C.C.A. Brito-Mutunayagam: First principal of Ceylon Law College, scholar and gentleman par excellence

30 June 1956 – Picture taken at the farewell dinner held at the Grand Oriental Hotel. Seen here, the First Principal of Law College C.C.A. Brito Mutunayagam, Law Students Union (LSU) President T.S.P. Senanayake, Advocate student and Hon Chief Justice Hema Basnayake 

(Extracted from The Ceylon Law College Review, 1955/56)

Magazine was adorned with vintage advertisements: Offered nibs for fountain pens, notarial documents, and the finest suits and coats designed for the discerning members of the legal profession

Authentic record of the retirement of C.C.A. Brito-Mutunayagam, M.A., B.C.L. (Oxon.), the dedicated First Principal of Ceylon Law College, scholar and gentleman par excellence [From The Ceylon Law College Review 1955/56 ].

Forwarded by Keerthimala Gunasekera, Senior Attorney-at-Law 

The eloquent toast to the Principal, delivered by LSU President T.S.P. Senanayake, distinguished by elegant use of Pali and Latin phrases:  

 My Lord Chief Justice, Mr Attorney, Your Lordship of the Supreme Court Mr Principal, Ladies and Gentlemen 

This year annual dinner of the Law Students Union has a great significance in that we are taking the opportunity to bid farewell to Mr C.C.A. Brito Mutunayagam. It was originally our intention to hold a special farewell dinner but like Caesar he thrice declined the honour. 

It is my enviable lot Sir, on behalf of 350 law students and hundreds of others to propose a toast to your health and happiness.  

I should like to take this opportunity to make a brief resume of your career which should rightly have culminated as Chief Justice. After returning from Oxford you were called to the Official Bar. After a period of distinguished service the expounder of the law was called to draft laws for the colony. During this period the Council of Legal Education was looking round for a suitable person to be appointed as Principal of Law College and their choice very eminently fell upon you. 

Tonight those departed Patriarchs might well congratulate themselves on the wisdom of their choice and be associated with these sentiments of Macaulay ‘Their search for a straggling gleanor has been rewarded by an ample sheaf. The legal draftsman’s loss, the Judiciary’s loss proved an inestimable boom to hundreds of law students. You showed by your own illustrious example that the legal profession was a vocation and not just another way of making easy money. The Law College was not merely to be a factory for the production of practitioners but rather to produce men who would take their rightful place in the forefront in the public life of the country. 

Quoting Pali: In this auspicious year of the Samma Sambudha Jayanthi it is well to follow the injunctions of the enlightened one Buddha--- ‘Pujaca puja Niyanna’ meaning Give honour where honour is due. It is no exaggeration to say that our departing principal has added lustre to the post he’s shortly to relinquish and that in casting his duties he brought to this high office those admirable qualities of head and heart impartiality and generosity 

Quoting Latin: In the words of Horace who’ll never become unfashionable to quote as long as black coats are worn at Hultsdorp, I might describe you sir as ‘Justium Et Tenacem Propositi Virum – an upright man of steadfast purpose and I may add Spartan austerity. 

As a lecturer you were painstaking and meticulous. Those of us who studied Constitutional Law and Law of Conflict of Laws remember the fundamentals you taught with a sure incisive grasp and never forget that vivid vein of humour which ran like quicksilver through your learned expositions. 

In conclusion, I make no apology for quoting as I do Plato’s immortal apology of Socrates: “It is now time for us to part for me to remain and you to depart. But as to which of us is going to the better lot is not known to none save the Gods”. I call upon you Ladies and Gentlemen to drink to the health of Mr C.C. Brito-Mutunayagam, one of the greatest gentleman of our time.

The Review of 1955/56 contains a rich harvest of scholarly essays contributed by eminent members of the legal profession, they are:

1] The development of the empire and Commonwealth during the last fifty years by Sir Sydney Abrahams Chief Justice of Ceylon from 1936 to 1939 and was knighted in 1936.

2] Re-codifying the law of Evidence by G. D.Nokes LLD [Kings College London] 

3] The Shisho-Kenshu-Sho of Japan or Judicial Training and Research Institute a special training School set up in Japan after the war by Professor Nadaraja Faculty of Law

4] The Source of Kandyan Law by Dr H. W. Tambiah QC

5] The Judiciary under the Constitution by M Tiruchelvam 

6] Notes On Professional Etiquette By C. E. Jayawardena Member of the Bar Council 

7] Liability for negligent misrepresentation and Chissel v Chapman by Sinha Basnayake [Advocate final year] 

The memorable and spirited events that brought life and camaraderie to Law College in 1955

Dunstan de Alwis — who become an eminent lawyer and President’s Counsel was the General Secretary. He had reported with distinction the many activities that enriched the life of the College. Lectures of notable merit were delivered by the Hon Justice Gratien, Q.C., and other eminent members of the Bar and Bench. 

A cricket match between the Bench and the Bar Captained by Hon Minster of Justice E.B. Wickremanayake Q.C. The Annual Dance was graced by the presence of the Hon. Justice Sansoni, while the Hon. Sir Allan Rose, Chief Justice, presided and distributed the prizes at the Annual Sports Meet, at which he was also the Chief Guest. 

The Annual Oratorical Contest, a keenly fought event, was won by J. de Sa. Bandaranayake, who was awarded the Hector Jayawardene Gold Medal. The distinguished panel of judges included Sir Lalitha Rajapakse, Q.C., the Hon. Justice H.N.G. Fernando, and Corbet Jayawardene. The Review also recorded the spirited sports events tennis, cricket, and many other games that reflected the enthusiasm, discipline, and camaraderie characteristic of college life in that golden era.

Brito Mutunayagam’s name will ever remain associated with the finest traditions of the Ceylon Law College — a Principal whose scholarship, discipline, fearless integrity and gracious personality left an enduring mark upon both the institution and its students