Tan Lee Meng

Tan Lee Meng
Tan Lee Meng
陈利明
Senior Judge of the Supreme Court of Singapore
	In office; 5 January 2015 – 4 January 2021
Appointed by	Tony Tan
Judge of the Supreme Court of Singapore
	In office; 1 August 1997 – 7 July 2013
Appointed by	Ong Teng Cheong
Judicial Commissioner of Singapore
	In office; 2 February 1997 – 1 August 1997
Appointed by	Ong Teng Cheong
Personal details
Born	7 July 1948 (age 75)
Nationality	Singaporean
Alma mater	University of Singapore; University of London

Tan Lee Meng (simplified Chinese: 陈利明; traditional Chinese: 陳利明; pinyin: Chén Lì Míng; born 7 July 1948)^[2] is a professor in the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law. He was first appointed as a Judicial Commissioner on 2 February 1997, and then appointed Judge in August 1997,^[3] serving until he reached the mandatory retirement age of 65^[4] on 7 July 2013.^[2] He also completed two consecutive three-year terms of service as a Senior Judge of the Supreme Court of Singapore.^[5]^[6]

In his time as a Judge of the Supreme Court, he presided over numerous trials including most famously as the judge presiding over the defamation suit between the ex-National Kidney Foundation CEO TT Durai and the Singapore Press Holdings.^[7]

Early life and education

Tan attended the University of Singapore (now the National University of Singapore), and graduated from its Faculty of Law with a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) with first class honours in 1972.^[8] He subsequently obtained a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the University of London in 1974, and was admitted to the Bar as an advocate and solicitor in 1976.^[9]

Career as academic

Tan joined the University of Singapore's Faculty of Law in 1972, eventually rising to the position of Dean in 1987 (even before turning 40 years old) and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the National University of Singapore in 1992.^[9]^[10] From 1980 to 1997, he also served as Master of Raffles Hall, staying on campus with students of the National University of Singapore hostel.^{[citation needed]}

Tan is the author of the books The Law in Singapore on Carriage of Goods by Sea (1986)^[11] and Insurance Law in Singapore (1988),^[12] and various law journal articles.

Selected works

Articles

"Insurance Agents and the Proposal Form", Malaya Law Review, 17: 104–116, 1975.
"Insurance Warranties: Some Criticisms and Proposals for Reform", Malaya Law Review, 21: 258–265, 1979.
"The Shipowner's Right to Withdraw His Vessel upon Non-payment of Hire", Malaya Law Review, 22: 20–28, 1980.
"The Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1972 and the Hamburg Rules", Malaya Law Review, 22: 199–212, 1980.
"Insurable Interest in Life Policies", Malaya Law Review, 23: 137–146, 1981.

Books

The Law in Singapore on Carriage of Goods by Sea, Singapore: Malayan Law Journal, 1986, ISBN 9789971700492. Later editions:
- The Law in Singapore on Carriage of Goods by Sea (2nd ed.), Singapore: Butterworths Asia, 1994, ISBN 978-0-409-99701-9.
- The Law in Singapore on Carriage of Goods by Sea (3rd ed.), Singapore: Wildy & Sons Ltd, 2018, ISBN 9780198811947.
Insurance Law in Singapore, Singapore: Butterworths, 1988, ISBN 978-0-409-99566-4.