Honourable Justice Rangajeeva Wimalasena
Nauru Court of Appeal
Justice Rangajeeva Wimalasena has a judicial career spanning over two decades across three Commonwealth jurisdictions in the Asia-Pacific region. His legal journey began in 1999 as a prosecutor in the Attorney General's Department of Sri Lanka. In December 2002, he was appointed to the bench in Sri Lanka and later joined the judiciary of Fiji. In 2022, he was appointed as a Justice of Appeal in the Nauru Court of Appeal.
Justice Wimalasena currently serves as the President of Nauru Court of Appeal. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the Australian Catholic University. Justice Wimalasena serves as a Council Member and International Observer at the Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration. He was one of the mentors of the Pacific Judicial Integrity Program, initiated by the Federal Court of Australia to support judicial officers across the Pacific. In addition, he is a member of the UNODC Global Judicial Integrity Network, the Commonwealth Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association, the Medico-Legal Society of Queensland, and the Judges’ Forum of the International Bar Association. He is also a founding member of the Pacific Islands Judicial Officers’ Association. He has served as Chair of the Professional Standards Advisory Committee of the International Criminal Court Bar Association (ICCBA), as well as a member of its Executive Council and its Focal Point for Asia-Pacific States.
During his judicial tenure in Sri Lanka, he was appointed Secretary of the Judicial Services Association in 2014, where he began actively advocating for judicial well-being. He introduced initiatives to promote mental and physical wellness among judges through engagement in the performing arts and other activities aimed at fostering a balanced mind and enhancing collegiality. In 2024, Justice Wimalasena led an international team of chief justices, senior judges, and legal experts to draft the Nauru Declaration on Judicial Well-being. He was also the principal architect behind the initiative to establish 25 July as the International Day for Judicial Well-being, which was formally proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly pursuant to a resolution submitted by the Republic of Nauru.
His academic qualifications include a Master of Laws in International Human Rights, and Children’s and Women’s Rights, as well as a Bachelor of Laws. He also holds a Graduate Certificate in Policy and Governance from Queensland University of Technology and is an accredited mediator.
