Suri Ratnapala
Encyclopedia
Suri Ratnapala is an Australian academic. He is a Professor of Public Law and Director of the Centre for Public, International and Comparative Law in the School of Law at the University of Queensland
in Brisbane
, Australia
. He is the author of several books on legal philosophy, constitutional political economy and Australian constitutional law. He has been a member of the Mont Pelerin Society
since 1998 and a member of its Board of Directors since 2008.
Born in Colombo
, Sri Lanka
, Suri Ratnapala attended the Royal College, Colombo and the University of Colombo
, where he gained his first law degree. His father Amaradasa Ratnapala was a medical doctor of repute, a brilliant schoolboy cricketer, a member of Parliament and renown scholar of Buddhist Philosophy, whose book on Abhidharmartha Pradeepeka is a highly regarded commentary on the doctrine. His mother Ancy Samarasinha was member of a prominent family of landed gentry in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka. Ratnapala is married to Rusri, nee Gunasekera a member of a prominent Colombo family of intellectuals, journalists and outstanding cricketers. Their son Adrian Ratnapala is a physicist at the Centre for Cold Matter of the Imperial College, London (CCM).
Ratnapala served as a Senior State Counsel, representing the Sri Lankan State in landmark constitutional cases before he migrated to Australia where he completed masters and doctoral degrees before accepting tenure at the University of Queensland. He was appointed to the Chair of Public Law in 2001.
In 1990, his book Welfare State or Constitutional State? was awarded a Sir Anthony Fisher International Memorial Prize by a panel chaired by Nobel Laureate Professor James Buchanan. In 2000, Ratnapala received a John Templeton Foundation http://templeton.org award for inter-disciplinary teaching spanning legal, political, economic and social theory. In 2003 he was awarded a Centenary of Australian Federation Medal for his contribution to Australian Society through research in law and economics. Ratnapala is a Fellow of the International Centre for Economic Research http://www.icer.it and a Visiting Fellow of the Social Philosophy and Policy Centre at the Bowling Green State University
, Ohio.He is also a member of the Editorial Advisory Council of the leading Australian free market and classical liberal think tank, the Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) http://www.cis.org.au
His major books include Australian Constitutional Law: Foundations and Theory, Welfare State or Constitutional State?, Illusions of Comparable Worth,Jurisprudence and Jurisprudence of Liberty
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. He is the author of several books on legal philosophy, constitutional political economy and Australian constitutional law. He has been a member of the Mont Pelerin Society
Mont Pelerin Society
The Mont Pelerin Society is an international organization composed of economists , philosophers, historians, intellectuals, business leaders, and others who favour classical liberalism...
since 1998 and a member of its Board of Directors since 2008.
Born in Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
, 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...
, Suri Ratnapala attended the Royal College, Colombo and the University of Colombo
University of Colombo
The University of Colombo is a public research university located primarily in Colombo, Sri Lanka...
, where he gained his first law degree. His father Amaradasa Ratnapala was a medical doctor of repute, a brilliant schoolboy cricketer, a member of Parliament and renown scholar of Buddhist Philosophy, whose book on Abhidharmartha Pradeepeka is a highly regarded commentary on the doctrine. His mother Ancy Samarasinha was member of a prominent family of landed gentry in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka. Ratnapala is married to Rusri, nee Gunasekera a member of a prominent Colombo family of intellectuals, journalists and outstanding cricketers. Their son Adrian Ratnapala is a physicist at the Centre for Cold Matter of the Imperial College, London (CCM).
Ratnapala served as a Senior State Counsel, representing the Sri Lankan State in landmark constitutional cases before he migrated to Australia where he completed masters and doctoral degrees before accepting tenure at the University of Queensland. He was appointed to the Chair of Public Law in 2001.
In 1990, his book Welfare State or Constitutional State? was awarded a Sir Anthony Fisher International Memorial Prize by a panel chaired by Nobel Laureate Professor James Buchanan. In 2000, Ratnapala received a John Templeton Foundation http://templeton.org award for inter-disciplinary teaching spanning legal, political, economic and social theory. In 2003 he was awarded a Centenary of Australian Federation Medal for his contribution to Australian Society through research in law and economics. Ratnapala is a Fellow of the International Centre for Economic Research http://www.icer.it and a Visiting Fellow of the Social Philosophy and Policy Centre at the Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green State University, often referred to as Bowling Green or BGSU, is a public, coeducational research university located in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 by the State of Ohio as part of the Lowry Bill, which also established Kent State...
, Ohio.He is also a member of the Editorial Advisory Council of the leading Australian free market and classical liberal think tank, the Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) http://www.cis.org.au
His major books include Australian Constitutional Law: Foundations and Theory, Welfare State or Constitutional State?, Illusions of Comparable Worth,Jurisprudence and Jurisprudence of Liberty