Aiyathurai Gnanathasan is a leading Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer, President's Counsel and Additional Solicitor General.
A. Gnanathasan | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Alma mater | Drieberg College Hartley College Jaffna College Sri Lanka Law College University of the West Indies |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
Early life and family
editGnanathasan was born in Chavakachcheri in northern Ceylon.[1][2] He is the son of V. N. Aiyathurai, Deputy Principal of Drieberg College, and P. Aiyathurai, a teacher at Drieberg College.[1][2] He was educated at the Drieberg College, Hartley College and Jaffna College.[2] After school he joined the Sri Lanka Law College, qualifying as an attorney-at-law.[2] At the college he won the "Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan Gold Medal for the Address to the Jury" in 1978 and 1979.[2]
Career
editAfter being called to bar in 1980, Gnanathasan started practising law in the chambers of President's Counsel A. Mahendrarajah.[1][2] He worked for the Sivanathan and Associates law firm.[1][2] Later he joined the Attorney-General's Department as a State Counsel.[1][2] He served as prosecutor in all of Sri Lanka's High Courts and worked on the famous "Palavi murder" case in Jaffna and "Ampara beauty queen case" in Batticaloa.[2]
Gnanathasan qualified as solicitor in the United Kingdom on 1 July 1992 and worked for the Rajah and Company law firm.[1][2] He was admitted as a practitioner (barrister and solicitor) of the Supreme Court of Tasmania on 11 April 1994.[1][2] He was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of New South Wales on 2 May 1994.[1][2]
Back in Sri Lanka, Gnanathasan became Senior State Counsel in 1995, Deputy Solicitor General on 14 July 1999 and Additional Solicitor General 30 April 2008.[1][2][3]
Gnanathasan was a visiting lecturer in criminal law at the Sri Lanka Law College between 1995 and 2007 and served as chairman of the Board of Examiners (Preliminary) at the college.[1][2] He completed the Master of Laws degree from the University of the West Indies in 1998 after receiving a Commonwealth Scholarship.[1][2] He has been a visiting lecturer and examiner at the Faculty of Law, University of Colombo since 2003.[1][2] He was appointed President's Counsel on 9 March 2009.[1][2]
Gnanathasan joined the Board of Directors of Jaffna College in 2000 and served as its chairman between 2002 and 2006.[2] He has been vice-chairman of Jaffna College Old Boys’ Association (Colombo Branch) since 2000 and he was vice-president of the Hartley College Past Pupils’ Association between 1999 and 2007.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Maniccavasgar, Chelvatamby (8 March 2009). "Add. Solicitor General to take silk as PC". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Maniccavasgar, Chelvatamby (5 March 2009). "A. Gnanathasan takes Silk as President's Counsel". Daily News (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 10 March 2009.
- ^ "Law Officers". Attorney-General's Department (Sri Lanka).