L J M Cooray LLB(Hons) (Ceylon), Phd (Cambridge), Phd (Colombo) studied and worked in Universities in Sri Lanka, England and Australia for 38 years. He resigned from Macquarie University (Sydney, Australia) in 1995. He was born in Sri Lanka. He is now an Australian citizen. He has lived and worked in Australia for 27 years.
Dr Cooray resigned from employment in 1995. His time since then has been devoted entirely to voluntary work and receiving understanding and writing a number of books which examine public issues.
Dr Cooray, during 38 years in Universities, through the grace of God, authored 14 books, 65 articles in learned academic journals and over 500 articles in popular journals and newspapers. These articles and books have been published and he has lectured and delivered learned papers in every continent.
Dr Cooray is now working on a 14 volume series on human values, human duties and spirituality and life, including one book on what shapes and affects the growth and development of character, on the inside and the outside. Therefore with renewed vigour (youth renewed like the eagle's), during the years ahead, through the grace of God, 14 books are being written.
L J M Cooray had an outstanding career in School. His form master, Mr E F C Pereira in his last years at Royal College, the leading school in Sri Lanka, said he was the best student he came across in thirty years as a teacher.
Dr Cooray spent 38 years studying and working in Universities in many parts of the world.
He obtained a first class honours degree from the University of Ceylon in 1961. Only nine students (1948 to present have ever obtained a first class degree)
He was offered in 1963 prestigious and well endowed maintenance and tuition scholarships to study at the University of Cambridge in the UK and Harvard University in the US. He was also nominated for a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford. He chose the University of Cambridge where he obtained a degree of doctor of Philosophy in 1968. He later obtained a second doctors degree from the University of Colombo.
Dr Cooray is an author of 14 books, 65 articles in learned academic journals and over 500 articles in popular journals and newspapers. His articles and books have been published and he has lectured and delivered learned papers in every continent. His writings have been quoted by the House of Lords, by the Indian Supreme Court, by the Sri Lankan High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court and in the Parliament of Australia. Former Chief Justices of Australia, Sir Garfield Barwick and Sir Harry Gibbs and Justice C G Weeramantry of the International Court of Justice in Hague are among those who have highly commended his writings.
He delivered a paper at Windsor Castle at a meeting of the Commonwealth Legal Education Association in 1975, of which Association the Queen Mother is Patron. At that Conference, Professor William Twining, the President of the Society of Public Teachers of Law in the British Commonwealth, who was also the Chairman of the British Commonwealth Legal Education Association, commenting on Dr Cooray's paper said that it was an outstanding work and no one anywhere had done any research in this area before. The paper was about the relationship between language and law. The meeting was attended by leading judges, practising lawyers in governments and private sectors and academics from all over the British Commonwealth.
The Conference was held at Windsor Castle. The Queen Mother as Patron made available her mansion at Windsor Castle for the residence of the participants. Dr Cooray as the key note speaker was given the Queen Mother's suite — and slept in the Queen Mother's bed.
He has studied and worked for 38 years in universities. He has lectured on all five continents. He worked in different universities as an university lecturer, professor and administrator. While employed in a University he has worked part time or in consultancy as: a quasi judicial officer, political analyst, editor of and consulting editor to learned journals, director of a company, broadcaster running a radio program for a short time, manager and researcher and writer of 14 books and numerous articles in learned journals and newspapers. He has dabbled in politics. He has studied closely the functioning of law, government, politics and society and the inter relationship between them. His books and learned articles focus on these areas.
He left Sri Lanka in 1974. He was a founding member and activist in the Civil Rights Movement which was critical of the then government. He found his position threatened and emigrated.
In 1976 he came to Australia to take up an appointment at Macquarie University, teaching Australian government and politics.
He has been active in public life In Sri Lanka (1963-74) and Australia (1976-1994) making the case for: the importance of ethical values, individual responsibility, freedom and common sense. He is a believer in civil liberties, but is sharply critical of much that goes under the euphemism of human rights. He has expressed concerns about individual irresponsibility, the drift away from ethical values and repressive restrictions on human action.
The Australian Freedom Coalition, a branch of the World Freedom Coalition, presented him with the Australian Valiant for Freedom Award in 1987 with citation:—
"...with a rare determination, in the face of all kinds of difficulties, he has promoted the cause of freedom in his adopted country Australia — especially with his writing he has confounded radicals among academics, educationalists and the media as well as ordinary Australians, with common-sense views and challenges for all to treasure our freedom and to use it with responsibility".
He resigned from academic life in 1995 to devote his time to understanding and speaking, writing and teaching about his experiences in a very successful, fruitful and fulfilling life, for knowing the truth about and understanding every aspect of human existence, the environment and the world.
The ethical values of all religions are similar. The differences between belief systems (religions) rest on the source of and what gives authority to ethical values. In the last 20 years Dr Cooray was healed miraculously (no medicines or treatment) from many sicknesses and weaknesses which he has carried from early childhood. A short testimony is available.
The views of L J MARK COORAY on the "underlying dynamics" of the democratic tradition are stated in three books and many articles. His major works include:
There are 5 other books which have been published. THE AUTHOR HAS OVER THE YEARS CHANGED HIS UNDERSTANDINGS AND BELIEFS IN SOME AREAS AND DOES NOT STAND BY EVERYTHING WRITTEN IN THE PAST. The first four BOOKS are out of print. The first four books and the Life and Times of James Peiris, are available on the internet.