Media Release: Appointment of Registrar of The Supreme Court

          The President of the Republic of Singapore, pursuant to section 61(1) of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1969, has appointed Ms Jill Tan Li Ching (陈立静) as Registrar of the Supreme Court with effect from 1 November 2024. 

2        Ms Tan graduated from the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law with a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) in 1997 and obtained her Master of Laws from the University of London in 2003. She was admitted as an Advocate and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore in 1998.

3        Ms Tan has more than 20 years of experience in the legal and judicial services. She started her career in private practice in 1998 before she joined the Singapore Legal Service (as it was then named) in 2000 and was posted to the Attorney-General’s Chambers as a Deputy Public Prosecutor. In 2007, she was re-posted to the (then named) Subordinate Courts and appointed as a District Judge, presiding mainly over criminal matters. In 2011, she was re-posted to the Insolvency and Public Trustee’s Office under the Ministry of Law. She was appointed the Official Assignee/Official Receiver and Registrar of Moneylenders and Pawnbrokers in 2014. 

4        In 2018, Ms Tan was re-posted to the State Courts and appointed a District Judge in the (then named) Community Justice and Tribunals Division, where she was subsequently appointed the Deputy Principal District Judge (PDJ) in October 2019. In April 2021, Ms Tan was concurrently appointed as the Acting PDJ of the Corporate Services Cluster. As the Acting PDJ/PDJ (Corporate Services) at State Courts, she was a key member of the Steering Committee involved in the successful integration of the corporate support services of the Supreme Court, State Courts and Family Justice Courts that took effect in April 2022. She was appointed PDJ of the Criminal Courts Cluster from 1 April 2023.

5        The Honourable the Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon said, “I am delighted to welcome Jill, who brings with her a wealth of experience in her many years of service in the Legal Service and the Judicial Service. While in the Ministry of Law, she oversaw key changes to Singapore’s bankruptcy regime as well as enhancements to the criminal legal aid scheme. As Principal District Judge of the Criminal Courts Cluster and a member of the leadership team in the State Courts, Jill assisted and supported the Presiding Judge of the State Courts by overseeing the management and administration of criminal cases as well as of the judicial and non-judicial officers in the Criminal Courts Cluster. She is well placed to assume the role of Registrar of the Supreme Court, and I look forward to working closely with her.”

6        In addition, with effect from 1 November 2024, other key judicial appointments include:

• Mr Tan Boon Heng (陈闻兴), the current Registrar of the Supreme Court, will be appointed as Principal District Judge of the State Courts. 
• Mr Phang Hsiao Chung (冯孝忠), the current Deputy Registrar of the Supreme Court, will be appointed as Principal District Judge of the Family Justice Courts.
• Mr Teo Guan Siew (张元修), currently a District Judge in the State Courts, will be appointed as Deputy Registrar, Supreme Court.

7       In respect of these appointments, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon said, “On behalf of the Singapore Judiciary, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to Boon Heng for his invaluable contributions as Registrar of the Supreme Court. Boon Heng oversaw the implementation of the Rules of Court 2021 (ROC 2021) and worked closely with the State Courts and Civil Practice Committee of the Law Society to gather and resolve the pain points of the new rules. To support the work of the Commercial Practice Panel, Boon Heng led the Registry team to embark on a horizon scanning of the noteworthy practices in other commercial courts. Arising from this, an Express Track under the ROC 2021 for the faster resolution of civil disputes was implemented on 1 April 2024. Boon Heng also had oversight of the preparation for the implementation of various legislative amendments impacting the Registry.”