Charmaine Yap wins honour for human rights work

Congratulations to Charmaine Yap ’18, for winning the International Bar Association’s (IBA’s) Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year Award!

The IBA Young Lawyers’ Committee presents the award annually to a young lawyer for their professional excellence and contributions to the legal profession and wider community.

Ms Yap received the award at the IBA Annual Conference in Copenhagen on 8 October 2026 and is only the second Singaporean to receive the award. The first was lawyer Mr Remy Choo ’10, who won it in 2016. Both are alumnus of the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law.

She said, “Winning this 10 years after Remy Choo did feels like a full-circle moment. I am glad to be a part of the legacy of Singapore lawyers making an impact on the world stage for public interest work. But there is more to do for migrant workers, and I hope this gives momentum to the work many of us are doing.”

Ms Yap was recognised for her commitment to advocacy for vulnerable groups. Over more than 13 years, she has built an outstanding record of advocacy for low-wage migrant workers, including through her work with Justice Without Borders; pro-bono representation in unpaid wage and abuse claims; policy research; training for NGOs, consular staff and lawyers; and sustained engagement with migrant-worker rights organisations in Singapore and around the region.

Ms Yap was also involved in parliamentary work from 2016 to 2025. As part of then Member of Parliament Louis Ng’s legislative team, she contributed to policy research and legislative initiatives focused on vulnerable groups, climate and the environment—among them the Good Samaritan Food Donation Act.

She has practised in complex disputes and white-collar investigations too, and was involved in Singapore’s first deferred prosecution agreement, resolving bribery allegations connected to Brazil’s Operation Car Wash.

The award is given in memory of former IBA President William Reece Smith Jr, who distinguished himself over a career spanning more than 50 years as an accomplished lawyer, legal scholar and mentor, and who was widely known for his support for legal services to the poor.

Professor Tan Cheng Han, S.C., ’87, Chief Strategy Officer at NUS Law and President of the Law Society of Singapore, said Ms Yap’s recognition on the world stage shows what the country’s young lawyers are capable of. “We hope her achievement will inspire the new generation of Singapore lawyers to build careers of meaning and impact, and to treat access to justice as part of what it means to practise law.”

Law Minister Edwin Tong, S.C., ’94 also spoke about how he was impressed by Ms Yap’s “energy, thoughtfulness and willingness to step forward, to contribute an impact beyond her own sphere” in a LinkedIn post.

In that same post, he wrote: “In her acceptance remarks, she said that movements for change begin when individuals decide that ‘what exists is not what ought to exist’. I think that captures her approach to the law beautifully. It is not just about understanding the world as it is, but having the conviction and courage to help make it better.”

Ms Yap returned to Singapore in June after completing her master’s at Columbia Law School on a Fulbright Scholarship, where she developed research on subjects such as labour migration, anti-corruption enforcement, human rights and sustainable finance.

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About Charmaine Yap

Charmaine Yap is a lawyer and volunteer with migrant worker advocacy group Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2). She has partnered with NGOs including COVID-19 Migrant Support Coalition (CMSC), HealthServe, Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME), and Justice Without Borders on legal cases and policy reforms for migrant workers, including policies relating to salary protections, work injury, safe transport, rest day, food, and living conditions. She was Legislative Assistant to then-MP Louis Ng, leading a team that championed parliamentary action for migrant workers, refugees, sex workers, environmental and climate protections, among other issues. She served as Singapore’s National Focal Point for ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights. A Fulbright Scholar, she focused her graduate studies at Columbia Law School on labour migration and financial crime.