Legal Secretary of Ceylon

The Legal Secretary of Ceylon, was an officer of state of the British Colonial Administration of Ceylon from 1931 to 1947, appointed from the Colonial Legal Service. The Legal Secretary one of three officers of state of the Board of Ministers of the State Council of Ceylon, who serve as the legal advisor to the government; administration of justice; criminal prosecutions and civil proceeding on behalf of the crown; election to the State Council, drafting of legislature and the public trustee. The post was formed under recommendations of the Donoughmore Commission the post replaced the Attorney General as the chief legal advisor to the Governor, it was in turn replaced by the post of Minister of Justice in 1947 under the recommendations of the Soulbury Commission under the Ceylon Independence Act, 1947 and The Ceylon (Constitution and Independence) Orders in Council 1947.^[1][2]

Legal Secretary of Ceylon
Member of	Board of Ministers of Ceylon
Appointer	Governor of British Ceylon
Formation	1931
First holder	Edward St John Jackson
Final holder	Robert Drayton
Abolished	1947
Succession	Minister of Justice

Departments

• Attorney General's Department
• The Fiscals
• The Public Trustee
• Legal Draftsman
• District Courts
• Courts of Requests
• Magistrate's courts
• Village Tribunals

List of Legal Secretaries

• Edward St John Jackson (1932–1936) - Legal Secretary and Attorney General
• John Curtois Howard (1936–1940)
• Robert Harry Drayton (1940–1942)
• John Harry Barclay Nihill (1942–1946)

See also

• Chief Secretary of Ceylon
• Financial Secretary of Ceylon

References

1. "1942 Ferguson's Ceylon Directory". Ferguson's Directory. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
2. "Evolution of the Office of the Attorney General in Sri Lanka". attorneygeneral.gov.lk. Retrieved 30 July 2021.