidates were contesting this year’s general election, but fewer than 1,000 of them were actively campaigning, Rohana Hettiarachchi, Executive Director of the People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL), said yesterday.

“This low level of enthusiasm reflects the strain on political parties which have had to contest elections one after the other,” Hettiarachchi said, noting that voters themselves seemed less enthusiastic about the election. “There is significant disillusionment with traditional parties. Additionally, with campaign finance laws now in place, questionable individuals and entities are restricted from injecting money, leading many big spenders from previous elections to withdraw,” he said.

Although hundreds of political parties and independent groups were contesting and are allowed to establish around 600,000 campaign offices, only about 9,200 offices have been set up, Hettiarachchi added.

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SC halts Magistrate’s orders on release of unregistered jumbos

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…assumes jurisdiction over case

By A. J. A. Abeynayake

The Supreme Court issued an order yesterday (07) directing the immediate transfer of a case regarding the possession of several unregistered elephants from the Colombo Additional Magistrate’s Court to its own jurisdiction.

The Supreme Court also instructed the Magistrate’s Court not to take any further steps concerning the case. Additionally, it issued a stay order on all directives given by the Magistrate’s Court regarding the case filed by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) until the conclusion of its examination of the related petitions.

This ruling was made by a Supreme Court bench, comprising Justice Preethi Padman Surasena and Justice Arjuna Obeysekere, in response to submissions by President’s Counsel Sanjeeva Jayawardena, who argued that the previous order issued by an Colombo Additional Magistrate’s Court, allowing the release of illegally held elephants back to the individuals in possession of them was unlawful.

The Centre for Environmental and Cultural Studies and several other parties had previously filed the case, which was called for hearing yesterday (07).

President’s Counsel Sanjeeva Jayawardena also brought to the notice of the Supreme Court that despite an order from the Court of Appeal preventing the release of elephants held by the Department of Wildlife in connection with this case, the Magistrate’s Court had recently issued an order releasing the elephants back to the individuals in possession of them.

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Ranil’s coterie at passport office misleading current Minister: Unions

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By Rathindra Kuruwita

Senior officials at the Department of Immigration and Emigration, appointed during the Ranil Wickremesinghe administration, are misleading Minister Vijitha Herath regarding issues surrounding passport issuance, the Sri Lanka Immigration and Emigration Officers’ Association (SLIEOA) has said.

The SLIEOA has in a media statement, highlighted that despite the department having access to the necessary data to streamline immigration processes, a lack of foresight and inadequate planning have led to the current passport crisis.

The association pointed out that one of the main reasons for the crisis is a shortage of blank passports due to the department’s failure to accurately forecast demand. Furthermore, attempts to introduce online systems for applications and procurement were unsuccessful, as these initiatives were poorly planned and lacked proper testing.

SLIEOA also criticised the department’s decision-making approach, noting that a small group of officials, appointed for their loyalty to the Wickremesinghe administration, have made key decisions without consulting permanent staff. This includes implementing online systems without pilot projects or feasibility studies, failing to monitor or evaluate the outcomes of these projects, and following political instructions without logical assessment.

The association noted several underlying issues aggravating the situation, including a surge in demand for foreign travel permits post-pandemic, delays in procuring sufficient stock of travel permits, and the absence of a dedicated, high-standard printing facility for travel documents. Although the Court of Appeal authorised the acquisition of 750,000 blank permits in October, only a small portion of these had been delivered by late October, falling short of the necessary quantity.

The SLIEOA highlighted the lack of accurate information on available stock, which has caused public confusion and delays in processing applications. Additionally, an ineffective system for addressing public grievances has left applicants without a reliable channel for resolving their issues, leading to growing frustration.

Calling for improved planning and transparent decision-making, the SLIEOA emphasised the need for an efficient complaint resolution system to restore public confidence in the passport issuance process. The association urged the department to re-evaluate its decision-making practices to address current issues and prevent future disruptions.

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