Appointments to the Supreme Court Bench (Jun 2016)

The President of the Republic of Singapore, on the advice of the Prime Minister, has appointed Justice Judith Prakash (朱迪柏拉卡斯法官) and Justice Tay Yong Kwang (郑永光法官) as Judges of Appeal of the Supreme Court under Article 95 (1) of the Constitution with effect from 1 August 2016.  

The President of the Republic of Singapore, on the advice of the Prime Minister has also appointed Mr Pang Khang Chau (彭康钊) and Ms Audrey Lim Yoon Cheng (林茵倩) as Judicial Commissioners in accordance with Article 95(4)(a) of the Constitution. Both appointments will take effect on 1 August 2016 for a period of 3 years.  

The swearing-in ceremony for the appointments will take place on Tuesday, 2 August 2016 at the Istana.

Justice Judith Prakash

Justice Prakash was appointed Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court on 1 April 1992 and a High Court Judge on 1 April 1995. She specialises in complex commercial cases, arbitration, company, and trust law.  Prior to becoming a Judge, Justice Prakash was in practice for 18 years.  

Besides her judicial duties, Justice Prakash chairs the Singapore Academy of Law’s Law Reform Committee and Publications Committee. She is also a member of the Medical Litigation Review Committee, tasked to address the challenges in medical litigation. Justice Prakash has sat as a Judge in the Court of Appeal occasionally since 2002 and more regularly since 2014. With this appointment, Justice Prakash will be the first woman to be appointed as a permanent judge of the Singapore Court of Appeal.

Justice Tay Yong Kwang

Justice Tay was a District Judge of the then Subordinate Courts before being appointed as Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court on 15 October 1997 and a High Court Judge on 2 January 2003. He has been sitting as Judge in the Court of Appeal occasionally since 2003 and more regularly since 2014. 

Justice Tay chairs the Civil Justice Commission which is presently doing a comprehensive review of the Rules of Court which govern civil procedure in the Courts.  More recently, he was appointed as a member of the Constitutional Commission on the Elected Presidency. Justice Tay is also a member of the Sentencing Council as well as the Selection Committee which appoints lawyers to the panel of lawyers under the Legal Assistance Scheme for Capital Offences.
 
Mr Pang Khang Chau 

Mr Pang Khang Chau joined the Legal Service in 1995 as a State Counsel in the Civil Division of the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) where he acted as counsel for the government in various legal proceedings, including in cases before the High Court and the Court of Appeal.  In 1998, he was posted to the Ministry of Law as Deputy Director, Legal Policy Division before returning to the AGC in 2002. 

Currently the Director-General of the International Affairs Division of AGC, he oversees a department of lawyers, responsible for advising government departments on international law matters and representing the government in international negotiations and international disputes.  Mr Pang had been involved in the Land Reclamation dispute before the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea, as well as in the Pedra Branca dispute before the International Court of Justice. He was also the Deputy Agent for the Government of Singapore in the Railway Land arbitration before the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague. 
 
Ms Audrey Lim Yoon Cheng

Ms Audrey Lim joined the Legal Service in 1994.  She has considerable and varied legal experience, with postings to the Supreme Court, State Courts and the Attorney-General’s Chambers in both criminal and civil matters. Ms Lim spent more than 6 years with the Supreme Court and was appointed Deputy Registrar in 2009. In her current role as Deputy Chief Legislative Counsel in the Attorney-General’s Chambers, Ms Lim handles mainly court-related legislation (including rules of court for the Supreme Court and Family Justice Courts), legislation under the purview of the Ministry of Law, and community and social legislation under the purview of the Ministry of Manpower, Ministry of Social and Family Development, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health. 

With the above appointments, the Supreme Court will have a total of 14 Judges (including four Judges of Appeal and the Chief Justice), 12 Judicial Commissioners, five Senior Judges and 12 International Judges. 

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PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE
29 JUNE 2016