Upawansa Yapa PC

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...

 entered the University of Ceylon

University of Ceylon

The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the University of Sri Lanka which existed from 1973 to 1978. In 1978 it was...

, Peradeniya

Peradeniya

Peradeniya is a town of about 50,000 inhabitants on the outskirts of Kandy in Sri Lanka. It is situated on the A1 main road connecting Kandy and Colombo, just a few kilometres west of Kandy....

 in 1960 and obtained Bachelor of Arts degree.

In 1965, he joined the Ceylon Law College and was admitted as an advocate of Your Lordship's Court in February, 1969.

He joined the Attorney General's Department as a Crown Counsel in 1970 and served in the Department's Criminal Division. Later he rose to the position of Senior State Counsel, Deputy Solicitor General, Additional Solicitor General and finally as the Solicitor General.

He was appointed President's Counsel in September 1992.

He has appeared for the State in several important Criminal trials, including Sepala Ekanayake

Sepala Ekanayake

Sepala Ekanayake is a Sri Lankan hijacker who gained international notoriety after hijacking an Alitalia Boeing 747 with 340 passengers on June 30, 1982.- Early life :...

 aircraft high jacking case.

He received his education at Nalanda College Colombo and while at school, he led both Sinhala and English debating teams.