NUS Law alumni appointments in Supreme Court

We congratulate our alumni, Judicial Commissioners (JCs) Christopher Tan Pheng Wee ’98 and Kristy Tan ’04, for being appointed High Court judges from 1 August 2025, and Justice Steven Chong ’82, for his reappointment as Justice of the Court of Appeal from 23 September 2025. The announcements were made by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on 16 July 2025.

The new appointments and reappointment are a recognition of our alumni contributions to Singapore law, all of whom have served in the judiciary for many years.

Judicial Commissioner Kristy Tan

Judicial Commissioner Kristy Tan was appointed Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court on 1 October 2023. As JC, she has been hearing cases involving areas such as banking, arbitration and trusts.

JC Tan was formerly an Equity Partner at Allen & Gledhill, before moving from private practice to join the legal service in March 2018. She served as Head (Advocacy Group) and (concurrently, since April 2021) Deputy Chief Counsel (Civil Division) at the Attorney-General’s Chambers, conducting litigation in the areas of civil, criminal, and public law and public inquiries. In 2021, she was appointed Senior Counsel.

Judicial Commissioner Christopher Tan Pheng Wee

 Judicial Commissioner Christopher Tan concurrently served as Registrar of the State Courts and Deputy Presiding Judge of the State Courts in 2020, before he was appointed Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court in October 2023. As JC, his areas of focus include medical negligence tort claims, defamation and criminal trials.

In 2001, JC Tan joined the then Subordinate Courts as a Magistrate and subsequently as a District Judge. Since 2003, he has served in various capacities in the legal and judicial services, including as a Deputy Public Prosecutor in the Attorney General’s Chambers, and Executive Director of the Investment Intermediaries Department of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. In 2014, he returned to the judiciary, serving first as a Senior Assistant Registrar in the Supreme Court and subsequently as a District Judge in the Criminal Justice Division of the State Courts.

Justice Steven Chong

Justice Steven Chong was appointed as Justice of the Court of Appeal (formerly known as Judge of Appeal) on 1 April 2017, and reappointed in that role for a three-year term in September 2022. His appointment will be extended by a year.

Previously, Justice Chong was appointed a Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court on 1 October 2009, and a High Court Judge in June 2010. After serving as Attorney-General for two years from 25 June 2012, he resumed his High Court Judge appointment on 25 June 2014.

Justice Chong 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 member of the Rules Committee.

He was admitted as an advocate and solicitor in 1983 and started practising law as an associate in Drew & Napier that same year. He was made Joint Managing Partner in 1997. In 1998, he moved to Rajah & Tann as Senior Partner before becoming Managing Partner in 2003. He was appointed Senior Counsel in 1998.