Our alumnus, Justice Andrew Phang, appointed as Distinguished Honorary Professor at NUS

The National University of Singapore (NUS) Faculty of Law is delighted to announce that the Provost has appointed Justice Andrew Phang ’82 as Distinguished Honorary Professor at NUS.

An esteemed NUS Law alumnus, Justice Phang has continually given back to his alma mater through the years, including as Chair of the NUS Law Advisory Council between 2019 and 2022. Most recently, he was the Guest of Honour at NUS Law’s Freshmen Inauguration Ceremony in July, where the first batch of incoming students took an ethics pledge as a further expression of their commitment to uphold the values of the legal profession. And just last year, NUS presented Justice Phang with a Distinguished Alumni Service Award, honouring him for his outstanding contributions to his alma mater, society and the world.

Justice Phang recently retired as Vice President of the Singapore Court of Appeal, where he remains a Senior Judge. He is also an eminent academic, having been a full Professor at NUS before moving to Singapore Management University, where he chaired the Law Department before later going to the Bench. He remains a Distinguished Professor at SMU.

Professor Andrew Simester, Dean of NUS Law, said: “Andrew is a friend to NUS. In addition to the many specific contributions he has made to NUS Law, he has played an important role in bridging between Singapore academia and the judiciary. I’m very pleased that both the major law schools are able to recognise that.”

About Justice Andrew Phang

Graduating with first class honours from the NUS Law Faculty in 1982, Justice Phang obtained his master’s and doctorate degrees from Harvard Law School. He taught for 18 years at the NUS Law Faculty and was appointed Professor of Law in 1999. He was also the recipient of an NUS Outstanding University Researcher Award.

In 2000, he was appointed Professor of Law at the Singapore Management University (SMU), where he became Distinguished Term Professor of Law in 2023.

In 2004, Justice Phang became the first legal academic to be appointed as Senior Counsel despite not making any application for the title. He was appointed Judicial Commissioner on 3 January 2005, appointed High Court Judge on 8 December 2005, appointed Judge of Appeal (since re-designated as Justice of the Court of Appeal) on 28 February 2006 and was appointed Vice-President of the Court of Appeal on 28 September 2017.

Justice Phang has published in the leading Commonwealth journals and has contributed to over 40 local, as well as international, journals in the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. In addition to over 260 publications, many of which have been cited in articles and books published both locally and overseas, he has authored close to 400 judgments.

His judgments have been published not only in the local law reports but also in many international law reports. Many of his judgments have been the subject of academic commentary in local and international journals, and been cited and/or discussed in many books and articles as well as leading textbooks both locally and internationally. His judgments have also been referred to in both local and international courts, including the highest appellate courts in the UK, Australia, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

In recognition of his contributions to legal scholarship both as a legal academic as well as a Judge over a period of four decades, the President of the Republic of Singapore awarded him the Meritorious Service Medal (Pingat Jasa Gemilang) in August 2022. He also became only the third member of the Singapore Judiciary in modern times to have had a Valedictory Reference (a formal sitting of the full Bench to honour a retiring Judge).