Chief Justice and Attorney General Submit Names to President for Four Court of Appeal Vacancies

Chief Justice Murdu Fernando has forwarded the names of four senior High Court judges to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to fill four vacancies in the Court of Appeal.

Accordingly, the names submitted to the President include Kandy High Court Judge Sumudu Premachandra, Colombo High Court Judge K. Priyantha Fernando, Trincomalee High Court Judge Prem Shankar, and Colombo Civil High Court Judge Frank Gunawardena.

Additionally, Attorney General Parinda Ranasinghe has submitted the names of Senior Deputy Solicitor Generals Lakmali Karunanayake and Sudarshana de Silva from the Attorney General's Department for these vacancies.

The President will select suitable candidates from these nominations for the Court of Appeal and forward them to the Constitutional Council (CC) for approval. The Constitutional Council is scheduled to meet on February 5.

Meanwhile, it is reported that Court of Appeal President Nishshanka Bandula Karunaratne has taken pre-retirement leave effective January 31. Before going on leave, Judge Karunaratne had organized a thanksgiving ceremony for his staff on Friday.

Under these circumstances, an Acting President for the Court of Appeal is expected to be appointed soon.

A decision regarding the appointment of an Acting President of the Court of Appeal is expected to be made soon, with a senior judge currently serving expected to be appointed to the position.