Sri Lanka gets new consumer protection boss
Aone-time trial attorney from The Hague’s International Criminal Tribunal (ICC) was appointed to the helm of Sri Lankan consumer affairs on July 6.
“I thank Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen for appointing me. I pledge to discharge my duties to the best of my ability, to safeguard and enhance the rights of Sri Lankan consumers, manufacturers and traders,” said President’s Counsel Anura Bandara Meddegoda.
Counsel Meddegoda was speaking after his appointment (by Bathiudeen) as the seventh Chairman of the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) of Sri Lanka, at the Industry and Commerce Ministry.
Bathiudeen extended his best wishes to Counsel Meddegoda and stressed of his mandate.
“A key priority of the unity government is to protect the consumer well-being. The CAA gives you a great opportunity to use your wide experience to serve our buyers and fulfil the consumer vision of the government,” he said.
Counsel Meddegoda is a PC (since 2017) with 37 years of legal experience. He served in the Attorney General’s Department (as Senior State Counsel) for nearly 20 years. Thereafter, he joined The Hague’s United Nations International Criminal Tribunal’s Office of the Prosecutor as a Legal Adviser in 1994 and served for 10 years. He was appointed as the Justice and Judicial Reform Ministry Secretary in 2004 but had to skip due to his commitment with The Hague.
“After returning from The Hague in 2005, I continued my private legal practice and President Maithripala Sirisena appointed me as a President’s Counsel in April 2017,” he said.
The CAA is the apex government organisation mandated to protect consumers’ interests and ensure fair market competition in Sri Lanka. It has been established under the Consumer Affairs Authority Act No.09 of 2003.