Supreme Court registrar Vincent Hoong will become a judicial commissioner in April, the Prime Minister's Office announced yesterday.
The 61-year-old has been appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister and will serve as judicial commissioner for a year after being sworn in at a ceremony at the Istana on April 10.
Current deputy registrar Teh Hwee Hwee will succeed Mr Hoong as Supreme Court registrar after being appointed by the President on the Chief Justice's recommendation.
With over 34 years of experience in both the judiciary and legal service, Mr Hoong is the most senior legal service officer, having joined the legal service in 1984. His past roles include being assistant registrar, district judge and chief executive of the Singapore Land Authority.
He was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Gold) in 2015.
Ms Teh is also the divisional registrar of the Court of Appeal, divisional registrar of the Singapore International Commercial Court and a district judge.
A National University of Singapore law graduate with a master's from Harvard, Ms Teh began her career in the Singapore Legal Service in 1992 as one of the first women appointed as assistant registrar of the Supreme Court. Her other roles include being first executive director of the Singapore Mediation Centre in 1997. She was conferred the Public Administration Medal in 2012.
Current senior assistant registrar Phang Hsiao Chung will succeed Ms Teh as deputy registrar.
Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon thanked Mr Hoong for his "invaluable contributions" as registrar.
"He has not only done an excellent job in hearing cases, he has also successfully helped steer many of the court's reforms and initiatives, such as the management of cases in the High Court and appeals in the Court of Appeal as well as improvements to the practice and procedures in corporate insolvency and restructuring cases.
"I look forward to working with Vincent in his new appointment as a judicial commissioner of the Supreme Court."
He added: "While we will miss Vincent at the helm of the registry, I have every confidence that Hwee Hwee will be an outstanding replacement for him."
With Mr Hoong's appointment as judicial commissioner, the Supreme Court will have 20 judges in all, including four judges of appeal and the Chief Justice, plus seven judicial commissioners, four senior judges and 16 international judges. A judicial commissioner has the powers of a judge and is appointed for a specific period determined by the President.
