Only 34 out of 300 lawyers who had sent applications to the Presidential Secretariat to be appointed President’s Counsel have the necessary qualifications, sources said.
A Committee headed by a former Chief Justice was tasked with evaluating the qualifications of the applicants to determine if they met the criteria specified in the gazette notification on the appointment of President’s Counsel.
The Committee will forward the list of 34 names who have the necessary qualifications to President Ranil Wickremesinghe. The President will then use his discretion and appoint 10 among them as President’s Counsel. According to the gazette regarding the appointment of President’s Counsels, only 10 persons can be conferred the title of President’s Counsel each year.
The gazette specifying the criteria on the appointment of President’s Counsel was issued during President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s time according to guidelines issued by the Supreme Court.
