Young Artist Award (1993) South-East Asian Write Award (2003)
Philip Antony JeyaretnamSCBBM (born 1964) is a Singaporean judge, lawyer and author who has been serving as a Judge of the High Court of Singapore since 1 November 2021, having been first appointed to the Bench as a Judicial Commissioner on 4 January 2021.[1][2] He has served as President of the Singapore International Commercial Court since 2 January 2023. Prior to his appointment to the Bench, he served as ASEAN chief executive officer and global vice-chair at Dentons.[3][4] He also served as president of the Law Society of Singapore between 2004 and 2007. Jeyaretnam was also one of the youngest lawyers to be appointed Senior Counsel in 2003 at the age of 38.[2]
Early life
Jeyaretnam is the younger son of Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam, the first opposition politician to be elected to Parliament in post-independence Singapore, and Margaret Walker. He is of Sri Lankan Tamil and English descent.[5] Growing up, he was "inspired by both [his] parents who were lawyers". He found his father's court work "exciting" due to "the probing, the cut and thrust, the interplay between two opponents" which "appealed to [his] competitive streak". Jeyaretnam also said that his "best days are spent right in the thrust of battle in court" where he gets to "uncover things, to get to the truth".[6] His older brother, Kenneth Jeyaretnam, is the leader of the opposition Reform Party, which was founded by their father shortly before his death in 2008.
On 1 January 2011, Jeyaretnam was appointed as managing partner of Rodyk & Davidson, one of Singapore's leading law firms.[7] In 2016, he led the firm's combination with Dentons, forming Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP.[3] He held the positions of Singapore chief executive officer and global vice-chair at Dentons.[4] Jeyaretnam is recognised as an expert in arbitration, construction law and litigation in major legal publications.[8][9][10] Described by Legal500 as a 'star' and 'master tactician' in 2014,[11][12][13] Jeyaretnam's recent and significant cases include representing The Wall Street Journal on issues arising from its coverage of the 1MDB affair[14][15] and defending the Papua New Guinea Sustainable Development Programme against a suit by the Government of Papua New Guinea.[16]
Jeyaretnam received the C.C. Tan Award from the Law Society of Singapore in December 2020. This annual award is given to those who best exemplify the Bar's traditions of integrity, fairness and gentlemanly conduct.[17]
On 4 January 2021, Jeyaretnam was appointed as a judicial commissioner of the Supreme Court of Singapore.[18] He was appointed as a Judge on 1 November 2021 and is currently President of the Singapore International Commercial Court.[19] He is also concurrently a member of the Judicial Service Commission and the Presidential Council for Minority Rights.[20]
Jeyaretnam used to chair the board of trustees for the nonprofit arts group the Practice Performing Arts School founded by Kuo Pao Kun. In his view, the arts are as important as any other elements in the growth of a society. Writers, artists, composers, directors – whom he terms "ideas people" – are needed for a lively arts scene and that more should be done to encourage new ideas from artists. He also called for greater support from the private sector for "the serious arts", since the popular arts are commonly "funded by the market and community organisations".[29]
Jeyaretnam married Cindy Sim in 1988[31] but divorced in 2013. They have three children together.
Works
Jeyaretnam's collection of short stories, First Loves, published in Singapore in 1987, claimed record sales on Singapore's Sunday Times best-seller book list. It won him the compliment as Singapore's "home-grown Maugham".[32]First Loves and his debut novel Raffles Place Ragtime (1988) were both nominated for the Commonwealth Writers Prize (South-east Asia and the South Pacific). His second novel, Abraham's Promise (1995) won a highly commended book award from the National Book Development Council of Singapore. He was presented with the 'Young Artist of the Year' award in 1993, the Montblanc-NUS Centre for the Arts Literary Award in 1997, and a S.E.A. Write Award in 2003.
In 2015, Abraham's Promise was selected by The Business Times as one of the Top 10 English Singapore books from 1965 to 2015, alongside titles by Arthur Yap and Daren Shiau.[33]
Author, "Indonesia Changes Course in Investor Protection", The Business Times, 26 June 2014 (Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings, 2014)[35]
Author, "Myanmar and the New York Convention: Not Just A Piece Of Paper", The Business Times, 28 May 2014 (Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings, 2014)[36]
Author, "S'pore's Role in Int'l Arbitration in Asia", The Business Times, 20 May 2014 (Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings, 2014)[37]
Building and Construction Law, Singapore Academy of Law Annual Reviews (vols. 2000 – 2004; co-author)
Articles (non-professional)
Inheritance (1991) – English-written essay, subsequently translated into German in 1993.
Raffles Place Reviewed (2016, The Straits Times)[38]
Light Among The Shadows (2016, The Business Times Lifestyle)[39]