Sinha Basnayake
Encyclopedia
Sinha Basnayake, PC
is a Sri Lanka
n lawyer. He was a former Director of the General Legal Division of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs
and a member of the Internal Justice Council.
Son of the prominent lawyer H.H. Basnayake, QC
; he was educated at the prestigious Royal College Colombo
and graduated with a first class in law from the University of Oxford
. After qualifying as a barrister he joined the UN as a Legal Officer in the International Trade Law Branch of the Office of Legal Affairs, eventually becoming its Director. Appointed as a President's Counsel
by the government of Sri Lanka, he has severed in many committees of the UN.
In 1999, he served as the Secretary of the group of legal experts of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda; in 2004 he served as a member of the Special Panel set up by the Secretary-General to investigate and report on the bombing of the United Nations Headquarters in Baghdad; and in 2005 he served as the Secretary of the Group set up by the Secretary-General to study the criminal accountability of staff and experts on mission serving in peacekeeping operations, as suggested by the Prince Zeid report on a comprehensive strategy to eliminate future sexual exploitation and abuse in United Nations peacekeeping operations.
President's Counsel (Sri Lanka)
President's Counsel is a professional rank, as their status is conferred by the president, recognised by the courts and wear silk gowns of a special design...
is a Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
n lawyer. He was a former Director of the General Legal Division of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs
United Nations Office of Legal Affairs
The United Nations Office of Legal Affairs is a United Nations agency, established in 1946, that performs several key functions in the area of international law....
and a member of the Internal Justice Council.
Son of the prominent lawyer H.H. Basnayake, QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
; he was educated at the prestigious Royal College Colombo
Royal College Colombo
The Royal College of Colombo was founded in January 1835 in Colombo. It is considered to be the leading Public School in Sri Lanka...
and graduated with a first class in law from the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. After qualifying as a barrister he joined the UN as a Legal Officer in the International Trade Law Branch of the Office of Legal Affairs, eventually becoming its Director. Appointed as a President's Counsel
President's Counsel (Sri Lanka)
President's Counsel is a professional rank, as their status is conferred by the president, recognised by the courts and wear silk gowns of a special design...
by the government of Sri Lanka, he has severed in many committees of the UN.
In 1999, he served as the Secretary of the group of legal experts of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda; in 2004 he served as a member of the Special Panel set up by the Secretary-General to investigate and report on the bombing of the United Nations Headquarters in Baghdad; and in 2005 he served as the Secretary of the Group set up by the Secretary-General to study the criminal accountability of staff and experts on mission serving in peacekeeping operations, as suggested by the Prince Zeid report on a comprehensive strategy to eliminate future sexual exploitation and abuse in United Nations peacekeeping operations.