A. W. H. Abeyesundere

Justice A.W.H. Abeyesundere

Hon. Justice A.W.H. Abeyesundere, Q.C. (May 4, 1906 - January 31, 1988) was a Sri Lankan lawyer, independence activist, former Attorney-General and judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka.

Roots & Lineage

A.W.H. Abeyesundere was born on May 4, 1906 in the southern Sri Lanka town of Hikkaduwa, the youngest in a family of seven. His father was a planter and his mother a homemaker. Just three of his siblings survived to adulthood including Dr. E.R. Abeyesundere, a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons and A.C.L. Abeyesundere, an Attorney-at-law.

He traced his lineage on his father's side to Yathramulle Muhandiram from the Dutch era (circa 1669) who was a building contractor awarded the title of Muhandiram by the Dutch for constructing the Dutch fort in Galle using his many elephants. On his mother's side he was a direct descendant of General Wickremasinghe who was the Army Commander of King Keerthi Sri Rajasinghe (1747-1781) of Seethawaka to whom former Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe also traces his roots.

Education & Politics

Abeyesundere was educated at St. Joseph's College, Colombo where he excelled in his studies. He had the unique distinction of coming first in the entire British Commonwealth in English, Latin & Greek at both the Junior Cambridge Examination as well as the Senior Cambridge Examination and won a scholarship to University. He read western classics and economics for a Bachelor or Arts degree from the University of London.

Soon after, while still a student at the Ceylon Law College, he became political aide cum private secretary to Sri Lanka's first Prime Minister D. S. Senanayake. At Law College he came first at the final examination in all three years and passed out with distinction as an Advocate of the Ceylon Supreme Court.

Meanwhile he was in the thick of pre-independence politics as Joint Secretary of the Lanka Mahajana Sabha with the late S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike who later became Sri Lanka's 4th Prime Minister. He was also Secretary of the Ceylon National Congress which was modeled on the lines of the Indian National Congress that was fighting for independence from British rule. As a staunch Buddhist he was very active in Buddhist affairs and was Vice president of the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress. He was the person who first introduced Dudley Senanayake (who became Sri Lanka's 2nd Prime Minister) to the public at his first political meeting. Until joining government service he played an active role in pre-independence politics with his intimate friends Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike and President Junius Richard Jayewardene.

Legal career

Abeyesundere joined Government Service as an Assistant Legal Draftsman in the late 1940s and rose to be Legal Draftsmen in the mid 50s. Whilst holding that office he had the unique distinction of being conferred silk and appointed a Queen's Counsel which was the first and last time a holder of the office was appointed a Queen's Council. During the communal riots in 1958, he was appointed legal advisor to the Governor General of Ceylon and attached to Queen's House. It was during this time that he was also made a Justice of the Peace to facilitate his functions in assisting the Governor.

He subsequently held the office of Bribery Commissioner in addition to that of Legal Draftsman and also acted as Attorney General of Sri Lanka; a record unparalleled where a single individual held all three offices at the same time. During his tenure as Attorney General he was responsible for indicting the assassin and co-conspirators who assassinated Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike and also for introducing the use of Sinhala Language in the Supreme Court for the first time. He was subsequently elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. He had the unique distinction while a Supreme Court Judge of not having a single of his judgments overturned by the Privy Council on Appeal. He retired as a Senior Puisne Justice.

Post Retirement Career

Following his retirement from the Supreme Court, he was appointed by the Commonwealth Secretariat in London to be Head of the Institute of Legislative Drafting for the entire East & Southern African Region situated in Lusaka, Zambia. On his return to Sri Lanka after a period in London, he was appointed as Chairman of the Committee to suggest changes to the Sri Lanka Administrative Service. He served on many committees and in many organizations, both in an official capacity as well as a personal one, during his long and illustrious career.

Passing

He passed away in 1988 after a brief illness at age 81 leaving behind his wife Sumana, who subsequently passed away in 1990, and a son Dr. Sunil Abeyesundere, daughter-in-law Supipi (nee Wijeratne) and grandchildren Nilipi & Asanka all presently in the U.S.A.