Chan Sek Keong (born 5 November 1937)
is a Malayan-born Singaporean retired judge who served as the third
chief justice of Singapore
The chief justice of Singapore is the chief justice, presiding member of the Supreme Court of Singapore. It is the highest post in the judicial system of Singapore, appointed by the President of Singapore, president, chosen from the candidates rec ...
between 2006 and 2012, appointed by
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
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Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
S. R. Nathan. Prior to his appointment as chief justice, he served as the country's
attorney-general
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
between 1992 and 2006.
Early life and education
Chan was born in 1937 in
Ipoh
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,
Malaya as the third of five children in an
ethnic Chinese
The Chinese people or simply Chinese, are people or ethnic groups identified with China, usually through ethnicity, nationality, citizenship, or other affiliation.
Chinese people are known as Zhongguoren () or as Huaren () by speakers of s ...
family of
Cantonese descent. His father was a clerk in the
Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank
HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tril ...
. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Chan and his family fled from Ipoh to
Taiping
__NOTOC__
Taiping, Tai-p’ing, or Tai Ping most often refers to:
Chinese history
* Princess Taiping (died 713), Tang dynasty princess
* Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864), civil war in southern China
** Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1851–1864), the re ...
to live with his grandfather.
Along with his elder brother, Chan received his early education in
King Edward VII School in Taiping. When the war ended in 1945, he returned to Ipoh and continued studying at Anderson School. Chan, who was then eight years old, was placed with other children who had missed entering school at the usual age of six years. At the time, Anderson School was the premier government school in Ipoh. In school, he interacted well with students of other ethnicities. In 1955, Chan scored eight distinctions for his
Senior Cambridge School Certificate examinations – one of the best in Malaya that year. He was offered a teaching
bursary
A bursary is a monetary award made by any educational institution or funding authority to individuals or groups. It is usually awarded to enable a student to attend school, university or college when they might not be able to, otherwise. Some awa ...
. However, as a teaching career was not what he envisaged, he continued on to the
sixth form
In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...
in hopes of securing a place in a university.
During his second year of the sixth form course, Chan heard from his English literature teacher, Dr. Alan Etherton, that a law professor from the
University of Malaya
The University of Malaya ( ms, Universiti Malaya, UM; abbreviated as UM or informally the Malayan University) is a public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest and highest ranking Malaysian institution of highe ...
would be visiting the school to encourage students in the form to take up a new law course offered by the university. Etherton saw Chan's potential for law and urged him to go for it. Chan, unaware about the career prospects that a law degree could offer, heeded Etherton's advice and went for an interview conducted by Professor Lee Sheridan.
[.]
Legal education and training
Chan, along with the students, was a member of the inaugural batch of students admitted to the
Law Faculty of the University of Malaya in 1957. He graduated in 1961 and began his career with Messrs Bannon & Bailey in
Kuala Lumpur
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as a
pupil
The pupil is a black hole located in the center of the iris of the eye that allows light to strike the retina.Cassin, B. and Solomon, S. (1990) ''Dictionary of Eye Terminology''. Gainesville, Florida: Triad Publishing Company. It appears black ...
of Peter Mooney. Six months later, he learnt that the law degree he had graduated with was not yet recognised for admission to the bar as the necessary legislation had not been enacted yet. As soon as the legislation was passed, Chan applied to the
Bar Council of Malaysia
The Malaysian Bar (Malay: Badan Peguam Malaysia) is a professional body which regulates the profession of lawyers in peninsular Malaysia. In Malaysia, there is no distinction between a barrister and a solicitor, in that, it is a fused profes ...
to ask for the period of pupillage he was required to serve to be shortened. Following a rejection of his request, Chan petitioned the court against the Bar Council's decision. R. Ramani, a leading advocate and Chairman of the Bar Council, appeared personally to object to Chan's petition on the grounds that he had provided only one reason for abridgment of time when the relevant provision in the legislation referred to "reasons" (or "special grounds", the accurate wording used). Justice H.T. Ong ruled in Chan's favour, holding that the provision should be interpreted to include situations where there was only one reason for reducing the length of a pupillage stint.
