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The earliest part of entry to the legal profession was established under the British Colonial system and facilitated under the 1833 Charter, Section 16 of the Courts Ordinance 1889 subject to the rules in the Schedule thereto which empowered the Supreme Court of Ceylon to "admit and enroll as Advocates and Proctors, persons of good repute and of competent knowledge and ability upon examination by one or more of the judges of the Supreme Court". It had a less formal structure which required that a person endeavouring to enter the legal profession serve a period of apprenticeship with a practicing lawyer and take examinations conducted by the Supreme Court in order to satisfy the Judges of the Supreme Court that the apprentice had obtained the required skill and sufficient legal knowledge to enter the legal profession.
Formal legal education in Sri Lanka came into being with the establishment of the Council of Legal Education (CLE) in the year 1873. The Sri Lanka Law College was established under the CLE, in order to impart formal legal education to those who wished to be lawyers in Sri Lanka.
The Council of Legal Education Ordinance, enacted in 1900, provided for the incorporation of the Council (now ICLE), which consisted of the Chief Justice, the Puisne Justices of the Supreme Court, the Attorney General, the Solicitor General, and five Advocates, two Proctors of the Supreme Court, and one Proctor of the District Court of Colombo, as specified in section 2. The Council was empowered to make rules, inter alia, to prescribe the course of studies and examinations for law students, as well as the associated payments.
In 1974, the Ordinance was amended by Act No. 6 of 1974 to change the composition of the Council. The amendment provided for the Council to consist of the Chief Justice, the Attorney General, the Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and four nominees of the Minister of Justice.
The amendment also provided for Rules of the Council to be made with the concurrence of the Minister in charge of the subject of Justice. Thus, limited state involvement in the Institution was introduced for the first time (Section 7A).
By the Council of Legal Education (Amendment) Act 33 OF 1993, the composition of the Council was once again changed. The Constitution of the Council now consists of the Chief Justice as its Chairperson; the Attorney General, the Secretary to the Minister in charge of the subject of Justice and the Solicitor General (as ex-officio members); two Judges of the Supreme Court nominated by the Chief Justice; two members nominated by the Bar Association; six other members appointed by the Minister of Justice from among persons of standing in the legal profession or persons who hold or have held judicial office or who are or have been engaged in the teaching of law or legal research or who have secured academic distinction in law or made contributions to legal knowledge.
Sri Lanka Law College is the "only gateway to the legal profession in Sri Lanka" and the only institution in the country tasked with training and preparing individuals who wish to enter the profession. It is charged with the responsibility of providing advanced legal education.
Sri Lanka Law College has a distinct function from the academic law institute: to equip students with legal education and training. The goal is to prepare students for legal positions and to ensure that the legal system is staffed by knowledgeable and qualified practitioners. The Law College makes an attempt to accomplish this by providing a curriculum that covers legal principles, legal procedures, and the function of law in society. Internships, clinics, and other experiential learning programs provide students with practical instruction that allows them to apply what they have learned in real-world settings.
