R. K. W. Goonesekera

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R. K. W. Goonesekera
Chancellor of the
University of Peradeniya
In office
2002–2005
Personal details
Born(1928-05-08)8 May 1928
Died10 November 2014(2014-11-10) (aged 86)
Alma materUniversity of Oxford
University of Ceylon
Royal College Colombo
ProfessionAcademic, lawyer

Deshamanya R. K. W. Goonesekera, PC (8 May 1928 – 10 November 2014) was a Sri Lankan lawyer and academic. He was the Chancellor of the University of Peradeniya, a Professor and Professor of Law, Ahmadu Bello University and Principal of the Sri Lanka Law College. He specialises in Public Law, Constitutional Law and Fundamental Rights.[1]

Educated at Royal College Colombo, he graduated with an LL.B. from the University of Ceylon in 1954, he was called to bar as an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Ceylon. In 1956 he gained a BCL from the University of Oxford.

Goonesekera served as a senior lecturer of Law University of Ceylon and thereafter served as Principal of Sri Lanka Law College from 1966 to 1974. He became a Professor in Law at Ahmadu Bello University. A founder member of the Civil Rights Movement, Prof Goonesekera headed the Nadesan Centre for Human Rights through Law and became Deputy President of the Bar Council in 1993. He was also a member of the Legal Aid Commission and the Law Commission. He was appointed a President's Counsel and was awarded the title Deshamanya by the government of Sri Lanka.

Goonesekera died on 10 November 2014, at the age of 86.[2][3]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "'Deshamanya' for leading lawyers". Sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 2011-09-10.
  2. ^ "RKW passes away". Colombo Telegraph. 17 November 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  3. ^ "R.K.W. Goonesekera Report: The Genesis of Media Reform Initiatives in Sri Lanka". Sri Lanka Brief. 18 November 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2024.