Shirani Bandaranayake

Upatissa Atapattu Bandaranayake Wasala Mudiyanse Ralahamilage Shirani Anshumala Bandaranayake (born April 1958), known as Shirani Bandaranayake (ශිරාණි බණ්ඩාරනායක), served as the 43rd Chief Justice of Sri Lanka.

Although a qualified lawyer, she has never practiced law.

After university Bandaranayake entered academia, holding a number of senior positions at the University of Colombo, including associate professor of law and the dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Colombo.

Bandaranayake was born in April 1958 in Kurunegala.

She is the daughter of Flora and Wilson Bandaranayake.

Her mother was an English trained teacher whereas her father was a Provincial Director of Education.

Bandaranayake has a sister, Renuka, who is an engineering graduate from Moratuwa university now living in Perth, Australia.

When Bandaranayake was young her father changed jobs on a number of occasions and as result she studied at a number of schools: Ginigathhena Maha Vidyalaya (1962–65), Hettimulla Bandaranayake Vidyalaya (1965), Tholangamuwa Vidyalaya (1965–70), Tholangamuwa Central College (1970–72).

She then studied at Anuradhapura Central College where she passed her GCE Advanced Levels in 1976.

She then entered the University of Colombo's Faculty of Law, graduating in December 1980 with an upper second Bachelor of Laws honours degree.

Bandaranayake became a visiting lecturer at the University of Colombo's Faculty of Law in 1981.

She obtained a Master of Philosophy degree from the University of Colombo in October 1983.

She qualified as an attorney at law in September 1983.

In March 1986, she obtained a PhD from the law school at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, becoming the first woman in Sri Lanka to obtain this degree in law from a foreign university.

She held several positions in the department before being appointed Head of the Department of Law in 1987 and also served on the Judicial Service Commission of Sri Lanka.

In the same year she was awarded the Commonwealth Open Scholarship and the Chevening Scholarship in 1989.

She served as acting dean of the faculty several times before being appointed dean in 1992.

In 1993 she became associate professor of Law "on merit".

She acted as vice-chancellor on a number of occasions.

After her admission to the bar, Bandaranayake worked as an attorney-at-law of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka.

She was first appointed to the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka in 1996, becoming Sri Lanka's first female Supreme Court Judge.

She was also awarded the Fulbright-Hays Fellowship in 1996 and the British Council Assert Award in 1993 and 1994.

Bandaranayake is married to a former corporate executive Pradeep Kariyawasam.

Shaveen is their only child.

She was controversially appointed to the Supreme Court on 30 October 1996 by President Chandrika Kumaratunga on the recommendation of Mr G. L. Peiris, then Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.

She was the first female justice of the Supreme Court.

Bandaranayake had never served as a judge and she had never practiced law.

Her appointment to the Supreme Court led to protests from lawyers and judges.

She soon became the most senior Supreme Court Judge.

Bandaranayake served as acting chief justice on 11 occasions.

Bandaranayake was appointed chief justice in May 2011 following the mandatory retirement of Asoka de Silva.

In 2011 President Mahinda Rajapaksa appointed Bandaranayake as Chief Justice, succeeding Asoka de Silva who retired on 17 May 2011.

She took her oaths before President Rajapaksa on 18 May 2011.

An impeachment motion against Bandaranayake signed by 117 UPFA MPs was handed to Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa on 1 November 2012.

Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa revealed the 14 charges against Bandaranayake on 6 November 2012 which included failing to disclose financial interests, abuse of power and disregarding the constitution.

Bandaranayake has denied the charges and refused to resign from her position.

Bandaranayake was controversially impeached by Parliament and then removed from office by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in January 2013.

and on 28 January 2015 the government of Sri Lanka, had removed all obstacles for Bandaranayake to hold her position as the 43rd Chief Justice by the President Maithripala Sirisena, on the ground that her 2013 impeachment was unlawful and as such the appointment of Mohan Peiris, her successor, was void Ab initio.

This paved the way for Bandaranayake to resume duties on 28 January 2015.

She retired from the position on 29 January 2015, one day after her reappointment, claiming support for a free and fair Judiciary in Sri Lanka.