Background
Fernando was born in a family with a long judicial tradition on 27 February 1941. His father was former Chief Justice H. N. G. Fernando and his grandfather, Judge V. M. Fernando also sat on the Supreme Court.
Fernando was born in a family with a long judicial tradition on 27 February 1941. His father was former Chief Justice H. N. G. Fernando and his grandfather, Judge V. M. Fernando also sat on the Supreme Court.
He schooled at Saint Joseph"s College, Colombo 10, and attended the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya.
He died after a long bout with cancer on 20 January 2009. He took his oaths as an advocate of the Supreme Court in July 1963. Fernando first worked in the chambers of H. West. Jayawardene, Queen's Counsel. He shone as an advocate and was conferred Silk in January 1985.
He was known to have been one of the lawyers who drafted the 1978 Constitution of President J.R Jayawardene.
Fernando was responsible for delivering many judgments during his career, that upheld the rights of citizens in respect of the right to vote, the right to freedom of speech and the right to freedom against torture and arbitrary arrest and detention. In 2005, Fernando opted to take premature retirement from the Supreme Court, two and half years before his term ended.
He was then the longest serving judge on the bench. Towards the end of his career, Chief Justice Sarath North. Silva had excluded him from hearings relating to the constitutionality of bills before the Parliament.
A massive signature campaign was launched to persuade Fernando to stay on to complete his term.