Media Release: Extension of Appointment of Supreme Court Judges, Senior Judges and International Judges

Extension of Appointment of Supreme Court Judges, Senior Judges and International Judges

1     The President of the Republic of Singapore, in accordance with Article 95(2) of the Constitution, has extended the appointment of Justice Belinda Ang Saw Ean as Justice of the Court of Appeal for a period of two years with effect from 24 April 2024; Justice Dedar Singh Gill as Judge of the High Court for a period of three years with effect from 12 December 2023; and Justice Chua Lee Ming as Judge of the High Court for a period of three years with effect from 25 April 2024. (Please refer to Annex A for the biographies of the Judges)

2     In accordance with Articles 95(4)(b) and 95(5)(b) of the Constitution, the President of the Republic of Singapore has extended the appointment of Justice Phang Boon Leong Andrew and Justice Chan Seng Onn as Senior Judges for a period of three years with effect from 5 January 2024. (Please refer to Annex A for the biographies of the Judges)

3     The President of the Republic of Singapore, in accordance with Articles 95(4)(c) and 95(5)(b) of the Constitution, has also extended the appointment of 18 international judges for a period of three years with effect from 5 January 2024. (Please refer to Annex B for the list of International Judges)

4     With the above extension of appointments, the Supreme Court will have a total of 28 Judges (including the Chief Justice, 4 Justices of the Court of Appeal and 4 Judges of the Appellate Division), 3 Judicial Commissioners and 6 Senior Judges on the Supreme Court Bench.

Annex A : Biographies 

1. Justice Belinda Ang Saw

Appointment as Justice of the Court of Appeal extended for a period of two years with effect from 24 April 2024. Justice Ang was appointed Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court of Singapore on 1 February 2002 and was elevated to Judge of the High Court on 2 January 2003. She retired in 2019 and was re-appointed as Judge of the High Court for the period 24 April 2019 to 1 January 2021 before assuming the appointment of Judge of the Appellate Division on 2 January 2021. She was also concurrently appointed the President of the Appellate Division. Justice Ang was subsequently appointed Justice of the Court of Appeal on 1 November 2022.

Her areas of focus have included shipping and arbitration matters, finance, securities, banking, and complex commercial cases. Justice Ang is the Chairperson and Director of the Board of the Singapore Mediation Centre. She is also a member of the Admiralty Court Users’ Committee, Admiralty Cluster Committee, Rules Committee, Specialist Accreditation Scheme of the Maritime and Shipping Law as well as the Panel of Referees of the Journal of the Malaysian Judiciary.

2. Justice Dedar Singh Gill

Appointment as Judge of the High Court extended for a period of three years with effect from 12 December 2023. Justice Gill was appointed a Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court of Singapore on 1 August 2018 and then Judge of the High Court on 1 August 2020.

His areas of focus have included finance, securities, banking, complex commercial cases, public law and judicial review, family, intellectual property (IP)/IT, tort claims and criminal matters. Justice Gill is also the lead Judge for IP/IT cases where he manages the IP list of the High Court and implements the recommendation submitted by the IP Dispute Resolution Framework Review Committee to review the IP dispute resolution system in Singapore.

Justice Gill was appointed as a member of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Advisory Board of Judges for their 2023-2024 term. This is the first time a sitting IP Judge of the Supreme Court of Singapore has been invited by the WIPO to serve on its Advisory Board.

3. Justice Chua Lee Ming

Appointment as Judge of the High Court extended for a period of three years with effect from 25 April 2024. 

Justice Chua was appointed as Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court on 1 February 2015 and was subsequently appointed a Judge of the High Court on 31 January 2017.

His areas of focus have included finance, securities, banking, complex commercial cases, public law and judicial review, company, trusts and insolvency, arbitration, family, shipping, and insurance matters.

Justice Chua was a founding member of the Singapore Corporate Counsel Association and has served on various committees of the Law Society of Singapore as well as the School of Law Advisory Board, Singapore Management University. Justice Chua continues to serve as chairman of the Audit Committee of the Singapore Academy of Law. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Singapore Rules of Court: A Practical Guide.

4. Justice Phang Boon Leong Andrew

Appointment as Senior Judge extended for a period of three years with effect from 5 January 2024. Justice Andrew Phang was appointed Judicial Commissioner in January 2005, High Court Judge in December 2005 and Judge of Appeal in 2006. He retired on 15 December 2022 before returning as Senior Judge on 6 January 2023.

Justice Phang has authored over 260 publications and close to 400 judgments which have been published not only on LawNet and in the official Singapore Law Reports but also in many international law reports. Many of his judgments have also been the subject of academic commentary in local and international journals, as well as cited and/or discussed in many books and articles as well as leading textbooks both locally and internationally. His judgments have also been referred to in both local courts as well as in courts internationally.

In August 2022, the President of the Republic of Singapore awarded him the Meritorious Service Medal (Pingat Jasa Gemilang) in recognition of his contributions to legal scholarship both as a legal academic as well as a judge over a period of four decades.

5. Justice Chan Seng Onn

Appointment as Senior Judge extended for a period of three years with effect from 5 January 2024.

Justice Chan was appointed Judicial Commissioner in 1997 and High Court Judge in 2007. He retired on 3 January 2022 before returning as Senior Judge on 5 January 2022.

Justice Chan was President of the Industrial Arbitration Court from October 2007 to January 2021 where he had presided over several high-profile cases with his decisions becoming references for the unions and employers across industries.

In August 2023, the President of the Republic of Singapore awarded him the Meritorious Service Medal (Pingat Jasa Gemilang) in recognition of his significant contributions in reducing industrial disputes at the workplace and in maintaining harmonious industrial relations in Singapore.

Annex B: List of International Judges

The appointment of the following International Judges has been extended for a period of three years with effect from 5 January 2024.

S/N	Name of International Judge
1.	Justice Roger David Giles (Australia)
2.	Justice Dominique Severano Francois Marie Thiebault Hascher (France)
3.	Justice Sir Vivian Arthur Ramsey (UK)
4.	Justice Anselmo Trinidad Reyes (Hong Kong)
5.	Justice Rt Hon Sir Bernard Rix (UK)
6.	Justice Simon Joe Thorley KC (UK)
7.	Justice Sir Henry Bernard Eder (UK)
8.	Justice Sir Jeremy Lionel Cooke (UK)
9.	Justice Robert Shenton French (Australia)
10.	Justice Beverley Marian McLachlin PC (Canada)
11.	Justice Lord David Edmond Neuberger of Abbotsbury (UK)
12.	Justice Lord Jonathan Hugh Mance (UK)
13.	Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri (India)
14.	Justice Douglas Samuel Jones (Australia)
15.	Justice Yuko Miyazaki (Japan
16.	Justice Christopher Scott Sontchi (US)
17.	Justice Thomas Frederick Bathurst AC KC (Australia)
18.	Justice Zhang Yongjian (China)

Justice Sir Jeremy Cooke will be appointed under Article 95(4)(c) to only hear and determine two specific cases that are still pending before him, as provided for under Article 95(5)(a) of the Constitution. His new term will end upon conclusion of the two cases.