Three new Supreme Court judges appointed, one reappointed

A Supreme Court judge’s appointment has been extended by a year, while three new judges have been appointed, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said on July 16.

Justice Steven Chong Horng Siong will be reappointed as a justice of the Court of Appeal from Sept 23.

He was appointed a judicial commissioner of the Supreme Court on Oct 1, 2009, and a High Court judge on June 1, 2010.

The former attorney-general was appointed as a judge of appeal (now known as justice of the Court of Appeal) on April 1, 2017, and reappointed as justice of the Court of Appeal for a three-year term in September 2022.

He chairs the Admiralty Court Users’ Committee, the Specialist Accreditation Scheme for Shipping Law and the working group of the Professional Conduct Council. He is the vice-president of the Singapore Academy of Law and serves as a member of the Rules Committee.

Also, three judicial commissioners have been appointed as High Court judges, from Aug 1.

The Supreme Court comprises the Court of Appeal and the High Court.

Judicial commissioners have the powers of a judge and are appointed for a specific period determined by the president of Singapore.

Judicial Commissioner Alex Wong Li Kok has been highly regarded as a leading energy, infrastructure and construction practitioner in South-east Asia, according to the PMO. As a judicial commissioner since August 2023, he has handled civil matters such as building and construction, complex commercial cases and corporate insolvency.

Judicial Commissioner Christopher Tan Pheng Wee concurrently served as registrar of the State Courts and deputy presiding judge of the State Courts before he was appointed judicial commissioner in October 2023. As a judicial commissioner, his areas of focus include medical negligence tort claims, defamation and criminal trials.

Judicial Commissioner Kristy Tan was formerly an equity partner at Allen & Gledhill, worked in the legal service and was appointed senior counsel before she became a judicial commissioner in 2023. As judicial commissioner, she has been hearing cases involving areas such as banking, arbitration and trusts.

With the appointments, the Supreme Court will have a total of 36 judges – the Chief Justice, three justices of the Court of Appeal, four judges of the Appellate Division, 21 judges of the High Court, two judicial commissioners and five senior judges – and 24 international judges.

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

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