Philip Jeyaretnam Explained

Honorific Prefix:The Honourable
Philip Jeyaretnam
Term Start:1 November 2021
Nominator:Halimah Yacob
Office1:Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court
Term Start1:4 January 2021
Term End1:31 October 2021
Nominator1:Halimah Yacob
Birth Name:Philip Antony Jeyaretnam
Birth Place:State of Singapore, Malaysia
Alma Mater:Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Parents:J. B. Jeyaretnam (father)
Margaret Cynthia Walker (mother)
Relatives:Kenneth Jeyaretnam (brother)
Harold Walker (uncle)
Awards:Young Artist Award (1993)
South-East Asian Write Award (2003)

Philip Antony Jeyaretnam (born 1964) is a Singaporean judge, lawyer and author who has been serving as a Judge of the High Court of Singapore since 1 November 2021, having been first appointed to the Bench as a Judicial Commissioner on 4 January 2021.[1] [2] He has served as President of the Singapore International Commercial Court since 2 January 2023. Prior to his appointment to the Bench, he served as ASEAN chief executive officer and global vice-chair at Dentons.[3] [4] He also served as president of the Law Society of Singapore between 2004 and 2007. Jeyaretnam was also one of the youngest lawyers to be appointed Senior Counsel in 2003 at the age of 38.

Early life

Jeyaretnam is the younger son of Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam, the first opposition politician to be elected to Parliament in post-independence Singapore, and Margaret Walker. He is of Sri Lankan Tamil and English descent.[5] Growing up, he was "inspired by both [his] parents who were lawyers". He found his father's court work "exciting" due to "the probing, the cut and thrust, the interplay between two opponents" which "appealed to [his] competitive streak". Jeyaretnam also said that his "best days are spent right in the thrust of battle in court" where he gets to "uncover things, to get to the truth".[6] His older brother, Kenneth Jeyaretnam, is the leader of the opposition Reform Party, which was founded by their father shortly before his death in 2008.

Jeyaretnam received his early education at Raeburn Park School and the United World College of South East Asia in Singapore, and at the Charterhouse School in Surrey, England. He then went on to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he read law and graduated with first class honours in 1986. He was admitted to the Singapore Bar in 1987 and was conferred the title of Senior Counsel in 2003, when he was only 38.

Career

On 1 January 2011, Jeyaretnam was appointed as managing partner of Rodyk & Davidson, one of Singapore's leading law firms.[7] In 2016, he led the firm's combination with Dentons, forming Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP. He held the positions of Singapore chief executive officer and global vice-chair at Dentons. Jeyaretnam is recognised as an expert in arbitration, construction law and litigation in major legal publications.[8] [9] [10] Described by Legal500 as a 'star' and 'master tactician' in 2014,[11] [12] [13] Jeyaretnam's recent and significant cases include representing The Wall Street Journal on issues arising from its coverage of the 1MDB affair[14] [15] and defending the Papua New Guinea Sustainable Development Programme against a suit by the Government of Papua New Guinea.[16]

Jeyaretnam received the C.C. Tan Award from the Law Society of Singapore in December 2020. This annual award is given to those who best exemplify the Bar's traditions of integrity, fairness and gentlemanly conduct.[17]

On 4 January 2021, Jeyaretnam was appointed as a judicial commissioner of the Supreme Court of Singapore.[18] He was appointed as a Judge on 1 November 2021 and is currently President of the Singapore International Commercial Court.[19] He is also concurrently a member of the Judicial Service Commission and the Presidential Council for Minority Rights.[20]

Boards and memberships

Jeyaretnam served an 11-year term as a member of the Public Service Commission[21] [22] [23] and currently serves as a member of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights.[24] He served as the Chairman of Maxwell Chambers from 2010 to 2020, for which public service he received the Public Service Star in 2021.[25] Prior to becoming a judge, he was a member of the SIAC Regional Panel of Arbitrators.[26] In July 2005, Jeyaretnam was appointed as a board member of the Singapore National Kidney Foundation by the Minister for Health to help restore proper governance and public trust.[27] [28] He is a former president of the Law Society of Singapore, and was Founding Chairman of the Society of Construction Law from 2002 to 2004.

Jeyaretnam used to chair the board of trustees for the nonprofit arts group the Practice Performing Arts School founded by Kuo Pao Kun. In his view, the arts are as important as any other elements in the growth of a society. Writers, artists, composers, directors – whom he terms "ideas people" – are needed for a lively arts scene and that more should be done to encourage new ideas from artists. He also called for greater support from the private sector for "the serious arts", since the popular arts are commonly "funded by the market and community organisations".[29]

Personal life

Jeyaretnam is the son of J. B. Jeyaretnam, who was a prominent opposition politician in Singapore.[30] His older brother, Kenneth Jeyaretnam, is the secretary-general of the opposition Reform Party.

Jeyaretnam married Cindy Sim in 1988[31] but divorced in 2013. They have three children together.

Works

Jeyaretnam's collection of short stories, First Loves, published in Singapore in 1987, claimed record sales on Singapore's Sunday Times best-seller book list. It won him the compliment as Singapore's "home-grown Maugham".[32] First Loves and his debut novel Raffles Place Ragtime (1988) were both nominated for the Commonwealth Writers Prize (South-east Asia and the South Pacific). His second novel, Abraham's Promise (1995) won a highly commended book award from the National Book Development Council of Singapore. He was presented with the 'Young Artist of the Year' award in 1993, the Montblanc-NUS Centre for the Arts Literary Award in 1997, and a S.E.A. Write Award in 2003.

In 1990, he was a Fulbright Fellowship visitor to the University of Iowa International Writing Program and to the Harvard Law School. He was also an adjunct professor with the Department of Building at the National University of Singapore from 2005 to 2013.

