State Counsel (Sri Lanka)
A State Counsel is the public prosecutor in the legal system of Sri Lanka.
State Counsels represent the state in criminal proceedings. They are not elected, instead are public servants as Law Officers of the Attorney General's Department. To become a State Counsel, one must be a qualified Attorney at law. Senior State Counsel are members with several years of experience in public prosecution. The Attorney General and his/her deputy the Solicitor General are former State Counsels.
Prior to 1972 the post was known as Crown Counsel and was changed when Ceylon became a republic.
There are similarities between the role of the State Counsel and the Procurator Fiscal in Scotland, Crown Prosecutor in England and Wales, Crown Attorneys in Canada and District Attorneys in the United States.