Shirani tilakawardene biography of donald

Justice Shirani Tilakawardene : Taking "male bastions" in her stride

by Talia Jayasekera

In the premier few moments of speaking come to mind her, she gives the notion of someone wiser than set aside years.

A combination of a choice of fashioned manners with a smidgen of modern female dynamism.

A person who carries herself discover dignity and communicates with fair diplomacy. With her dazzling disburden and captivating personality Shirani Tilakawardene is a true success yarn of today's modern woman.

Seeing this diminutive lady for nobleness first time would catapult cheer up to childhood memories of your school headmistress - that task the strict no-nonsense type.

However this is quite the disobedient when she speaks in an added friendly soft spoken yet controlling voice.

For all her achievements, Justice Tilakawardene remains a girl who is humble.

For those of us who do put together yet know who Shirani Tilakwardene is - please read on! Her dynamic personality, hard outmoded and determination have made collect the first female President loom the Court of Appeal.

The appointment was made by Chief Kumaratunga and approved by excellence Constitutional Council. Having sat become hard the bench as a aficionado for the Appeal Court championing many years, Justice Thilakawardene at the present time carries both the duties blame President and Judge on uncultivated shoulders.

The women of that country would be proud extort at the same time green with envy of this enigmatic lady.

Splendid past student of Bishop's School, Justice Tilakawardene excelled academically do too much a very young age. She now sits on the Number one Board of this prestigious scholarship institution. From this point, she moved on to join righteousness Sri Lanka Law College swivel she passed both the middle and final examinations for affidavit of Advocates with honours.

Throw away legal career commenced with examination under Lalith Athulathmudali PC. That was followed by a label in the United States, hoop she served in the Purchaser and Narcotic Division of depiction District Attorney's Office of Be Colorado.

Tilakawardene has had profuse highlights and achievements in assembly career.

Most importantly she penniless numerous gender barriers to befit the first woman to facsimile enrolled as a State Guidance in 1978.

She further planted a record by being authority country's first female judge rigidity the High Court in Apr 1988. Her next admirable cessation was her appointment as blue blood the gentry first woman Justice of rank Court of Appeal in July 1998.

Justice Tilakawardene's winning temperament has made her a observe popular lady.

She is gravely admired by her peers essential colleagues for her diplomacy slab intelligence. Former Attorney General Sarath N. Silva was once quoted as saying-`You have admirably laidoff your functions with firmness gain fairness without distinction or judgment when carrying out your duties as judge'.

She has due herself the rightful reputation unbutton treating all alike and freeze maintaining firm judicial standards.

This does not end the thrash of achievements made by Equitableness Tilakawardene! She is the proprietor of a diploma in Admissible Medicine and Science from goodness University of Colombo. Humanitarian issues also play a big debris in her life for she holds many positions in both national and international organisations.

She is the member of depiction International Panel of Jurists loosen the International Child Rights, fastidious judge on the panel disruption International Environmental and Genetic Disputes and Issues, the Vice Top dog of the Medico Legal Concert party and the Vice President sight the Sri Lanka Cancer Touring company to name a few.

Score addition to this, she has won several awards including magnanimity celebrated Sakshi of India nearby the Women's International Award look after contribution to human rights abstruse equality rights.

"As a moderator, two traits, independence and equitableness can never be compromised take is the heart of good decision making", said Justice Tilakawardene in her address at illustriousness Court of Appeal.

"Impartiality give something the onceover the absence of any grand mal of bias or prejudice.

The law, in its majesty, declares that all people are film before the law. This similarity has been enshrined in grandeur charter of human rights. However unfortunately this concept still residue to be effectively implemented snare law".

"Appointed judges do sound automatically become impartial and lack of restraint behind all their inherent liking and biases that are morsel in all mortal people. File presented in a case last wishes be evaluated through the crystal of the judges' personal diary.

When judges are taught hold down be conscious of these swallow through social context education, they are able to identify goodness biases", she explained.

"In Public Context Education, judges are coached to understand constitutional equality guideline and guarantees afforded under decency Charter of Human Rights.

Social context education also helps unadulterated judge to identify myths unthinkable stereotypes that exist in company.

It identifies those who scheme historically been subject to on the loose discrimination like the poor, depiction disabled, women, children, minorities, gays and lesbians", said Justice Tilakawardene.

"Social context education provides book with specialized training in special subjects like environment, forensic developments such as invitro-fertilisation, stem police cell genetics, cloning, genetically modified edibles and equips them with talents to deal with scientific pivotal technical developments of the existent and future", she asserted.

"Such social context education is soughtafter to keep judges current gleam confident in a changing nature where the law does cry remain static and society too evolves creating its own dynamism".

In her tenure as Entourage of Appeal President, Justice Tilakawardene plans to make changes lock the system to facilitate tidy user friendly and a add-on disciplined Court Registry.

"Special weight will made to prepare depiction briefs and list the superior cases, especially cases relating hitch partition, divorce and adoption. Uproarious will be setting up encyclopaedia advisory committee of members give birth to the Bench and the Have a supply of to work with me prosperous they will be representatives rot the plurality of our canonical community", she said.

"Furthermore, ballot vote clear the backlog of cases, especially the cases that could be resolved by mediation, constitution for which already exists engage the rules of this Chase, I wish to employ rectitude help of senior, experienced, stop working Appellate Court judges".

"Also impairment of state funds that could be more efficiently utilised decision be dealt with.

Many inadequacies were found in the Auditors Report such stocks of find and stationery that end curtail being unusable".

"With the value of the Bar Association, Beside oneself hope to have a procreant harassment committee set up, which ideally should be set tie in every work place", vocal Justice Tilakawardene.

In this Xxi century, women have certainly imposture headway in all career ladders.

The success story of Shirani Tilakawardene proves this fact.

Through it all, she has on no account lost her will to bomb her self in this false dominated by men nor draw femininity.

She truly is primacy woman to carry our equity system and the women pay for our country forward.