[
]
Career
After being admitted to the bar on 31 January 1962, Chan practised as a lawyer for a number of years first with Bannon & Bailey in Kuala Lumpur and then with Braddell Brothers and Shook Lin & Bok in Singapore before being appointed the first Judicial Commissioner of Singapore on 1 July 1986. Two years later, he became a Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
of the Supreme Court of Singapore
The Supreme Court of Singapore is a set of courts in Singapore, comprising the Court of Appeal and the High Court. It hears both civil and criminal matters. The Court of Appeal hears both civil and criminal appeals from the High Court. The ...
.
In 1992, Chan was appointed Attorney-General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
. Acting in this capacity in 1997, he submitted an opinion to the Singapore government
The Government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of Singapore to mean the executive branch of the state, which is made up of the president and the Cabinet. Although the president acts in their personal discretion in the exercise ...
that although the Parliamentary Elections Act forbade unauthorised persons to loiter ''within'' 200 metres of polling stations on polling day, this did not apply to unauthorised persons who were ''inside'' the stations. Chan was asked to render this opinion following a complaint by the Workers' Party that during the 1997 general election former People's Action Party
The People's Action Party (abbreviation: PAP) is a major conservative centre-right political party in Singapore and is one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the opposition Workers' Party (WP) and ...
Members of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
had loitered in polling stations.
Chan relinquished the position of Attorney-General on 11 April 2006 when he was appointed Chief Justice. He retired in 2012, having spent 26 years in legal service. In October 2013, he joined the National University of Singapore's Faculty of Law as its first Distinguished Fellow. The term of appointment is on an honorary basis and will be for an initial period of three years. As a Distinguished Fellow, Chan pursued research and writing projects.
In October 2019, Chan called for a review of the constitutional validity of Section 377A.
Awards and decorations
Chan was conferred the Order of Temasek (Second Class) by the Singapore government on 9 August 2008 for his outstanding contributions to the team representing Singapore in the Pedra Branca dispute
The Pedra Branca dispute was a territorial dispute between Singapore and Malaysia over several islets at the eastern entrance to the Singapore Strait, namely Pedra Branca (previously called Pulau Batu Puteh and now Batu Puteh by Malaysia), ...
against the Malaysian government
The Government of Malaysia, officially the Federal Government of Malaysia ( ms, Kerajaan Persekutuan Malaysia), is based in the Federal Territory of Putrajaya with the exception of the legislative branch, which is located in Kuala Lumpur. Malay ...
before the International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
. In the same month, he became the first Singaporean law graduate to be made an honorary bencher
A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher can ...
of Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...
.
On 21 November 2009, Chan became the first Asian jurist to be given the International Jurists Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the administration of justice which, according to International Council of Jurists
The International Council of Jurists (ICJ) is a company based in London, England that organizes seminars and conferences in London and India, and gives out awards. It charges fees for membership, conference sponsorship and advertising.
In April 2 ...
president Adish Aggarwala
Adish C. Aggarwala is a jurist and the President of International Council of Jurists, Chairman of All India Bar Association, Convener of Indian Council of Jurists, Chairman of India Legal Information Institute, Secretary General of All India ...
, had "enhanced the dignity of the judiciary in Asian countries".[.]
Chan was conferred the state award, Darjah Dato' Seri Paduka Mahkota Perak (SPMP), which carries the title ''Dato' Seri
The Malay language has a complex system of styles, titles and honorifics which are used extensively in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the southern Philippines.
Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and several provinces in Indonesia regul ...
'', by Azlan Shah, the Sultan of Perak
The Sultan of Perak (سلطان ڤيراق) is one of the oldest hereditary seats among the Malay states.
When the Sultanate of Malacca empire fell to Portugal in 1511, Sultan Mahmud Syah I retreated to Kampar, Sumatra, and died there in ...
, in 1999.
Notes
External links
Judges, Judicial Commissioners and Registrars on the official website of the Supreme Court of Singapore
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chan, Sek Keong
1937 births
Singaporean people of Chinese descent
Chief justices of Singapore
Living people
People from Ipoh
Singaporean people of Cantonese descent
Singaporean Roman Catholics
Singaporean Senior Counsel
Malaysian emigrants to Singapore
People who lost Malaysian citizenship
Naturalised citizens of Singapore
Recipients of the Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang
Recipients of the Darjah Utama Temasek
Malaysian people of Cantonese descent