Appreciation

Dr. H. W. Jayewardene, QC

Twenty years ago on April 19, 1990 Dr. H. W. Jayewardene, QC a colossus in the legal profession, passed away whilst on a visit to India. It was the end of an innings of a great legal luminary of Sri Lanka. It was a loss not only to his wife Claribel and family but to the legal fraternity at large.

Dr. H. W. Jayewardene was an advocate par excellence, and at the time of his death, had completed 49 successful years at the Bar. Born to a family of lawyers, Dr. Jayewardene was conferred silk at an early age. Fame and success came to him within a short period. Civil law was his forte and the later years of his practice was dedicated to the appellate courts where he excelled in every case that he appeared. The law reports of Sri Lanka and England bear ample testimony to his brilliance.

When the Bar Association of Sri Lanka came into being in 1975, he was its first president. When there was a move by the then government to shift the courts from Hulftsdorp to Bambalapitiya, it was Dr. Jayewardene, an energetic lawyer who steered the opposition with success. He was instrumental in getting the Government of China to construct the Superior Courts Complex in Hulftsdorp.

Dr. Jayewardene was a keen student of law and a great teacher who was always willing to share his knowledge with fellow members of the profession. As a lawyer who started my career at his chambers we were well aware of the hard work put in by Dr. Jayewardene to his clients’ cause and in several cases without any payment.

He held several important posts in the public and private sector including Chairman of the Sri Lanka Foundation. He also led the team that participated in the Thimpu talks in order to reconcile the burning issue of terrorism at that time.

It is said that writers leave behind their books and teachers leave behind their students. It is a fact that Dr. H. W. Jayewardene QC has been a large hearted man and a great guru to several in the legal profession.

May he attain Nirvana.

Harsha Cabraal