| Post: | Attorney General |
| Body: | Sri Lanka |
| Insignia: | File:AGdepartmentSL.png |
| Insigniasize: | 150px |
| Incumbent: | Vacant |
| Department: | Attorney General's Department |
| Style: | The Honourable |
| Nominator: | The President |
| Appointer: | The President |
| Appointer Qualified: | with Constitutional Council advice and consent |
| Termlength: | No fixed term |
| First: | James Dunkin as Advocate Fiscal of Ceylon |
| Deputy: | Solicitor General of Sri Lanka |
The attorney general of Sri Lanka is the Sri Lankan government's chief legal adviser, and its primary lawyer in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. The attorney general is usually a highly respected senior advocate, and is appointed by the ruling government. The current attorney general is Sanjay Rajaratnam. The president does not have any power to make orders, mandatory or otherwise, to the attorney general. He heads the Attorney General's Department which is the public prosecutor.
Unlike the attorney general of the United States, the attorney general of Sri Lanka does not have any executive authority and is not a political appointee; those functions are performed by the minister of justice. The attorney general is assisted by the solicitor general of Sri Lanka and several additional solicitors general.
Under section 54 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka, the president of Sri Lanka appoints the attorney general on advice of the government. The general practice is the serving solicitor general succeeds the outgoing attorney general. However, there have been instances where exceptions have been made.[1]
Under the 17th Amendment and 19th Amendment to the Constitution, the attorney general along with the chief justice, the judges of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, the members of the Judicial Service Commission, and four other officials are placed in a constitutionally guaranteed position of security from removal from office.[2]
The powers and duties of the attorney general are derived from the Administration of Justice Law, No. 44 of 1973 and the Code of Criminal Procedure Act.
Traditionally the attorney general is addressed by the honorific The Honourable. The attorney general draws a monthly salary and pensionable allowance (as at 2017) of Rs 240,000 and other allowances of 332,800. He/she is entitled to an official vehicle and an official residence or an allowance of Rs 50,000 in place of such. Further a books allowance of Rs 30,000 and allowance for not engaging in private practice of Rs 150,000 is provided. The position is pensionable, and holders are entitled to government duty free permits.[3]
Data based on:
| Attorney General | Province | Took office | Left office | Appointed by | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advocate Fiscal of Ceylon (1801–1833) | ||||||
| 1 | 19 February 1801 | 1802 | Frederick North | |||
| 2 | 7 August 1802 | 1806 | ||||
| 3 | 22 April 1806 | 1808 | Thomas Maitland | |||
| 4 | 5 September 1808 | 1811 | ||||
| 5 | 26 February 1811 | 1821 | ||||
| 6 | 1 November 1821 | 1829 | Edward Barnes | |||
| 7 | 28 February 1829 | 1833 | Edward Barnes | |||
| King's Advocate of Ceylon (1833–1838) | ||||||
| 8 | 2 April 1833 | 1838 | Robert Wilmot-Horton | |||
| Queen's Advocate of Ceylon (1838–1884) | ||||||
| 9 | 10 December 1838 | 1840 | James Alexander Stewart-Mackenzie | |||
| 10 | 17 October 1840 | 1848 | ||||
| 11 | 23 June 1848 | 1858 | George Byng | |||
| 12 | 3 May 1858 | 1863 | Henry George Ward | |||
| 13 | 1 January 1863 | 1876 | Charles Justin MacCarthy | |||
| 14 | 4 April 1876 | 1879 | William Henry Gregory | |||
| 15 | 24 October 1879 | 1883 | James Robert Longden | |||
| 16 | 4 July 1883 | 1884 | ||||
| Attorney General of Ceylon (1884–1972) | ||||||
| 16 | 1 January 1884 | 1886 | Arthur Hamilton-Gordon | |||
| 17 | 30 September 1886 | 1892 | ||||
| 18 | 1 November 1892 | 1902 | Arthur Havelock | |||
| 19 | 18 June 1902 | 1911 | Joseph West Ridgeway | |||
| 20 | 18 May 1911 | 1918 | Henry McCallum | |||
| 21 | 15 October 1918 | 1924 | John Anderson | |||
| 22 | 6 October 1924 | 1929 | William Manning | |||
| 23 | 12 May 1929 | 1936 | Herbert Stanley | |||
| 24 | 27 July 1936 | 1936 | Reginald Edward Stubbs | |||
| 25 | 1 October 1936 | 1942 | ||||
| 26 | 7 July 1942 | 1946 | Henry Monck-Mason Moore | |||
| 27 | 25 January 1946 | 1947 | ||||
| 28 | 23 October 1947 | 1951 | ||||
| 29 | 11 October 1951 | 1956 | Herwald Ramsbotham | |||
| 30 | 2 May 1956 | 1957 | Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke | |||
| 31 | 1 April 1957 | 1966 | ||||
| 32 | 1966 | 1970 | William Gopallawa | |||
| Attorney General of Sri Lanka | ||||||
| 33 | 1 July 1970 | 1975 | William Gopallawa | |||
| 34 | 5 June 1975 | 1988 | ||||
| 35 | 1988 | 1992 | J. R. Jayewardene | |||
| 36 | 1992 | 1995 | Ranasinghe Premadasa | |||
| 37 | 1995 | 1996 | Chandrika Kumaratunga | |||
| 38 | 1996 | 1999 | ||||
| 39 | 1999 | 2007 | ||||
| 40 | 2007 | 2008 | Mahinda Rajapaksa | |||
| 41 | 2008 | 2011 | ||||
| 42 | 2011 | 2012 | ||||
| 43 | 17 July 2012 | 23 October 2014 | ||||
| 44 | 23 October 2014 | 10 January 2016 | ||||
| Suhada Gamlath | 10 January 2016 | 11 February 2016 | Maithripala Sirisena | |||
| 45 | 11 February 2016 | 29 April 2019 | ||||
| 46 | 29 April 2019 | 25 May 2021 | ||||
| 47 | 26 May 2021 | 12 July 2024 | Gotabaya Rajapaksa | |||
| 49 | K. Parinda Ranasinghe | 12 July 2024 | Incumbent | Ranil Wickramasinghe |