Senaka Weeraratna

Professor Chandrika N Wijeyaratne, Vice-Chancellor, University of Colombo unveiled a vintage photograph showing staff and students of the Colombo Law Faculty (1972), in the Board room of the current Faculty of Law, University of Colombo, today (Feb. 09, 2022), in the presence of the members of the Faculty of Law, and several invited Guests from the 1969 batch of the Colombo Law Faculty.  

Professor Chandrika N Wijeyaratne, Dr. Sampath Punchiheva ( Dean of the Faculty of Law), Dr. Wasantha Seneviratne(Head of Dept, Faculty of Law), Dr. Srilal Perera, Professor of Law (USA), Senaka Weeraratna ( Attorney at Law) and Ms. Chandana Jayaweera Bandara ( Attorney at Law) spoke at the meeting. 

A fuller account of the proceedings will be released in due course of time. Some of the photographs (4) taken of the unveiling are attached to this email. 

The speech made by Mr. Senaka Weeraratna, Attorney at Law, is appended below and attached, for your information. 

Unveiling of the Law Faculty Photograph

Madam Vice-Chancellor, Professor Chandrika N Wijeyaratne, Dean of the Faculty of Law, Dr. Sampath Punchiheva, Dr. Wasantha Seneviratne, Distinguished Members of the Law Faculty, Visiting Professor Srilal Perera, Ms. Chandana Jayaweera Bandara, Ladies, and Gentlemen.

It is indeed an honour for me to be present here today. I must thank the Dean, Dr. Sampath Punchiheva, and his colleague, Dr. Wasantha Seneviratne for extending a kind invitation to me.

We are gathered here today to unveil a photograph of the Law Faculty staff and students which was taken in 1972 to mark the 25^th anniversary of the founding of the Dept. of Law of the Faculty of Arts.

Simple as the function is, this photograph has archival value. It has a story to tell and will outlive all those who are seen in the photo, both teachers and students. It is the first-ever group photograph taken of the students and staff together. In that sense, it is a rare first.

Let me go back in time. The Dept. of Law was established in 1947 under the Faculty of Arts. The Faculty of Law was established in 1967, with Professor T. Nadaraja as the foundation Dean. My batch the ‘1969’ batch was the third batch after the Faculty was formed.  The numbers were small compared to today, fifty students were the size of my batch. Today the number of new entrants is over six times that size.  The walls of the faculty building when we entered in 1969 were more or less empty. There were no pictures of any kind, group or individual, giving an insight into the institutional history. Any info on the history of the Law Faculty or Law Dept. came only by word of mouth. Mostly inaccurate. We had a Newsletter called ‘Jura’, a brainchild of our batch which filled a long-felt need to stay connected through an exchange of news and views. The first Editor was A.P. Niles and the person who succeeded Niles as Editor was Sri Lal Perera, who is here with us today. He did a splendid job, in bringing out several editions of ‘Jura’.

It is only when 1972 dawned that we came to know via Dr. Mark Cooray that it was the year of the 25^th anniversary of the founding of the Dept. of Law. Mark Cooray was a doer, with a sense of direction and knowledge of the past. He organized on behalf of the Faculty staff a commemorative dinner at the Akase Kade, Ceylinco Bldg. Fort in January 1972. I attended that dinner with Mr. Ifthikar Hassim, a batchmate. The then Minister of Justice Mr. Felix R. Dias Bandaranaike was the Chief Guest. Mr. K. Shinya, a distinguished alumnus delivered a memorable speech. I was thrilled to meet both old and young lawyers (former students) then holding notable appointments in several sectors of employment.

We the students decided to do something different as our contribution to the commemoration activities. The Law Faculty Students’ Union decided to mark the event with a photograph of the entire Faculty. Something that has not been done before. We retained John & Co. an old photography studio in Kollupitiya for that purpose. Nihal Amaradasa of that firm, a former Cricket Captain of Nalanda College (in the mid-nineteen fifties) took the photograph in Sept. 1972. The location was the outdoor premises of the Colombo Campus. A handsome big sized photo with only the seated ones named in the picture was displayed prominently in the Faculty Staffroom. One day the picture disappeared from the staff room.   It had walked out, so it appeared. It was missing. I was then in Australia.

I returned to Sri Lanka in 2000. I realized the value of the photograph and the need for someone to take the initiative to get a replacement. Fortunately, I had with me in my possession a smaller version of this photograph which I had purchased from John & Co. in 1972. I approached Mrs. Mendis, the proprietor of Plate Studios in Kollupitiya, and asked her whether she could have it re-photographed and enlarged for the purpose of replacing the one that was missing. She agreed. Thereafter copies of the photo became available at Plate Studios for anyone interested in keeping a copy framed in their homes. A number of my 1969 group batchmates proceeded to do exactly just that.

Years passed by but there was no sign of movement in this matter. Furthermore, there was a missing factor. Only the names of the ones seated in the front row were set out and not the ones standing in the back rows, which constituted the bulk of the students. In the interest of completeness and to enable everyone in the photo to be identified by name we set about doing what was initially seen and decried as an impossible task. Finding names to fit the image. Many of them were scattered all around the globe. No one had their addresses or contact details. 

True to the Proverb ‘Where there’s a will there’s a way’ with great determination we set about gathering the names. We had to call people overseas and little by little the names started trickling in. Several offered help to track down others. Many months were taken until the work was completed. The framing took place thereafter.

Before I conclude I will give you a small hint of what more is in store. This photograph shows a section of the students who passed through the portals of the Faculty at a given period of time. Likewise, another medium in the form of a book of essays in honour of a distinguished alumnus is in print and expected to hit the shelves of Bookshops sometime in March. It has seminal articles on the Law Faculty, its history, its achievements, its teachers, and the students. It is a book that should be in the possession of every law faculty-student, past, and present.    

I wish to thank everyone who has made a contribution in whatever way to the success of replacing the missing photo with a new one with all the names of the subjects inscribed. I am particularly indebted to my former batchmate Ms. Chandana Jayaweera Bandara for her logistical support a practice she has gotten used to ever since she became the sheet anchor of law alumni get-togethers. This is a happy occasion. Thank you, Madam Vice – Chancellor for unveiling this memorable photograph.  Thank you, Dean, for making it a success.

Senaka Weeraratna

February 09, 2022