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Kanagasabapathy J. Sripavan (Tamil: கனகசபாபதி சிறீபவன் Kaṉakacapāpati Ciṟīpavaṉ, Sinhala: කනකසපාපති ශ්‍රීපවන් ; born 29 February 1952) is a Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer and judge. He was Deputy Solicitor General, judge and president of the Court of Appeal, Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka and the 44th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka.

Early life and family

Sripavan was born on 29 February 1952. He is the son of Nadaraja Kanagasabapathy, an employee of Kankesanthurai Cement Factory. He was educated at Jaffna Hindu College between 1962 and 1972. He joined Sri Lanka Law College in 1974 and passed out as an attorney at law in 1976, obtaining a first class in the Intermediate Examination.

Career

After qualifying Sripavan enrolled as an attorney-at-law on 23 August 1977 and practised law at the unofficial Bar of Sri Lanka between 1977 and 1978. He then joined the Attorney General's Department as an acting State Counsel on 13 February 1978. He became a permanent State Counsel on 1 January 1979. He was promoted to Senior State Counsel on 3 March 1989.

Sripavan was appointed Deputy Solicitor General on 22 February 1996. He was the head of the Court of Appeal Unit and worked on Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court cases including Bills and Fundamental Rights applications. He supervised state counsels and revenue matters. Sripavan continued his legal studies whilst working, obtaining a diploma in Industrial Law from the University of Colombo in 1992 and Master of Laws from the Queen Mary and Westfield College, part of the University of London, in 1994.

Sripavan was appointed a judge of the Court of Appeal on 29 May 2002. He went on to become president of the Court of Appeal on 5 March 2007. He was appointed to the Supreme Court on 27 March 2008, replacing retiring Justice Nihal Jayasinghe. He was acting Chief Justice on three occasions.

Chief justice

In January 2013 43rd Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake was controversially impeached by the Parliament of Sri Lanka. Bandaranayake was subsequently removed from office by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Attorney General Mohan Peiris was appointed chief justice by Rajapaksa. Rajapaksa lost the 2015 presidential election after which the government led by newly elected President Maithripala Sirisena ruled that Bandaranayake's removal was "null and void" as it had not followed proper procedure. Peiris was sent a letter stating that his appointment had been illegal and then Bandaranayake was re-instated as chief justice on 28 January 2015. Peiris however claims that his removal from office is unconstitutional, saying that he neither retired, resigned or vacated office.

After resuming her position Bandaranayake announced that she would retire the following day - 29 January 2015. Sripavan was sworn in as Sri Lanka's 44th chief justice on 30 January 2015. He retired as chief justice on 28 February 2017.

References

1. "Senior Judge of the Supreme Court K. Sri Pavan is sworn-in as the Chief Justice before President". Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation. 30 January 2015. Archived from the original on 2 February 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
2. "Justice K. Sripavan today took oaths as the 44th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka". Asian Tribune. 30 January 2015.
3. Bastians, Dharisha (31 January 2015). "Sripavan takes office". Daily FT.
4. "Sri Lanka Appoints Minority Tamil as Top Judge". NDTV. Agence France-Presse. 30 January 2015.
5. ^ Maniccavasagar, Chelvatamby (16 March 2005). "Justice Sripavan to be felicitated". Daily News (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 29 July 2012.
6. ^ "K. Sri Pavan sworn in as new Chief Justice". The Nation (Sri Lanka). 30 January 2015.
7. ^ Balachandran, P. K. (29 January 2015). "Sripavan Second Tamil to Become Lankan Chief Justice". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on January 30, 2015.
8. ^ Rubatheesan, S. (1 February 2015). "'Today will be remembered as the day when time and nature brought about justice': CJ 43". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
9. Warnakulasuriya, Deepal (29 January 2015). "Sripavan; the next Chief Justice". The Nation (Sri Lanka).
10. ^ "News Justice Sripavan appointed CJ 44". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 1 February 2015.
11. Malalasekera, Sarath (23 March 2007). "No Court can function without industrious Bar - Justice Salaam". Daily News (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 28 July 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
12. Malalasekera, Sarath (13 May 2008). "Bench, Bar welcome new Supreme Court Judge Justice K. Sripavan". Daily News (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
13. Samarasinghe, Sonali (23 March 2008). "President caught in a judicial bind". The Sunday Leader.
14. "Sri Lanka Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake is impeached". BBC News. 11 January 2013.
15. "CJ receives order of removal". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 13 January 2013.
16. "President removes CJ". The Nation (Sri Lanka). 13 January 2013. Archived from the original on 1 February 2013.
17. "New Sri Lanka chief justice Mohan Peiris sworn in amid opposition". BBC News. 15 January 2013.
18. Bulathsinghala, Frances (16 January 2013). "New CJ of Sri Lanka sworn in". Dawn.
19. March, Stephanie (29 January 2015). "Sri Lanka reinstates impeached chief justice Shirani Bandaranayake". ABC News (Australia).
20. "Sri Lanka's new president reverses 'revenge politics' of Rajapaksa regime". The Guardian. Associated Press. 29 January 2015.
21. "Sri Lankan President appoints Tamil as Chief Justice". The Hindu. Press Trust of India. 31 January 2015.
22. Balachandran, P. K. (31 January 2015). "Sacked Lankan Chief Justice Says His Removal Was Unconstitutional". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on November 24, 2015.
23. "My removal unlawful, claims Peiris". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 1 February 2015.
24. ""I have not retired, resigned or vacated office:" Mohan Peiris". Sunday Island (Sri Lanka). 1 February 2015.
25. Balachandran, P. K. (28 January 2015). "Sirisena Sacks Chief Justice Peiris and Reinstates Bandaranayake". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015.
26. "Shirani retires; Sripavan to be appointed CJ today". The Island (Sri Lanka). 30 January 2015.
27. "Sri Lanka reinstates Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake". BBC News. 28 January 2015.
28. "Tamil Sripavan appointed Sri Lanka's top judge". BBC News. 30 January 2015.
29. "Sripavan sworn in as CJ". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 30 January 2015.
30. "Sri Lanka: Chief Justice retires next Tuesday". Sri Lanka Guardian. 24 February 2017.

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• 1952 births
• 21st-century Sri Lankan people
• Alumni of Jaffna Hindu College
• Alumni of Queen Mary University of London
• Alumni of Sri Lanka Law College
• Chief justices of Sri Lanka
• Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka judges
• Living people
• People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka
• Presidents of the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka
• Puisne Justices of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka
• Sri Lankan Tamil people
• Sri Lankan lawyers