PMO Media Release: Appointment of International Judge and extension of appointment of Judges of the Supreme Court of Singapore

Appointment of International Judges and extension of
appointment of Judges of the Supreme Court of Singapore

           The President of the Republic of Singapore has appointed Justice Peter Meier-Beck (彼得.迈尔贝克) from Germany as International Judge of the Supreme Court of Singapore under Article 95(4)(c) of the Constitution. The appointment is effective from 1 July 2024 to 4 January 2027.

2           At the same time, in accordance with Article 95(2) of the Constitution, the President of the Republic of Singapore has extended the appointment of the following Judges:

• Justice Tay Yong Kwang (郑永光) as Justice of the Court of Appeal for a period of two years, with effect from 3 September 2024.
• Justice Woo Bih Li (吴必理) as Judge of the Appellate Division for a period of two years with effect from 31 December 2024.

Justice Peter Meier-Beck

3           Justice Meier-Beck has more than 30 years of experience deciding on intellectual property and competition (anti-trust) law. He studied law at the Universities of Bonn and Freiburg and obtained a Doctorate in Law in 1982 from the University of Freiburg. He completed his legal internship in Dusseldorf and then worked as a lawyer there before serving as a judge at the Regional Court and Higher Regional Court of Dusseldorf from 1985 to 2000 where he mainly dealt with patent law.

4           He was appointed as the Presiding Judge of the 4th Civil Chamber of the Regional Court in September 1993 which was responsible for patent, trademark, and design disputes. In July 2000, he was appointed as a Judge at the Federal Court of Justice - the Bundesgerichtshof which is the German Federal Supreme Court where he dealt primarily with patent and competition cases. He was the Presiding Judge of the 10th Civil Senate (i.e. the Patent Division) from 2010 to 2019 before moving to preside over the Cartel Senate (i.e. the Competition Law Division) from 2019 till his retirement in September 2021. He has been working as an independent adviser and expert in international patent disputes since October 2021.

5           Justice Meier-Beck has been teaching patent law since 1995. In 2005, he was appointed Honorary Professor by the Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf; and in 2022 by the University College London, Faculty of Laws (UCL). As an Honorary Professor at UCL, he is involved in research, teaching and public engagement in the Institute of Brand and Innovation Law, in areas involving patent law and competition law. He also serves as a member of the Advisory Committee of the Unified Patent Court.

6           Justice Meier-Beck is among the most influential Intellectual Property (IP) figures in Europe and a prominent advocate for harmonisation of patent laws across Europe and throughout the wider world. He was inducted into the IP Hall of Fame in 2013. His areas of legal expertise include IP law particularly in patent, utility model and plant variety protection; tort law; competition (anti-trust) law; regulatory law of energy networks; public procurement law and law of contracts for work, travel and passenger transport.

Justice Tay Yong Kwang

7           Justice Tay Yong Kwang was appointed Judge of Appeal of the Supreme Court on 1 August 2016 (since re-designated Justice of the Court of Appeal).

8           He obtained his Bachelor of Laws from the National University of Singapore in 1981 and in 1984, he was admitted as an advocate and solicitor in Singapore. He obtained his Master of Laws from the University of Cambridge in 1986.

9           Justice Tay started his judicial career with the Supreme Court in 1981, first as an Assistant Registrar and then as Deputy Registrar. He served in the Official Assignee and Public Trustee’s Office from 1989 to 1990.From 1991 to 1997, he served as a District Judge at the Subordinate Courts (renamed as the State Courts in 2014).

10           In 1997, he was appointed Judicial Commissioner and subsequently a High Court Judge in 2003 before his current appointment.

Justice Woo Bih Li

11           Justice Woo Bih Li, Judge of the Appellate Division, was also appointed President of the Appellate Division of the High Court on 1 November 2022.

12           He was appointed Judicial Commissioner in 2000 and subsequently a High Court Judge in 2003. He has been hearing cases in the Court of Appeal from time to time since February 2019 and was appointed Judge of the Appellate Division on 2 January 2021. On 1 November 2022, Justice Woo took over the role of President of the Appellate Division when the then President, Justice Belinda Ang was appointed as a Justice of the Court of Appeal.

13           Justice Woo received his Bachelor of Laws from the University of Singapore (renamed as National University of Singapore in 1980) in 1977 before being admitted locally as an advocate and solicitor in 1978.

14           As a Judge, he has heard and dealt with cases in a range of areas including Finance, Securities, Banking, Complex Commercial Disputes, Employment, Tort Claims, Public Law and Judicial Review, and Criminal Trials.

15           Justice Woo started his practice in 1980 with the law firm of M/s Allen & Gledhill where he became a partner. In October 1992, he set up the law firm of M/s Bih Li & Lee. He was appointed Senior Counsel in 1997.

16           He is currently a member of the Singapore Academy of Law’s Staff Committee and Rules Committee.

17           With this appointment and extension of appointments, the Supreme Court of Singapore will comprise a total of 35 Judges, including the Chief Justice, three Justices of the Court of Appeal, four Judges of the Appellate Division, 18 Judges of the High Court, four Judicial Commissioners, and five Senior Judges, alongside 22 International Judges.

Issued by: Prime Minister’s Office