Christopher Weeramantry

Weeramantry died in Colombo, Sri Lanka, of natural causes on 5 January 2017 at the age of 90.

In 1991, he was appointed as a Judge of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, becoming its vice-president in 1997. He presided as vice-president over several important cases before the court, including a case on the illegality of the use and threatened use of nuclear weapons. From 2000 to 2002 he served the ICJ as an ad hoc judge. Weeramantry served on the Legal and Human Rights Advisory Board of the Genetics Policy Institute and the president of the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms. In addition C.G. Weeramantry was a councillor of the World Future Council, and the honorary patron and international advisor of the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law.

He was emeritus professor at Monash University, having previously served as Sir Hayden Starke's Chair of Law from 1972 to 1991. A former Lecturer and Examiner at the Colombo Law College, he was a member of the Council of Legal Education in Ceylon. Weeramantry has also served as a visiting professor at Harvard University (2000), University of Hong Kong (1989), University of Florida (1984), University of Colombo (1981), University of Papua New Guinea (1981), University of Stellenbosch (1979) and University of Tokyo (1978). He was an honorary member of Advisory Committee of Environmental Law Institute and Chairman of the International Council, Institute of Sustainable Development, McGill University.

Beginning his law practice in Colombo that went on until 1965, he was appointed Commissioner of Assize, holding the post until 1967 when he was called to the bench as a judge of the Supreme Court of Ceylon. He retired from the Supreme Court in 1972 and moved to Australia where he assumed duties as Sir Hayden Starke Professor of Law, at Monash University in Victoria.

He gained a BA (Hons.) from the newly established University of Ceylon and went on to gain a LL.B and a LLD from King's College London. After completing the law exams at the Colombo Law College, he took oaths as an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Ceylon in 1948.

Sri Lankabhimanya Christopher Gregory Weeramantry, AM (17 November 1926 – 5 January 2017) was a Sri Lankan lawyer who was a Judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) from 1991 to 2000, serving as its vice-president from 1997 to 2000. Weeramantry was a judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka from 1967 to 1972. He also served as an emeritus professor at Monash University and as the president of the International Association of Lawyers against Nuclear Arms.

Born 17 November 1926 in Colombo, Ceylon, he was educated at the Royal College Colombo, where he was a senior prefect, editor of the Royal College Magazine, Chairman Senior Literary Association and won many class and school prizes as well as the Governor's Scholarship, Principal's Prize and the Empire Essay Prize for 1943 awarded by the Royal Empire Society.