Asanga Gunawansa

Dr. Asanga Gunawansa was called to the Bar as an Attorney-at-Law of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka in 1993 and has over 28 years of experience as a Legal Counsel. He holds a Ph.D. in Law from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and an LL.M in International Economic Law from the University of Warwick, England. He is also a BIARI fellow (Brown International Advance Research Institute, Brown University).

Whilst practicing in all areas of general commercial litigation, Dr. Gunawansa is an expert in contracts, construction law, foreign investments and the legal aspects of project financing, public-private partnerships, arbitration and environmental law. His services are regularly sought by local as well as international clients including multinational institutions.

In addition to being engaged in private legal practice, Dr. Gunawansa is currently a Legal Consultant to the Asian Development Bank on public-private partnerships and he is also a Legal Consultant to the Independent Redress Mechanism of the Green Climate Fund in Songdo, South Korea.

He is also an Honorary Legal Consultant to the Ministry of Justice of Sri Lanka and was instrumental in establishing the Colombo International Arbitration Centre, of which he is the current Chairman. He is also a member of the Panel of Experts on the law relating to arbitration in Sri Lanka appointed by the Justice Sector Reforms Program of the Ministry of Justice in Sri Lanka. Dr. Gunawansa is also an Arbitrator with the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIA, Malaysia), Thailand Arbitration Centre (THAC), Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration (SCIA) and the SAARC Arbitration Council (SAARCO). He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Gujarat International Maritime Arbitration Centre.

He is also an Associate Member of the Executive Committee of the Asia Pacific Centre of Environmental Law, NUS, and an International Research Associate of the Institute of Water Policy of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, NUS. He is also an Adjunct Professor of the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka.

Prior to returning to Sri Lanka in 2012 to establish Colombo Law Alliance, Dr. Gunawansa served the United Nations Organization as a Legal Officer, completing a five-year mission in Geneva, Switzerland for the United Nations Compensation Commission, and a two-year mission in Jerusalem, West Bank and Amman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. During the period between 2007 and 2012, Dr. Gunawansa taught Construction Law, Water Law and the legal aspects of Sustainable Development at NUS. During the period between 1993 and 2000, Dr. Gunawansa worked as a State Counsel attached to the Attorney General’s Department of Sri Lanka.

Outside his legal practice and academic activities, Dr. Gunawansa is a non-resident Associate of the Asia Society and a member of the Editorial Review Board of the International Journal of Law in the Built Environment and the Journal of Built Environment Project and Asset Management. Dr. Gunawansa has authored several books including the ‘Asia Pacific Construction Law Case Book Series’ published by LexisNexis and ‘Water Governance: Evaluation of Alternative Architectures’ published by Edward Elgar Publishing House. He has also authored over 25 Articles published in international journals on construction law, environmental law and arbitration.