Retirement of Justice Chao Hick Tin as the Judge of Appeal

Justice Chao Hick Tin (赵锡燊), Judge of Appeal and Vice-President of the Supreme Court of Singapore, will retire with effect from 28 September 2017 after more than 50 years of distinguished service in the Public Service.

2. Born in 1942, Justice Chao obtained his Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws from University College, London in 1965 and 1966 respectively. He was called to the English Bar in 1965 and was admitted as an advocate and solicitor in Singapore in 1971. He was appointed a Bencher ⁽¹⁾ of Middle Temple in 2013.

3. Justice Chao began his career in the Public Service as a State Counsel in the Attorney-General’s Chambers in 1967 and rose to the position of Senior State Counsel in 1979. He was appointed Judicial Commissioner in 1987 and elevated to a High Court Judge in 1990. He was subsequently appointed a Judge of Appeal in 1999. From 1993 to 1999, he served as the President of the Industrial Arbitration Court and was the Chairman of the Singapore Mediation Centre from June 2003 to May 2006. He was also the President of the ASEAN Law Association from Dec 2003 to November 2006.

4. Justice Chao was appointed the Attorney-General of Singapore in 2006. In 2008, he returned to the Supreme Court as a Judge of Appeal and Vice-President of the Court of Appeal, a position he has held since then. During his judicial tenure, he also served as the Vice-President of the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) and as Chairman of the Corporate Development and Services Cluster of the SAL.

5. On Justice Chao’s retirement, Chief Justice Menon said, “I congratulate Justice Chao on having completed a most remarkable five decades of distinguished public service in the law. Justice Chao is held in the highest esteem by all segments of the legal profession in Singapore and also throughout ASEAN. He is not only well respected for his legal mind and excellent judicial temperament, but he is also greatly admired and loved for his humility, kindness and wisdom. He will be greatly missed on the Bench. On behalf of the Supreme Court, I thank Justice Chao for his invaluable contributions and wish him a very happy retirement.”

6. Justice Chao said, “I thank my colleagues who have supported and assisted me all these years in the Legal Service as well as at the Supreme Court. I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to be involved in the development of the law in Singapore. My time on the Bench has been memorable. The law and the administration of justice have undergone significant changes over the years, and I am confident that our legal system will continue to evolve to better serve the needs of society.”