BASL adopts LankaSign digital signatures to advance transformation of legal sector
Daily FT: Marking a significant milestone in the digital transformation of Sri Lanka’s legal sector, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) has adopted LankaSign Digital Signatures, enabled by LankaPay, to digitally sign electronic documents to drive digital transformation in the legal profession.
To commemorate this landmark initiative, several key office bearers of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka were ceremoniously handed over highly secure LankaSign digital signature tokens on 5 January 2026 at the premises of the Bar Association.
The event was graced by several distinguished personalities, including Bar Association of Sri Lanka President Rajeev Amarasuriya, Secretary Chathura Galhena, Treasurer Pasindu Silva, Assistant Secretary Sarinda Jayawardhene, Central Bank of Sri Lanka Assistant Governor/ National Certification Authority (NCA) Taskforce Co-Chair Chaminda Bandara, Electronic Transactions Act Architect/NCA Taskforce Co-Chair Jayantha Fernando, LankaPay CEO Channa de Silva and Deputy CEO Dinuka Perera along with other officials of the BASL and representatives from LankaPay.
Digital signatures would play a key role in the digitalisation of the legal system by enabling legal professionals to sign electronic documents anytime, anywhere, delivering unprecedented convenience and efficiency. In addition, digital signatures allow for the secure electronic sharing, archiving, and retrieval of documents, significantly reducing reliance on physical paperwork. Importantly, they provide an enhanced layer of security through authentication, non-repudiation, and data integrity, which are paramount requirements for legal documentation and proceedings.
BASL President Rajeev Amarasuriya said: “This initiative represents a significant step towards the digitalisation of the legal profession. The use of secure digital signatures will improve efficiency, reduce reliance on physical documentation, and strengthen trust in electronic legal processes. BASL is happy to provide leadership to this transition in collaboration with LankaPay, supporting the vision of seeing a truly digitised legal system.”
LankaPay CEO Channa de Silva said: “It is our pleasure to note that BASL has taken a very progressive step to adopt LankaSign digital signatures, marking an important step in embracing secure digital communication within the legal fraternity. LankaPay is happy to support BASL by providing digital signature tokens to its office bearers, which symbolises our shared commitment to a future-ready legal ecosystem, becoming an integral part of the country’s broader digitalisation journey. We commend BASL for this progressive move in supporting legal professionals to operate within a digitally enabled legal ecosystem in Sri Lanka.”
As the apex professional body representing over 26,000+ legal professionals islandwide, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka recognises its responsibility to prepare its membership to operate effectively within a fully digitalised judicial ecosystem. The introduction of digital signatures to the BASL marks the first phase of a broader rollout that will be extended to the Association’s wider membership in due course.
OSL take:
With Sri Lanka’s ongoing economic expansion, there is steady growth in the country’s digital industry and related sectors given the need to be on par with the fast-evolving global digital industry. The growth in the digital industry has resulted in the expansion of business/investment opportunities in these industries as well. The Sri Lankan government is focused on transforming the country into a digital economy and has launched an aggressive programme to digitize all sectors of the country. Many sectors in the country have also digitized many systems as witnessed in the latest move by the BASL. Hence, the business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s digital industry and related sectors are manifold. The growth and profits recorded by businesses already engaged in the country’s digital industry and sectors related to it as well as the increasing interest among foreign businesses/investors to enter the industry indicate the increasing business potential in the area. Foreign businesses/investors while exploring the many business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s digital industry and related sectors, could also look at expanding operations through partnerships or joint ventures with local businesses.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20260112/Z_1 |