Ministry of Justice, Prisons Affairs and Constitutional Reforms

Ministry of Justice, Prisons Affairs and Constitutional Reforms
අධිකරණ අමාත්‍යාංශය; நீதி அமைச்சு
Agency overview
Jurisdiction	Government of Sri Lanka
Headquarters	Superior Courts Complex, Colombo 12; 6°56′07″N 79°51′43″E / 6.935221°N 79.861824°E
Ministers responsible	Hon. (Dr.) Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, Minister of Justice; Sudarshani Fernandopulle, State Minister of Prison Reforms and Rehabilitation;
Agency executive	Padmasiri Jayamanna, Ministry Secretary;
Child agencies	Department of the Attorney General; Debt Conciliation Board; Department of the Legal Draftsman; Department of Public Trustee; Judicial and Reforms Unit; Law Commission of Sri Lanka; Legal Aid Commission of Sri Lanka; Mediation Boards Commission; National Authority for The Protection of Victims of Crimes and Witnesses; Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court; Office of the Secretary of Labour Tribunals; Sri Lanka Judge’s Institute; Sri Lanka Law College; Superior Courts Complex Board of Management; Training Schools for Youthful Offenders;
Website	moj.gov.lk

The Ministry of Justice, Prisons Affairs and Constitutional Reforms^[2]^[a] is the cabinet ministry of the Government of Sri Lanka responsible for the implementation of policies, plans and programmes for the administration of the country's justice system, and thereby administers its courts and prisons. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe is the incumbent Minister of Justice as of 20 May 2022.^[1]

History

The post was established in 1947 under the Soulbury Constitution as one of two fixed ministerial portfolios, the other being the Ministry of Finance. The post took over several functions of the previous colonial post of Legal Secretary. The Soulbury Constitution mandated that the appointee to the post of Minister of Justice should be from the Senate of Ceylon. This provision was removed following the abolishion of the Senate in October 1971. Since 1947, it has been tradition to appoint a lawyer to the post, with a few exceptions.

Roles and responsibility

The ministry does not have oversight of policing, which comes under the Ministry of Defence.

Departments

Department of the Attorney General
Department of the Legal Draftsman
Department of Public Trustee
Judicial and Reforms Unit
Mediation Boards Commission
Law Commission of Sri Lanka
Legal Aid Commission of Sri Lanka
Debt Conciliation Board
National Authority for The Protection of Victims of Crimes and Witnesses
Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court
Office of the Secretary of Labour Tribunals
Sri Lanka Judge’s Institute
Sri Lanka Law College
Superior Courts Complex Board of Management
Training Schools for Youthful Offenders

Appointments

It also has the authority to appoint individuals to the positions of:

Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace and Unofficial Magistrate
Commissioner for Oaths
Sudden Death Inquirers
Sworn Translator

List of ministers

Parties

Sri Lanka Freedom Party United National Party Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna

	Party	Tenure
Lalitha Rajapaksa	United National Party	26 September 1947 – 1953	D. S. Senanayake Dudley Senanayake
E. B. Wikramanayake	United National Party	1953 – 1956	John Kotelawala
M. W. H. de Silva	Sri Lanka Freedom Party	1956 – June 1959	S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike
Valentine S. Jayawickrema	Sri Lanka Freedom Party	June 1959 – 1960	S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike Wijeyananda Dahanayake
E. J. Cooray	United National Party	23 March 1960 – 21 July 1960	Dudley Senanayake
Sam Fernando	Sri Lanka Freedom Party	23 July 1960 – March 1965	Sirimavo Bandaranaike
A. F. Wijemanne	United National Party	March 1965 – 1970	Dudley Senanayake
Felix Dias Bandaranaike	Sri Lanka Freedom Party	1970 – 1976	Sirimavo Bandaranaike
Ratnasiri Wickremanayake	Sri Lanka Freedom Party	1976 – 1977	Sirimavo Bandaranaike
K. W. Devanayagam	United National Party	23 July 1977 – 14 February 1980	J. R. Jayewardene
Nissanka Wijeyeratne	United National Party	14 February 1980 – 1988	J. R. Jayewardene
Vincent Perera	United National Party	1989 – 1990	Ranasinghe Premadasa
Abdul Cader Shahul Hameed	United National Party		Ranasinghe Premadasa
Harold Herath	United National Party	1993 – 1994	Dingiri Banda Wijetunga
G. L. Peiris	Sri Lanka Freedom Party	1994 – 2001	Chandrika Kumaratunga
W. J. M. Lokubandara	United National Party	2001 – 2004	Chandrika Kumaratunga
Amarasiri Dodangoda	Sri Lanka Freedom Party	2004 – 30 May 2009	Chandrika Kumaratunga Mahinda Rajapaksa
Milinda Moragoda	Sri Lanka Freedom Party	30 May 2009 – 23 April 2010	Mahinda Rajapaksa
Athauda Seneviratne	Sri Lanka Freedom Party	23 April 2010 – 22 November 2010
Rauff Hakeem	Sri Lanka Muslim Congress	22 November 2010 – 28 December 2014
Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe	United National Party	12 January 2015 - 23 August 2017	Maithripala Sirisena
Thalatha Atukorale	United National Party	25 August 2017 - 22 November 2019	Maithripala Sirisena
Nimal Siripala de Silva	Sri Lanka Freedom Party	22 November 2019 - 12 August 2020	Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Ali Sabry	Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna	12 August 2020 - 3 April 2022	Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Office Vacant		3 April 2022 - 26 April 2022	Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Ali Sabry	Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna	26 April 2022 - 9 May 2022	Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe	Independent	20 May 2022 - Present	Gotabaya Rajapaksa

Notes

^ (Sinhala: අධිකරණ, බන්ධනාගාර කටයුතු හා ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථා ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ අමාත්‍යාංශය; Tamil: நீதி, சிறைச்சாலை நடவடிக்கைகள் மற்றும் அரசியலமைப்பு மறுசீரமைப்பு அமைச்சு)

References

^ ^a ^b "LIST OF CABINET MINISTERS". cabinetoffice.gov.lk. Retrieved 2022-06-10.
^ "Extra Gazette No. 2281/41 of 27.05.2022 (Duties and Functions)" (PDF). documents.gov.lk. Retrieved 2022-06-10.

External links

[3] (Sinhala: අධිකරණ, බන්ධනාගාර කටයුතු හා ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථා ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ අමාත්‍යාංශය; Tamil: நீதி, சிறைச்சாலை நடவடிக்கைகள் மற்றும் அரசியலமைப்பு மறுசீரமைப்பு அமைச்சு)

[minister-1] "LIST OF CABINET MINISTERS". cabinetoffice.gov.lk. Retrieved 2022-06-10.

[2] "Extra Gazette No. 2281/41 of 27.05.2022 (Duties and Functions)" (PDF). documents.gov.lk. Retrieved 2022-06-10.

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