Guidelines issued on appointment of President’s Counsel following SC Order

• President’s Secretary issues guidelines setting criteria for appointment of PCs
• Will not apply to State law officers actively engaged in profession
• Lays down minimum requirements to apply for appointment as PCs
• Selection will be after considering application to be reviewed by a three-member committee appointed by President

The President’s Office issued guidelines this week for the appointment of a President’s Counsel, following an Order from the Supreme Court after it considered a Fundamental Rights application which challenged the ad hoc way the coveted title is conferred at present.

The guidelines will apply in the exercise of the powers vested in the President under and in terms of Article 33(2)(e) of the Constitution to appoint a President’s Counsel, and will not be applicable to State law officers who are actively engaged in the profession for appointment as President’s Counsel based on ex officio capacity. The guidelines lay down minimum requirements which need to be considered for appointment as a PC, which will hence forth be done after calling for applications. 

The President may call for applications for the appointment of PCs by a notice published in the Government Gazette from the Attorney-at-law who satisfies the requirements and specified criteria.

The applications will have to be submitted together with copies of documents in proof of eligibility and will be considered by a three-member committee headed by the Secretary to the President. Its other members will be appointed by the President. The Committee will examine the accuracy of the facts mentioned in the applications and verify the relevant qualifications and eligibility criteria following which the President will appoint a suitable attorney-at-law as President’s Counsel under and in terms of the provisions of the Constitution, after considering the report of the Committee.

The guidelines state that before the appointment is made, the President may seek the opinion of the Chief Justice and or the Attorney General on the suitability of any applicant to be appointed as a PC.

Canvassing by an applicant, either directly or indirectly, in person or through a third party, will be considered as a disqualification while those who furnish false information or submit forged documents or suppressed information will also have their applications rejected.

The names of all President’s Counsels appointed by the President in terms of the Constitution will be published in the Government Gazette and posted on the official website of the Presidential Secretariat.

Under the new guidelines, attorneys-at-law of the Supreme Courts who have reached high eminence in the legal profession and maintained high standards of conduct and professional rectitude and are citizens of Sri Lanka but have not obtained citizenship of another country and do not engage themselves in profession as a Notary Public and do not function as an instructing attorney-at-law of the Supreme Court may be considered by the President for appointment as President’s Counsel.

To be eligible for the appointment, the applicant is required to be an attorney-at-law who is actively engaged in the legal profession, conducting cases on the instruction of an instructing attorney in any court in Sri Lanka for a minimum period of 20 years, or an attorney-at-law of the Supreme Court who has not completed 20 years of service but who has fulfilled all other requirements and has 15 years of active practice.

Others who can apply are Attorneys-at-law who have a proven capacity for excellence in advocacy, which has resulted in a tangible contribution to the development of the law; those who have trained junior lawyers, and attorneys-at-law who have demonstrated high standard of professional integrity and independence.

Those who apply should not at any time have been subject to any disciplinary order made against them by the Supreme Court or the Bar Association of Sri Lanka and not found to be liable for professional misconduct, misdeed by a court of competent jurisdiction, and is not bankrupt, has not been convicted of Contempt of Court, and not been found guilty by a competent court in or outside Sri Lanka, except for any minor offence under the traffic ordinance.

The guidelines were issued after the Supreme Courts gave an Order in mid-October after it considered a FR application filed by Attorney-at-Law Upul Kumarapperuma, who in his petition said that no specific and transparent criteria or procedure has been followed in appointing PCs and since 2017, the President has appointed a total of 75 PCs from the private bar on three successive occasions but no reasonable notice or intimation had been given to the members of the Bar as to when applications should be made for ‘silk’ status and or no specific criteria had been formulated which would enable a member of the Bar to assess for themselves whether they are qualified to become a ‘Silk’.

The new guidelines have been published in the Gazette.