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A BRIEF HISTORY ON THE FORMATION OF CLS
1943 must be considered as a watershed year for the many different legal societies in place at the time in Ceylon (Sri-Lanka). All of these different societies belonging to the legal profession became a part of the Incorporated Law Society of Ceylon in ’43. A special statute was created to gain control and to oversee the Proctors Branch of the legal profession and at the same time, the Bar Council controlled all activities of the advocates.
The administration activities of the Law Society came under the purview of a Lawyer Secretary and a Council of Representatives. These representatives were nominees of the Proctors Branch of Colombo and the outstations. The majority of the reps were from the Metropolitan Bar in Colombo. The reps from Colombo, including its president and vice presidents were appointed each year and the reps from the outstations, elected by their respective branches made up this council.
Varied committees were appointed to aid professional requirements, law reform, legal aid, library, welfare activities etc. These committees, guided by the secretary, met regularly to carry out the objectives and policy decisions of the Council.
The Administration of Justice Act of 1970 repealed the Incorporated Law Society of Ceylon and the Legal Practitioners Ordinances effectively led to the combining of the two branches of the profession of Advocates and Proctors. The members of the legal profession would from now on be known as Attorneys-at-Law.
As a result of the above, the Bar Association was inaugurated in 1970 to attend to all aspects of the legal profession in Sri-Lanka. The Colombo Law Society along with many other Law Societies from the outstations of the country are constituent members of the Bar Association of Sri-Lanka.
