Victor Tennekoon

Deshamanya Justice Victor Tennekoon QC (9 September 1914 – April 1990) was a leading Sri Lankan academic, judge and jurist. He served as the 35th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka as well as the 33rd Attorney General and 23rd Solicitor General.^[1][2] He was appointed Chief Justice in 1974 and was succeeded by Neville Samarakoon.^[3] From 1979 to 1984 Tennekoon served as Chancellor of the University of Peradeniya.

Early life, education and family

Tennekoon was born to a distinguished family on 9 September 1914 in Central Province, British Ceylon. He had four brothers Herbert, who became the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Reginold (MP Minipe 1950s), George, a Professor of Pathology at Peradeniya University and Kenneth an engineer who emigrated to the UK in 1956 and one sister Dulcie (Wijenaike). He attended St. Anthony's College in Kandy. Tennekoon obtained a Bachelor of Arts from the University of London and subsequently entered the Ceylon Law College. He was called to the Bar on 4 May 1943.^[1] Tennekoon was married to Semitha. They had son Asita & two daughters Dayanthi and Priyani.^[4]

Legal career

Tennekoon was the first Kandyan on the Bench. Practising for some time at the Kegalle Bar, on 1 October 1946 he joined the Attorney-General's Department as a Temporary additional Crown Counsel. He specialized in Civil work, however did prosecute in some important cases including the case of the 1962 coup d'état attempt.^[5]

In 1965 he was appointed Solicitor General of Sri Lanka and was conferred with the title of Queen's Counsel.^[6] In 1972 he was appointed Attorney General, after which he served as a Judge of the Court of Appeal, rising to be Chief Justice in 1974.

Other work

After his legal career Tennekoon work in many other academic and legal capacities. From 14 March 1949 to 5 March 1951 he served as Secretary to the Kandyan Peasantry Commission. He worked as an advisor to the Government on aspects of international law relating to the nationality problems of Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka in collaboration with Sir Humphrey Waldock. He was also Chairman of the Presidential Commission on Development Councils from 1970 to 1980.Tennekoon also served as Chairman of a number of organisations such as the Law Commission, the Salaries Review Committee, L. B. Finance Company, the Central Hospitals Ltd, and Deputy Chairman of the Commercial Bank of Ceylon. In 1984 he chaired the Ministry of Justice Law's Delays seminar and the Committee on the Courts of Appeal.^[1]

Tennekoon served as Chancellor of the University of Peradeniya from 1979 to 1984, he was conferred the degree of Doctor of Laws (LL.D) honoris cause by the university.^[5] He was conferred the national honour of the title of Deshamanya in the first ever Independence Day National Honours list in 1986.^[7]

References

External links

• Travels of Sri Lanka President

Chief Justices of Sri Lanka
Carrington Lushington Johnston Giffard Ottley Marshall Norris Oliphant Carr Rowe Creasy Hackett Phear Cayley de Wet Burnside Bonser Layard Hutchinson Lascelles Renton Bertram Branch Fisher Macdonell Abrahams Howard Wijewardena Jayetileke Rose Basnayake Sansoni Fernando Silva Tennekoon Samarakoon Sharvananda Ranasinghe Thambiah de Silva Silva de Silva Bandaranayake Peiris Sripavan