Justice Dr. Amerasinghe, an Outstanding Sri Lankan

I was so fortunate that Justice Dr ARB Amerasinghe was my uncle. He was my mother’s elder brother. Uncle Ronnie to the family was a obvious role model to be looked up to by us and we attempted to follow everything he did in the many multifaceted career of his for purposes of emulation. As kids my grandmother would often talk of his achievements and the need to use him as a beacon.

As a young man reading his many achievements often in the media in many ways inspired me to remain on track and his occasional letter which I could hardly read – his handwriting was not easy to decipher and showed some impatience to get the script done - had just one message always, to focus on my studies. Later on as an young writer he would offer advice, provide material and often guide me to stay out of trouble. A tribute to Uncle Ronnie would never be complete without reference to his many accomplishments as an eminent scholar, jurist and as an administrator. He was easily one of the most outstanding legal scholars Sri Lanka has produced so far. His contribution to the Sri Lankan legal system has been vast and varied and has contributed greatly to our understanding of the law.

He was born in 1937 to an outstanding legal family. He was educated at the University of Ceylon, The Ceylon Law College & The Queens College Oxford. He was a Visiting Research Fellow of the University of London. He was a Lecturer at the faculty of Law of the University of Ceylon. He was member of the Council of Legal Education, Deputy Secretary General of The Asian African Legal Consultative Committee New Delhi and General Manager (Administration) of The Insurance Corporation of Sri Lanka and Secretary Ministry of Justice for over five years.

He was a Judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka for thirteen years and Acting Chief Justice and a member of the first Constitutional council. He was the Senior Economic Affairs Officer UNCTAD Geneva. He was the Chairman of The Law Commission for ten years. He was the Regional Adviser for the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation (South Pacific Region) and Commissioner of Insurance Fiji.

He was the author of seventeen books including the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, Public Corporations in Sri Lanka, Professional Ethics, Judicial Ethics, Crop Risk Insurance and had published several papers on law-related matters in many learned journals in Sri Lanka and abroad. He was the Chairman/member of many expert and advisory bodies in Sri Lanka and abroad. He was the Chairman of the Transfer of Technology Committee WIPO Geneva; Advisor on Public Corporations to The Arab Planning Institute Kuwait; UNDP advisor to the Government of Kenya; Chairman of the Asian Association of Insurance Commissioners; member of the “expert panel” of The Asian Development Bank, Manila and for five years the Secretary General of The Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO.

Many people did not know that Uncle Ronnie was an accomplished pianist.

He could play many popular songs by ear and could accompany anyone at the piano without having heard a tune before. So it was not just law in which he was well versed, but in arts, literature and culture and his ability to converse on any subject was unparalleled.

I often joked that he was like a walking encyclopedia.? Of all the things I admired about Uncle Ronnie, was his honor and integrity. To him, living in accordance with his conscience was the most important thing of all. That last conversation with Uncle Ronnie on X’mas eve reinforced my perception of him as a very astute and honorable man and a caring and concerned man, the likes of which I am sure will never meet again in our lifetime.

I am so proud to have had an Uncle like Dr ARB Amerasinghe an eminent jurist and an outstanding legal scholar. Sri Lanka has lost a brilliant jurist, an outstanding legal scholar, a honorable Judge, to my mother an Aiyya, and, his close associates and friends a role model. It is to be wished that his judgments, his books and his legacy will help to inspire the legal profession and those young men and women in the literary and judicial sectors of Sri Lanka to be research oriented like he was, strong and uncompromising in the cause of justice, and independent as he was in his decision making. May he Rest in Peace.

- Dinesh Weerakkody