In 2015, Abraham's Promise was selected by The Business Times as one of the Top 10 English Singapore books from 1965 to 2015, alongside titles by Arthur Yap and Daren Shiau.[33]

Novels

Short stories

Anthologies

Articles (professional)

Articles (non-professional)

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Appointment of Three Judicial Commissioners as Judges of the High Court.
  2. News: Qing. Ang. 2020-12-07. Philip Jeyaretnam appointed Supreme Court judicial commissioner. en. The Straits Times. 2021-11-02. 0585-3923.
  3. News: Rodyk & Davidson ties up with foreign firms Gadens and Dentons. 3 November 2015. The Straits Times. 26 May 2017.
  4. Web site: Philip Jeyaretnam. dentons.rodyk.com. 26 May 2017.
  5. https://web.archive.org/web/20081211164924/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/j-b-jeyaretnam-politician-and-activist-who-fought-all-his-adult-life-for-greater-democracy-in-singapore-954492.html J. B. Jeyaretnam: Politician and activist who fought all his adult life for greater democracy in Singapore
  6. News: Philip Jeyaretnam: Soaring To New Heights – Prestige Online. Prestige Singapore. 26 May 2017.
  7. http://www.rodyk.com/page/News/Details/1331 Philip Jeyaretnam, SC succeeds Helen Yeo as Managing Partner of Rodyk & Davidson
  8. Web site: Philip Jeyaretnam SC – Dentons – The Latest Legal News, Research and Legal Profiles – Who's Who Legal. 26 May 2017. whoswholegal.com.
  9. Web site: Philip Jeyaretnam – Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP – Singapore – Lawyer Profile Asia-Pacific 2017 – Chambers and Partners. chambersandpartners.com. 26 May 2017.
  10. Web site: The Legal 500 > Dentons Rodyk > Singapore, SINGAPORE > Lawyer profiles > Philip Jeyaretnam, SC. legal500.com. 26 May 2017.
  11. Web site: The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2017 > Singapore > Dispute resolution > Local firms recommended Law firms, Lawyers. legal500.com. 26 May 2017.
  12. Web site: SAL – Chancery Bar 2015. sal.org.sg. 26 May 2017. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20141204123342/http://www.sal.org.sg/conference/salchba2015/speakers2.html. 4 December 2014.
  13. Web site: Maxwell Chambers – Members. maxwell-chambers.com. 26 May 2017. 29 July 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170729032943/http://www.maxwell-chambers.com/members/director. dead.
  14. News: Najib's lawyers waiting on WSJ response, to file suit in Malaysia. AsiaOne. 26 May 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20160104191443/http://news.asiaone.com/news/malaysia/najibs-lawyers-waiting-wsj-response-file-suit-malaysia. 4 January 2016. dead.
  15. News: Najib's suit against WSJ pending reply from paper's lawyers, says Hafarizam. 26 May 2017.
  16. Web site: Singapore – Dispute Resolution: Litigation Lawyers & Law Firms – Asia-Pacific – Chambers and Partners. chambersandpartners.com. 26 May 2017.
  17. Web site: Philip Jeyaretnam SC is the recipient of The Law Society of Singapore C C Tan Award in 2020 . 5 May 2021.
  18. Web site: Philip Jeyaretnam appointed Supreme Court judicial commissioner . 7 December 2020.
  19. Web site: Justice Philip Jeyaretnam . 2024-04-08 . Default . en.
  20. Web site: Justice Philip Jeyaretnam . 2024-05-03 . Default . en.
  21. Web site: Newest member of PSC. https://web.archive.org/web/20091127060506/http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_458570.html. dead. 27 November 2009.
  22. Web site: Philip Jeyaretnam joins the public service commission . . 2009-11-24 . dmy-all . AsiaOne . 2021-04-29.
  23. . Changes at the Public Service Commission (February 2021) . . 2021-02-22 . dmy-all . 2021-04-29.
  24. Web site: Other Presidential Councils. istana.gov.sg. 26 May 2017.
  25. Web site: hermes. 2021-08-09. Public Service Star. 2021-08-10. The Straits Times. en.
  26. Web site: Singapore International Arbitration Centre. siac.org.sg. 26 May 2017.
  27. News: A few good men appointed to fix tilings at NKF. 21 July 2005. The Business Times.
  28. Web site: National Kidney Foundation financial scandal (2005) Infopedia. Singapore. National Library Board. eresources.nlb.gov.sg. 26 May 2017.
  29. 'Council Member – Philip Jeyaretnam', INSTEP Nov – Dec '05. Singapore : National Arts Council.
  30. News: Ang . Qing . 7 December 2020 . Philip Jeyaretnam appointed Supreme Court judicial commissioner . The Straits Times . 18 November 2021.
  31. Wicks . Peter . Politics and loss in Philip Jeyaretnam's Singaporean fiction . . 26 . 5 . 433–442 . 0304-8675.
  32. News: Makings of a home-grown Maugham. 28–29 May 1988. Business Times Weekend Edition. Singapore. 9.
  33. Web site: Tomes that show us how we live. The Business Times. Singapore Press Holdings. Yusof. Helmi. 2 January 2015 . 5 January 2015.
  34. Web site: Apex Publications Services. www.apexpub.com. 26 May 2017.
  35. News: Indonesia changes course in investor protection. 26 May 2017.
  36. News: Myanmar and the New York convention: Not just a piece of paper. 26 May 2017.
  37. News: The rise of international arbitration in Asia: The role of Singapore and Singapore law. 26 May 2017.
  38. News: Raffles Place reviewed. 18 June 2016. The Straits Times. 26 May 2017.
  39. News: Light Among The Shadows. The Business Times. 26 May 2017.

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