LAWLINK 2016 3 Deans’ DIARY Deans’ Diary
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Special Anniversary Edition December 2016 ISSN: 0219 - 6441 Honorary Doctorate for HALIMAH YACOB ’78 SPEAKER OF parliament Be Part of NUS Law’s PLUS law 60TH ANNIVERSARY Saving the Environment NUS Law Moot Wins CELEBRATIONS APCEL’S 20TH ANNIVERSARY Commencement 2016 Book Launches Walk Down Memory Lane Student Commitment to NUS LAW MILESTONES PRO BONO WORK LAUDED REUNIONS! Classes of 1976, 1986, 1996 NUS Giving 2001 & 2006 link WITH THANKS FROM THE NEXT Generation THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF From left: Professor Tommy Koh ’61, Judge of Appeal Judith Prakash ’74, THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon ’86, Rachel Eng ’91, FACULTY OF LAW Tan Min-Liang ’02 and Afzal Ali ’14 SIX DECADES OF NUS LAW MEMORIES The four years I spent studying law at NUS are the golden My favourite memory of law school is the time spent with my friends years of my life. My favourite memory is the pioneering spirit at the law school foyer. At the Kent Ridge law campus, the foyer and camaraderie of the class of 1961. We were very close to one was like a main thoroughfare which cut across the law faculty. The another and to our teachers. As the pioneering class, we were foyer was a place where we hung out in between lessons, it was where excited and determined to make the law school succeed. we met, hoping to bump into our favourite seniors! Tommy Koh Rachel Eng Class of 1961 Class of 1991 Celebrating 60 Years of Legal Education Professor & Ambassador-at-Large Deputy Chairman of WongPartnership LLP NUS Law celebrates 60 years of growth, success and achievements in 2017. In September 1957, the Faculty began teaching its first LL.B. cohort who would graduate in 1961. This pioneer batch of 22 students became the first graduates in Law of this University and included Professor Tommy Koh, former Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong, I enjoyed my time as a law student immensely and it is hard to separate out one happy Emeritus Professor Koh Kheng Lian, former Dean Thio Su Mien, former Solicitor-General memory in particular. I cherish the memory of many outstanding women who made a lifelong Koh Eng Tian and former Police Commissioner Goh Yong Hong. impression on me. I refer in particular to Dr Thio Su Mien who was in her last term as My favourite memory at NUS Law was the first day when I stepped Dean when I enrolled: I had not known before that one could be both an intellectual and into campus and it dawned on me that it was the beginning of my NUS Law leads Asia as the region’s top law school every year, and it has been ranked glamorous; then there was Professor Tan Sook Yee who taught us land law and mesmerised career. Clearly the law can lead you to different places. :D regularly among the world’s 20 best law schools. About 250 graduates join a long list of the whole class with her wit; Dr Rowena Daw was the youngest PhD in the faculty and distinguished NUS Law alumni every year. not only full of enthusiasm but treated her students as her equals which was a new experience for me; Dr Koh Kheng Lian who was helpful and keen for us to understand the The measure of any educational institution is in the success of its alumni. As our cover technicalities of contract law; and of course Ms Elizabeth Sreenivasan who ruled over the illustrates, members of the NUS Law family occupy the ranks of the judiciary, government, law library with an iron hand (which ensured a clean and peaceful study environment), Tan Min-Liang private practice, business, the arts and media communities as well as almost every niche and embodied the discipline that is essential to a successful life in the law. Class of 2002 of professional life in Singapore. CEO of Razer Inc. Our alumni are an important part of the work of the faculty and we invite you to join us Judith Prakash as we celebrate this milestone in the history of the faculty. Class of 1974 Judge of Appeal Six special events are being planned to reflect upon the many significant milestones and achievements that have taken place at the faculty in the last six decades. The celebration will kickoff with Law IV, an annual fundraising musical event presented by the graduating class of NUS Law. th My time in the law school was filled with many memories. I distinctly remember the party organised for Year One law students NUS Law’s 60 Anniversary Signature Events: Inevitably, these revolve around the people we met: classmates, at the end of the semester of the first year of law school. It was teachers and for a few of us who were very blessed, our future at the upper quadrangle with good food and drinks and almost the • Law IV Musical spouses! Recently, we