Eugene Wilfred Jayewardene

Who was Eugene Wilfred Jayewardene?

Justice Eugene Wilfred Jayewardene, KC was a Ceylonese judge, lawyer and politician. He was a Judge of the Supreme Court of Ceylon and is the father of J R Jayewardene the first executive President of Sri Lanka.

Born to James Alfred Jayewardene, a Proctor who was the Deputy Coroner of Colombo, Jayewardene was educated at the prestigious Royal College Colombo. In 1897 he served as the acting Private Secretary to Justice Granier before leaving for England for his studies in law. After begin called to the bar at the Inner Temple in 1908, he return to Ceylon and started a successful legal career. He was the President of the Law Students’ Union. He joined the Ceylon Light Infantry a reservist regiment of the Ceylon Defence Force as Second Lieutenant and later made Captain.

Severing as an acting District Judge and later a Police Magistrate, he became the Commissioner of Requests in 1916 and was a member of the Legal Council of Education. In 1920 he became a member of the Colombo Municipal Council in 1920. In May 1928, he was appointed judge of the Supreme Court of Ceylon and took a leading role in the revision and comparison of the new Criminal Procedure Code.