On 19 June 2025, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake appointed Senior Additional Solicitor General RohanthaAbeysuriya, PC — the former head of the Criminal Division of the Attorney General’s Department — as the new President of the Court of Appeal, following the retirement of Acting President Justice Mohammed Laffar.
The appointment has stirred significant controversy within the judiciary, particularly among senior judges of the Court of Appeal. Several have openly expressed their displeasure at the government’s decision to select a candidate from outside the judiciary, bypassing more senior sitting judges. Critics argue that this selective appointment undermines the merit-based progression of Court of Appeal judges and may jeopardize their future elevation to the Supreme Court.
According to sources within the Presidential Secretariat, five senior judges of the Court of Appeal have formally written to President Dissanayake to express their dissatisfaction with the appointment of Mr. Abeysuriya.
Among them is Justice S.U.B. Karalliyadde — a highly respected figure and the most senior judge of the Court of Appeal — who was widely expected to succeed Justice Laffar. In a strongly worded letter to the President, Justice Karalliyadde voiced his deep dissatisfaction with the decision.
Justices R. Gurusinghe and Ganepola were also among the five who submitted letters to the President, expressing their loss of confidence in the selection process and its implications for judicial independence.
Meanwhile, with Chief Justice Murdu Fernando set to retire later this month, calls are growing — both within legal circles and among members of the public — for the appointment of a Supreme Court Justice who has the most years of experience in the appellate courts to succeed her.
