Inauguration Ceremony of the Mater of Laws Programme 2022/24 of the Faculty of Law, University of Colombo
The 30th of July, 2022, marked the inauguration of the Master of Laws Programme offered by the Faculty of Law, University of Colombo for the years 2022/24. The Faculty of Law was delighted to host the post-graduate students onsite, at the New Arts Theatre – a rare phenomenon these days due to numerous challenges – where the they were warmly welcomed to their Orientation Programme.
The Ceremony opened with the singing of the National Anthem and the welcome address by the Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Colombo, Prof. (Dr.) Nishantha Sampath Punchihewa. While welcoming the students, Prof. (Dr.) Punchihewa pointed out that the University of Colombo is the best in Sri Lanka and that the students were fortunate to have been granted the opportunity to be a part of the family and that the Faculty of Law is in turn happy to have such a diverse cohort and looking forward to guiding them through their academic journeys. Next, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Colombo, Senior Professor (Chair) H. D. Karunaratne, addressed the gathering as the Guest of Honor of the event. His speech, among other things, emphasized the importance of literacy, especially, technological literacy and financial literacy – areas that are paid less attention to and yet are vital in building a more developed tomorrow. His words were incredibly moving in their encouragement and value in showing spheres to education that need to be focused on by higher institutions such as the University of Colombo for the benefit of their students.
Honorable Justice Arjuna Obeyesekera, Judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, graced the event as the Chief Guest. His Lordship stepped out of his comfort zone where he travelled far beyond the law and its technicalities and reached a far-reaching theme of education and how to best facilitate it through modern technology. The challenges and opportunities that are posed by modern technology was shown to be an area that needs to be focused on if we may have hope for a more informed and efficient future for the field of education and Sri Lanka as a whole.
This event was followed by speeches by the Heads of Departments of the Faculty of Law, Professor (Chair) Wasantha Seneviratne, Mr. Menaka Harankaha and Dr. Udapadie Liyanage. They introduced the subjects taught within each department and encouraged students to engage enthusiastically in their studies.
The Ceremony concluded with the vote of thanks delivered by Dr. Darshana Sumanadasa, Coordinator of the LL.M. Programme 2022/24, Faculty of Law, University of Colombo, where he kindly thanked his team and the support, he received in making the event a reality. This was followed by an Orientation Programme for the new entrants.
The Ceremony was well attended and was well received by all of the new postgraduate entrants. The Faculty of Law warmly welcomes all the new postgraduate students, and we look forward to working together with the Diamond Jubilee batch in fostering a more vibrant educational community with greater opportunities for our students. We take this opportunity to wish them all the very best as they set out on this new journey.
