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period 1991-1994, he was responsible for investigating cases of human rights abuse by state authorities. Among his celebrated disclosures was the
Embilipitiya Students' Disappearance case. According to a report by the Brookings Institution, "the HRTF was set up to oversee the conditions of those detained under the country’s national security laws: the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and the Emergency Regulations introduced by the President under the Public Security Ordinance. Although its legal foundations were weak, the HRTF performed an important function due mainly to its dynamic chair, a former Supreme Court judge, who used his stature as a former judicial officer to gain access to detention centers and to engage with military commanders on a regular basis."
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for more than 25 years (1979-2005). As the founding director of the Sri Lanka Judges' Institute, he played a major role in the training of judicial officers in the country. As the first chairman of the Human Rights Task Force (now known as the Human Rights
Commission) during the post-insurgency
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assault case, in which it was declared that the police infringed the petitioner's freedom of expression. Incensed by the judgment, pro-police demonstrators stoned the residences of Soza and the other two judges who had tried the case.
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150:. After serving the original courts as magistrate, district judge and high-court judge he was appointed a judge of the Court of Appeal in 1978. In January 1982, President
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Soza was educated at Maris Stella
College, Negombo. He taught English and Pure Mathematics at St. Joseph's College, Bandarawela, Ceylon Technical College and
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In the
Supreme Court he was widely known for his illuminating judgments, especially concerning fundamental rights. He wrote the landmark opinion in the
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Taming the
Judiciary and the Legacy of the 1982 Referendum in Sri Lanka: The Arrogance of Power - Myths, Decadence & Murder.
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He was chairman of the Sri Lanka
Foundation and a member of several presidential commissions of inquiry. In 1992, President
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354:"National Human Rights Commissions and Internally Displaced Persons Illustrated by the Sri Lankan Experience"
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Following a brief stint as a lawyer, Soza commenced his distinguished judicial career as a magistrate in
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Sri Lankan
Activists Keeping A Lonely Vigil The Men Who Killed Her Son Cannot Stop The Mothers' Crusade
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appointed him as judge of the
Supreme Court. He retired from judicial service in February 1984.
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Student
Victims of Embilipitiya and Trincomalee: How the State Obstructs Justice
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at (website in tribute to) Senator M Tiruchelvam QC, 9 February 2008
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in recognition of his distinguished service to the country.
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University
Teachers for Human Rights, at uthr.org, 2001.
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As a high-court judge of Colombo and chairman of the
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468:Puisne Justices of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka
260:Supreme Court of Sri Lanka - Its first 185 years.
405:Vivienne Goonewardene v Hector Perera and others
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318:The Embilipitiya abduction and murder case
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110:(1919 – 8 April 2013) was a former
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493:Judges of the high courts of Sri Lanka
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274:Venerate the deserving, Justice Soza
162:Soza was the editor-in-chief of the
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488:District Courts of Sri Lanka judges
226:Death of former SC Judge Anton Soza
342:at Dbsjeyaraj.com, 2 January 2010.
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508:Alumni of Maris Stella College
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271:De Silva, Mahanil Prasantha.
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352:Gomez, Mario (July 2002).
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390:The Thiruchelvam I Knew
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164:Sri Lanka Law Reports
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132:University of London
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300:Philly.com
210:References
176:Deshabandu
148:Balapitiya
65:1919-02-04
172:Premadasa
122:Education
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41:In office
437:See also
409:Archived
321:Archived
194:Leader
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