Attorney General launches four books

by Sarath Malalasekera

Four books written by Attorney General, Palitha Fernando PC were launched recently at the Sri Lanka Asia Foundation in the presence of a large gathering including several senior and junior judicial officers.

Prof. Carlo Fonseka, the chief guest at the ceremony, said "I am a sucker for sob stories and several of Palitha's stories brought tears to my eyes. I doubt whether even the most hard nosed criminal lawyer could read all of these short stories without shedding a tear."

"What explains the emotional power of Palitha's short stories, I believe is that the secret is that his characters are all drawn from people with whom he had interacted. Most authors have had originals for the fictitious characters they have created more. For example it is well-known that Charles Dickens portrayed his father in Mr. Micawber, the habitual optimist. Turgenev said that he could not create a character without a living person in mind. It is true that there are writers who deny that there are real persons who serve models for their characters. In thinking so they are probably deceiving themselves" Prof. Fonseka said.

The books were titled "Selected Essays on Criminal Law of Sri Lanka and Attorney General's reply not received yet". The book launching ceremony was organised by the President of the Colombo Law Society, Amal Randeniya.

Former Chief Justice Asoka de Silva, former Attorney General Sunil Silva, Education Deputy Minister Mohan Lal Grero, ANCL, Chairman Bandula Padmakumara and BASL President Upul Jayasuriya also participated.