Constitutional Council approves Justice Murdu Fernando as Chief Justice

The Constitutional Council has approved the recommendation to appoint Justice Murdu Nirupa Bidushinie Fernando as the Chief Justice.

Justice Fernando took the oath of office as Acting Chief Justice before President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on October 10, 2024.

She is the second woman in Sri Lanka’s history to hold the position of Chief Justice, following Shirani Bandaranayake, who assumed the role in 2011.

An alumna of Moratuwa Girls’ College, Justice Fernando earned her law degree from the University of Colombo.

She joined the Attorney General’s Department in 1985 and was appointed Deputy Solicitor General in 1997. She advanced to the position of Additional Solicitor General in 2014.

In March 2018, she was appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court by then-President Maithripala Sirisena.