Bala Reddy

Bala Reddy
Bala Reddy
Born	1955 (age 68–69)
Nationality	Singaporean
Education	National University of Singapore Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge
Occupation(s)	Senior Principal District Judge, State Courts of Singapore
Known for	Criminal Law; Admiralty law; Community Justice
Term	2014 – present
Honours	Pingat Pentadbiran Awam - Perak (Public Administration Medal)

Bala Reddy (Tamil: பாலா ரெட்டி) is a veteran Singaporean senior lawyer. He is presently the senior principal district judge and director of the Community Justice and Tribunals division in the State Courts of Singapore. Reddy is an authority in international criminal justice systems and served as a legal expert for the United Nations Development Programme as well as the United Nations Convention against Corruption.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] Prior to his judicial appointment to the State Courts in 2014, Reddy was the Chief Prosecutor in the Attorney-General's Chambers of Singapore during Justice Steven Chong's tenure as Attorney-General.^[5]

Early life and education

Bala Reddy was born in Singapore on 18 September 1955 to parents who had migrated from Madurai, India. He graduated from the National University of Singapore (University of Singapore) Faculty of Law where he was conferred the Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws degrees. He subsequently also qualified as a barrister in Singapore, Brunei, England and Wales. In 1991, he was awarded a Singapore Legal Service Commission scholarship to pursue an MPhil in Criminology at Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge where he was supervised by the distinguished criminologist, Nigel Walker. In 1999, Reddy was awarded a Legal Service sponsorship to join the Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School.^[2]

Legal practice and judicial career

Reddy began his career in private legal practice specializing as an arbitrator in Admiralty, Banking and Insurance law. In 1985, he joined the Singapore Legal Service, an autonomous wing of the Public Service Commission. He was appointed a Deputy Public Prosecutor and State Counsel in the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) and represented Singapore at several international negotiations including the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and the United Nations Development Programme to strengthen the legal capacity of Vietnam.^[1]^[2] After 20 years of service in the AGC, Reddy was appointed as a judge in the State Courts of Singapore in 2005. In 2015, Reddy joined the faculty of the SMU School of Law where he leads the seminar course "Evidence, Litigation & Criminal Process".^[6]

Community court

Reddy is a proponent of favoring comprehensive community-level justice solutions (as opposed to traditional punitive custodial sentences) to rehabilitate and reintegrate minor offenders from vulnerable groups back into the community.^[7]^[8] As a judicial officer in the State Courts, he spearheaded the introduction of the community court model and in 2006, Reddy presided over the inaugural Community Court in Singapore.^[9] The first problem-solving court in Asia; the community court "adopts a non-traditional, multi-disciplinary team approach and explores sentencing alternatives" such as counseling, rehabilitation and community service to discourage recidivism.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b "United Nations Office on Drugs and Corruption Experts" (PDF). United Nations Office on Drugs and Corruption. UNODC Treaties. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c "International Association of Prosecutors Speaker Synopsis". International Association of Prosecutors Moscow Conference. IAP. 9 September 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
^ Administrator, Web. "The Malaysian Bar – IMLC 2012 – The Independence of the Attorney General: A cornerstone of the administration of the criminal justice system". www.malaysianbar.org.my. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
^ ^a ^b Reddy, Bala (2011). "Community-Based Alternatives in Sentencing" (PDF). United Nations AFEI 141st International Senior Seminar, Visiting Experts' Papers. 79: 220–234. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 October 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
^ "The Attorney-General's Chambers - The Legal Branch | Legal Service Commission Annual Report 2012". www.lsc.gov.sg. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
^ "Faculty For AY2015/16". law.smu.edu.sg. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
^ Reddy, Bala (1991). "Community Service Orders: An Alternative Sentence". Singapore Academy of Law Journal. 3 (2): 230–237.
^ Reddy, Bala (1992). "Sentencing: Unintended but Foreseeable Consequences". Singapore Academy of Law Journal. 4 (1): 116–122.
^ "Bala REDDY".