Mohan Peiris

Mohan Peiris PC
De facto Chief Justice of Sri Lanka [appointment declared void by government of Sri Lanka[1]]
In office 15 January 2013 – 28 January 2015
Appointed by	Mahinda Rajapaksa
Preceded by	Shirani Bandaranayake
Succeeded by	Shirani Bandaranayake
41st Attorney General of Sri Lanka
In office 2008–2011
Appointed by	Mahinda Rajapaksa
Preceded by	C. R. De Silva
Succeeded by	Shanthi Eva Wanasundera
Personal details
Spouse(s)	Priyanthi
Children	Talia Peiris
Alma mater	St. Joseph's College, Colombo Royal College Colombo Sri Lanka Law College
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	Roman Catholic

Peter Mohan Maithree Peiris, PC was the 43rd de facto Chief Justice of Sri Lanka. He previously held the post of Attorney General.^[2]

Early life and family

Peiris was educated at St. Joseph's College, Colombo and Royal College, Colombo.^[3] He played cricket for both schools.^[3] Peiris was called to the bar on 19 June 1975 and became a Solicitor of the Courts of England and Wales in 1978.^[3]

Peiris's wife Priyanthi is also an attorney-at-law. Their teenage daughter Talia died in July 2002.^[4] Peiris is a Roman Catholic and is a worshipper at All Saints’ Church, Borella.^[5]

Legal career

After qualifying, Peiris worked for senior lawyers Daya Perera and D. R. P. Gunatilleke.

Peiris joined the Attorney General's Department in 1981 as a state counsel, later becoming a Senior State Counsel.^[3] He left the Attorney General's Department in 1996.^[3]

Peiris was appointed Attorney General on 18 December 2008.^[6]

He withdrew murder charges in a case against former deputy minister Chandana Kathriarachchi and served an indictment on unlawful assembly for which the accused pleaded guilty.^[7] Furthermore, he withdrew a rape case against Government Party Parliamentarian Duminda Silva.^[8]

Peiris was appointed Senior Legal Officer to the Cabinet in September 2011.^[9] He became chairman of Seylan Bank in April 2012.^[10]

He represented Sri Lanka in The UN Committee Against Torture in 2011 in which he said that the Sri Lankan government has received intelligence information that missing lankaenews cartoonist Prageeth Ekneligoda is living in a foreign country. However he concurred that he lied when he was summoned by a local court.^[11]

Chief justice

Peiris was nominated to be Chief Justice by President Mahinda Rajapaksa following the controversial impeachment of Shirani Bandaranayake.^[12][13] The Parliamentary Council gave its approval for Peiris's appointment on 15 January 2013.^[14][15] Peiris was sworn in as chief justice on 15 January 2013.^[16][17] Peiris was officially inaugurated as chief justice at a ceremony in the Supreme Court on 23 January 2013.^[18] The media, other than the state-owned media, were banned from the ceremony which was boycotted by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), the largest lawyers association in the country.^[19][20] The ceremony was however attended by other judges including the associate judges of the Supreme Court.^[21]

Peiris' appointment drew some criticism. Peiris is considered to be an ally of President Rajapaksa and his appointment was seen by critics as further consolidation of power by the president and his family.^[22][23] United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay expressed doubts about Peiris' independence and impartiality, particularly when dealing with allegations of serious human rights violations by the Sri Lankan government.^[24][25] The International Commission of Jurists condemned Peiris' appointment, describing it as a "further assault on the independence of the judiciary".^[26][27]

Maithripala Sirisena the President elected on 8 January 2015 refused to take oaths before him on the basis his appointment was illegal and took oaths before Justice Hon. K. Sripavan the most senior Judge of the Supreme Court.

On 28 January 2015, the Government of Sri Lanka acknowledged that the appointment of 44 Mohan Peiris as the Chief Justice was void at its inception as Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake was not impeached lawfully and therefore no vacancy existed for the post of Chief Justice. The paved way for Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake to resume duties as the Chief Justice of Sri Lanka.^[1]

References

Supreme Court of Sri Lanka The Court Decisions Procedure History Court Building Current membership Chief Justice Kanagasabapathy Sripavan Puisne Justices Saleem Marsoof Chandra Ekanayake Priyasath Dep Eva Wansundera Rohini Marasinghe Buwaneka Aluwihare Sisira De Abrew Sarath De Abrew Priyantha Jayawardena Anil Goonaratne All members List of all members by court by seat by time in office by education succession timeline List of Chief Justices acting by time in office Other countries Law Portal

Chief Justices of Sri Lanka Carrington Lushington Johnston Giffard Ottley Marshall Norris Oliphant Carr Rowe Creasy Hackett Phear Cayley de Wet Burnside Bonser Layard Hutchinson Lascelles Renton Bertram Branch Fisher Macdonell Abrahams Howard Wijewardena Jayetileke Rose Basnayake Sansoni Fernando Silva Tennekoon Samarakoon Sharvananda Ranasinghe Thambiah de Silva Silva de Silva Bandaranayake Peiris Sripavan