Justice Satchi Ponnambalam (27 January 1935 – 31 January 1999) was a leading Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer and judge.

Satchi Ponnambalam
Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Belize
In office
1985–1993
Personal details
Born(1935-01-27)27 January 1935
Died31 January 1999(1999-01-31) (aged 64)
Belize City
Alma materUniversity of Ceylon, Peradeniya
ProfessionLawyer
EthnicitySri Lankan Tamil

Early life and family

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Ponnambalam was born on 27 January 1935.[1] He was the son of R. Ponnambalam and Sinnamah Ammal from Chundikuli in northern Ceylon.[1] He was educated at St. John's College, Jaffna.[1] After school he entered University of Ceylon, Peradeniya in 1955.[1]

Ponnambalam married Vasantha (Vasi), daughter of V. Sittampalam.[1][2][3] They had three daughters (Sumanthi, Jamuna and Menaka).[1][2][3]

Career

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Ponnambalam joined the legal profession after graduation, becoming an advocate and solicitor (England).[1] He was then state advocate and senior state advocate in Zambia.[1] He then moved to Belize in 1981 to serve as a magistrate.[1][2] He was promoted to chief magistrate before joining the Supreme Court of Belize as a puisne judge in 1985.[1][2] He retired in 1993.[1][2]

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).[1][2] He died on 31 January 1999 at his home in Belize City.[2][3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon (PDF). pp. 141–142.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Former Supreme Court Judge dies". News 5. 1 February 1999.
  3. ^ a b c "Classified Ads" (PDF). Tamil Times. Vol. XVIII, no. 2. 15 February 1999. p. 30.