Andrew Phang

The Honourable Justice Andrew Phang SC
潘文龙
Phang speaking at the 2019 Commencement ceremony of SMU School of Law
Senior Judge of the Supreme Court of Singapore
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 January 2023
Appointed by	Halimah Yacob
Judge of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Singapore
In office 28 February 2006 – 15 December 2022
Appointed by	S. R. Nathan
Judge of the Supreme Court of Singapore
In office 8 December 2005 – 28 February 2006
Appointed by	S. R. Nathan
Judicial Commissioner of Singapore
In office 3 January 2005 – 8 December 2005
Appointed by	S. R. Nathan
Personal details
Born	(1957-12-15) 15 December 1957 Singapore
Spouse	Phang Sock Yong
Alma mater	National University of Singapore (LLB) Harvard University (LLM, SJD)

In this Chinese name, the family name is Phang.

Andrew Phang
Simplified Chinese	潘文龙
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Pān Wén Lóng

Andrew Phang Boon Leong SC PJG (born 15 December 1957) is a Singaporean judge in the Supreme Court, currently sitting as a Senior Judge.

Early life and education

Phang was born in 1957 in Singapore. Phang received his Bachelor of Laws (first class honours) from the University of Singapore in 1982, before earning his Master of Laws and Doctor of Juridical Science from Harvard Law School in 1984 and 1988 respectively.

Career

Legal academic

Between 1982 and 2000, Phang taught at the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law, and was appointed Professor of Law in 1999. He was appointed Professor of Law at the Singapore Management University (SMU) in 2000, and made Chairman of the Department of Law at SMU's Lee Kong Chian School of Business in 2001.

In 2004, together with Tan Cheng Han, he was one of the first two legal academics in Singapore to be conferred the title of senior counsel. He is presently a Distinguished Professor of Law at the Yong Pung How School of Law and is also a visiting professor at the University of Reading.

Supreme Court

Phang was appointed Judicial Commissioner in January 2005, Judge of the High Court in December 2005, and Judge of Appeal on 28 February 2006. At 48 years old, he was the youngest person to have been appointed a Judge of Appeal.

He is one of the leading authorities in contract law in Singapore and the Commonwealth. He was appointed vice-president of the Court of Appeal with effect from 28 September 2017 following his predecessor Chao Hick Tin's retirement.

Phang retired as a Justice of the Court of Appeal on his 65th birthday on 15 December 2022. He was subsequently appointed as a Senior Judge, and, was, in November 2023, honoured by NUS for his contributions to the legal profession. He has authored over 260 publications and 400 judgments. He has been described as a "legal legend and giant."

On 11 April 2024, Phang published a book on former Chief Justice Yong Pung How, a book launched by then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Cases

Cases in which Phang sat as a judge include:

• Turf Club Auto Emporium v Yeo Boong Hua [2018] SGCA 44 — concerning 'negotiating damages' / Wrotham Park damages

Personal life

Phang's wife is Phang Sock Yong, an economics professor at the Singapore Management University. He has two daughters. Phang received the Meritorious Service Medal for his legal contributions in 2023.

Selected works

Books

• Andrew B.L. Phang & Goh Yihan, Contract Law in Singapore, Kluwer Law International, 2012, ISBN 978-9-041-14627-4

Articles

• "Implied terms in English law — some recent developments" (1993) Journal of Business Law 242
• "The Challenge of Principled Gap Filling — A Study of Implied Terms in a Comparative Context" (2014) Journal of Business Law 263

External links

• Andrew Phang's CV on the Supreme Court website