Appeals court judge Belinda Ang to retire in April

Court of Appeal judge Belinda Ang will retire from the Bench when her term at the apex court ends later in April.

Her last day of service will be on April 23.

Justice Ang’s judicial career of more than 20 years focused mainly on shipping and arbitration matters, finance, securities, banking and complex commercial cases, the Singapore Courts said in a statement on April 8.

Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, in the statement, said: “Justice Ang’s retirement marks the closing chapter of an exemplary judicial career that has significantly enriched Singapore’s legal landscape.”

He added that her outstanding work in commercial law, particularly in shipping and arbitration matters, has contributed to jurisprudence and legal precedents that continue to guide the courts today.

Her long tenure at the Singapore Mediation Centre has helped to position Singapore as a key hub for dispute resolution, he added.

Justice Ang was first a member, then chair at the Singapore Mediation Centre, from 2011 to 2025.

The Chief Justice said: “Throughout her tenure as a judge, she has been a popular and respected colleague on the Bench, and has consistently manifested a strong commitment to advancing the legal profession and upholding excellence within our judiciary.

“The judiciary has been immeasurably strengthened by her wisdom, expertise and unwavering dedication to justice.”

Justice Ang graduated with a law degree from the then University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, in 1976. She was called to the English Bar at the Middle Temple – one of the four Inns of Court in London – in 1977.

She became a lawyer in Singapore in 1978 and later earned a master’s degree in law, with distinction, from University College London in 1979.

Her legal career began at Godwin & Co in 1980, and three years later, she was made junior partner.

In 1985, she set up her own firm, Ang & Partners, before becoming senior counsel in 1998.

In 2002, Justice Ang was elevated to the Bench and appointed judicial commissioner before she was made a High Court judge in 2003.

She was appointed a judge of the Appellate Division and became its president in 2021.

In 2022, she became an appeals court judge.

Justice Ang said in the statement she was grateful beyond measure for the trust placed in her by the judicial institution and legal community.

She said: “It has been my highest honour and deepest privilege to serve the administration of justice in Singapore.

“Having been on the Bench for more than two decades, I have been witness to the remarkable evolution of our legal ecosystem during that period.

“In the last 10 years in particular, areas such as family justice and the resolution of transnational commercial disputes have been completely transformed.”

Justice Ang also said she was grateful to have had the opportunity to contribute to the development of Singapore’s jurisprudence as well as mediation, which is now an integral part of the Singapore justice system.

“I have no doubt that the judiciary will continue to uphold the rule of law with the same judicial rigour and integrity that has defined our justice system,” she added.

Justice Ang remains vice-president of the senate at the Singapore Academy of Law.

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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