| Agency Name: | Ministry of Justice, Prisons Affairs and Constitutional Reforms |
| Nativename: | Sinhala; Sinhalese: අධිකරණ අමාත්යාංශය Tamil: நீதி அமைச்சு |
| Seal: | Emblem of Sri Lanka.svg |
| Jurisdiction: | Government of Sri Lanka |
| Headquarters: | Superior Courts Complex, Colombo 12 |
| Coordinates: | 6.9352°N 79.8618°W |
| Minister1 Name: | Hon. (Dr.) Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe[1] |
| Minister1 Pfo: | Minister of Justice |
| Minister2 Name: | Sudarshani Fernandopulle |
| Minister2 Pfo: | State Minister of Prison Reforms and Rehabilitation |
| Chief1 Name: | Padmasiri Jayamanna |
| Chief1 Position: | Ministry Secretary |
| Child2 Agency: | Debt Conciliation Board |
| Child3 Agency: | Department of Government Analyst--> |
| Child4 Agency: | Department of the Legal Draftsman |
| Child5 Agency: | Department of Prisons--> |
| Child6 Agency: | Department of Public Trustee |
| Child7 Agency: | Judicial and Reforms Unit |
| Child8 Agency: | Law Commission of Sri Lanka |
| Child9 Agency: | Legal Aid Commission of Sri Lanka |
| Child10 Agency: | Mediation Boards Commission |
| Child11 Agency: | National Authority for The Protection of Victims of Crimes and Witnesses |
| Child12 Agency: | Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court |
| Child13 Agency: | Office of the Secretary of Labour Tribunals |
| Child14 Agency: | Sri Lanka Judge’s Institute |
| Child15 Agency: | Sri Lanka Law College |
| Child16 Agency: | Superior Courts Complex Board of Management |
| Child17 Agency: | Training Schools for Youthful Offenders |
The Ministry of Justice, Prisons Affairs and Constitutional Reforms[2] is the cabinet ministry of the Government of Sri Lanka responsible for the implementation of policies, plans and programmes for the administration of the country's justice system, and thereby administers its courts and prisons. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe is the incumbent Minister of Justice as of 20 May 2022.[1]
The post was established in 1947 under the Soulbury Constitution as one of two fixed ministerial portfolios, the other being the Ministry of Finance. The post took over several functions of the previous colonial post of Legal Secretary. The Soulbury Constitution mandated that the appointee to the post of Minister of Justice should be from the Senate of Ceylon. This provision was removed following the abolishion of the Senate in October 1971. Since 1947, it has been tradition to appoint a lawyer to the post, with a few exceptions.
The ministry does not have oversight of policing, which comes under the Ministry of Defence.
It also has the authority to appoint individuals to the positions of:
| Name | Portrait | Party | Tenure | Head(s) of Government | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | 26 September 1947 – 1953 | !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | D. S. Senanayake Dudley Senanayake | |||||
| !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | E. B. Wikramanayake | 1953 – 1956 | !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | John Kotelawala | ||||
| !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | 1956 – June 1959 | !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike | ||||
| !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | June 1959 – 1960 | !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike Wijeyananda Dahanayake | ||||
| !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | 23 March 1960 – 21 July 1960 | !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | Dudley Senanayake | |||||
| !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | 23 July 1960 – March 1965 | !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | Sirimavo Bandaranaike | ||||
| !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | March 1965 – 1970 | !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | Dudley Senanayake | |||||
| !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | 1970 – 1976 | Sirimavo Bandaranaike | ||||||
| !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | 1976 – 1977 | |||||||
| !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | 23 July 1977 – 14 February 1980 | J. R. Jayewardene | ||||||
| !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | United National Party | 14 February 1980 – 1988 | ||||||
| !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | 1989 – 1990 | Ranasinghe Premadasa | ||||||
| !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | Abdul Cader Shahul Hameed | 1990 – 1993 " | ||||||
| !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | United National Party | 1993 – 1994 | Dingiri Banda Wijetunga | |||||
| !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | 1994 – 2001 | !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | Chandrika Kumaratunga | |||||
| !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | 2001 – 2004 | !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | ||||||
| !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | 2004 – 30 May 2009 | !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | Chandrika Kumaratunga Mahinda Rajapaksa | |||||
| !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | 30 May 2009 – 23 April 2010 | !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | Mahinda Rajapaksa | |||||
| !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | 23 April 2010 – 22 November 2010 | !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | ||||||
| !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | 22 November 2010 – 28 December 2014 | !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | ||||||
| !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe | 12 January 2015 - 23 August 2017 | !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | Maithripala Sirisena | ||||
| !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | Thalatha Atukorale | 25 August 2017 - 22 November 2019 | !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | |||||
| 22 November 2019 - 12 August 2020 | !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | Gotabaya Rajapaksa | ||||||
| !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | Ali Sabry | Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna | 12 August 2020 - 3 April 2022 | !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | Gotabaya Rajapaksa | |||
| Office Vacant | 3 April 2022 - 26 April 2022 | !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | Gotabaya Rajapaksa | |||||
| !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | Ali Sabry | Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna | 26 April 2022 - 9 May 2022 | !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | Gotabaya Rajapaksa | |||
| Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe | Independent | 20 May 2022 - Present | !align="center" style="background:; color:white;" | Gotabaya Rajapaksa | ||||