The Chief District Judge and a corporate lawyer have been appointed judicial commissioners of the High Court for a term of one year.

Mr Tan Siong Thye, who helms the Subordinate courts, and corporate lawyer Mr Lee Kim Shin were appointed by President Tony Tan Keng Yam, acting in his discretion and in concurrence with the advice of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, said a statement from the Prime Minister's Office on Monday.

Replacing Mr Tan as the Chief District Judge on Tuesday is Mr See Kee Oon, who has more than 20 years of judicial experience. Mr Ong Hian Sun will take over his role as the Senior District Judge of the Criminal Justice Division of the Subordinate Courts on the same day.

Mr Tan will start his term on Tuesday while Mr Lee starts on Jan 2 next year. With their appointments the Supreme Court will have a total of 15 judges, including Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon and five judicial commissioners.

Mr Tan, 59, was called to the Bar in Singapore in 1982 and started off his legal career as a deputy public prosecutor in the Attorney General's Chambers. He had also been the director of the Commercial Affairs Department from 1999 to 2008. Mr Lee, 53,who specialises in corporate and commercial law, was called to be bar in 1986. He is currently the managing partner of law firm Allen & Gledhill.

Mr See, who joined the legal service in 1991, had been a Justices' Law Clerk at Supreme Court. Mr Ong, who started out in the civil service as an engineering service officer in the Public Works' Department, was appointed appointed a legal service officer in 1989 and posted to the Attorney General's Chambers as a deputy public prosecutor. He was also a chief prosecutor before joining the Subordinate Courts.