celebrated the 30th Anniversary of our entire batch was there having a great time. We were unwinding after • Book Launch: History of the Faculty graduation and nearly half the class gathered. The years quickly a demanding semester while also celebrating the fact that we were • Public Seminar on NUS Law’s impact on Legal Developments in Singapore melted away as we were brought back to a time when life seemed no longer going to be freshmen! • Launch of the new Centre for Pro Bono and Clinical Law simpler and freer. It reminded me that law school was the season • Gala Appreciation Dinner in our lives when we moved from being fresh-faced students • Alumni Movie Night to determined young professionals and we were very happy. We invite you to be part of the celebrations and to share your memories of NUS Law. Afzal Ali Please update your particulars on our website to stay abreast of our activities. Class of 2014 Sundaresh Menon Justices’ Law Clerk Class of 1986 www.law.nus.edu.sg/alumni Chief Justice CONTENTS 4 8 23 32 41 48 Deans’ Diary 60th Anniversary Special Faculty Features Student Features Alumni NUS Giving History of the Faculty 8 Kwa Geok Choo Lecture: 23 Commencement 2016 32 Remy Choo Zheng Xi ’10 41 With Thanks from the 52 Professor Louise Gullifer wins IBA Award Next Generation 6 Milestones 10 Students Develop Innovative 35 Yong Shook Lin Lecture: 24 Technology for Lawyers Law Alumni Mentor Programme 50 Former MP Honours Father 54 Benefactors Professor Kal Raustiala (LAMP) Through Bursary Moot Wins 36 16 Lucy Reed Joins NUS 25 Rag & Flag Day 2016 39 Faculty Spotlight Judiciary Visits 26 42 LAW IV: Built to Order 40 APCEL’s 20th Anniversary 16 Criminal Law in Myanmar 28 Reunions Pro Bono Work Lauded 18 Constitutional Interpretation 29 Class of 1976 42 in Singapore Legal Aid Bureau 20 Class of 1986 44 Appreciation Awards Alternative Visions of the 30 International Law on Foreign Class of 1996 46 Pro Bono Group Celebrates 21 Investment: Essays in Honour 10th Anniversary of M. Sornarajah Class of 2001 47 Halimah Yacob ’78 Conferred 22 Studies in the Contract 31 Class of 2006 48 Honorary Doctor of Laws Laws of Asia: Remedies for Breach of Contract Hong Kong 49 Alumni Relations & Development NUS Law Eu Tong Sen Building 469G Bukit Timah Road Singapore 259776 Tel: (65) 6516 3616 Fax: (65) 6779 0979 Email: [email protected] www.nuslawlink.com www.law.nus.edu.sg/alumni Please update your particulars at: LAWLINKwww.law.nus.edu.sg/alumni/alumni_update_particulars.asp 2016 3 DEANS’ DIARY DEANS’ DiarY Greetings from the National University of Timah Campus. Though small, this cohort men and women who have gone on doctrinal skills, our students also need receive some kind of financial aid based seminar on NUS Law’s impact on legal Singapore Faculty of Law! produced some of the finest minds in the to hold the most senior ranks in legal to be creative thinkers, able to cross on their family’s per capita income. developments in Singapore, the launch of legal fraternity — an auspicious start for practice, the judiciary, government, and literal and metaphorical boundaries in a new Centre for Pro Bono and Clinical This special anniversary issue of LawLink what was soon rechristened the Faculty academia — as well as in business and their work. In addition, we want all of our students Law, a Gala Appreciation Dinner, and an heralds the start of our celebration of of Law. the arts. to be able to make the most of their Alumni Movie Night. NUS Law’s six decades at the forefront of We have therefore created a host of time here and be able to participate in legal education and research. We thought In the succeeding years, NUS Law has In addition to outstanding graduates, opportunities to develop these skills, the programmes and activities offered, Our graduating cohort, the Class of 2017, it fitting that the opening message should gone from strength to strength and NUS Law produces cutting edge research. including courses taught by the best regardless of their financial background. will flag off the celebrations with their come from all of the Singapore-based there is much to celebrate. From humble This research informs legal policy debates faculty from around the world, overseas Student support is therefore the focus Law IV production, “Judicial Review”. In former Deans of the Faculty, as well as beginnings, the student population within Singapore, contributing to its exchange programmes, competitions in of our 60th Anniversary fund-raising line with our focus on student support, the current Dean. has grown to an intake of 250 per well-deserved reputation in the rule of various fields of law, and new avenues campaign and we are launching the NUS the class has decided that all proceeds year, together with 120 graduate law.