Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

Satchi Ponnambalam (27 January 1935 – 31 January 1999) was a leading

Sri Lankan Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, form the plurality in the Eastern Province a ...

lawyer and judge.

Early life and family

Ponnambalam was born on 27 January 1935. He was the son of R. Ponnambalam and Sinnamah Ammal from Chundikuli in northern

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. He was educated at St. John's College, Jaffna. After school he entered University of Ceylon, Peradeniya in 1955. Ponnambalam married Vasantha (Vasi), daughter of V. Sittampalam. They had three daughters (Sumanthi, Jamuna and Menaka).

Career

Ponnambalam joined the legal profession after graduation, becoming an advocate and solicitor (England). He was then state advocate and senior state advocate in

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

. He then moved to

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

in 1981 to serve as a magistrate. He was promoted to chief magistrate before joining the Supreme Court of Belize as a

puisne judge Puisne judge and puisne justice () are terms for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. The term comes from a combination of the two French words, (since, later) and (born) which have been combined as or ; meaning ...

in 1985. He retired in 1993. Ponnambalam worked as a legal consultant, participated at Tamil conferences and wrote two books: ''Dependent Capitalism in Crisis in Sri Lanka, 1948-79'' (1980) and ''Sri Lanka : The National Question and the Tamil Liberation Struggle'' (1983). He died on 31 January 1999 at his home in

Belize City Belize City is the largest city in Belize. It was once the capital city, capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2022 census, Belize City has a population of 63,999 people. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, which is a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ponnambalam, Satchi 1935 births 1999 deaths Alumni of St. John's College, Jaffna Alumni of the University of Ceylon (Peradeniya) Belizean people of Sri Lankan descent Ceylonese advocates People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka People from British Ceylon Sri Lankan Tamil people Sri Lankan judges of international courts and tribunals Sri Lankan lawyers Supreme Court of Belize justices