Institutes & Centres
Highlights
The Centre for Asian Legal Studies (CALS) at National University of Singapore Faculty of Law (NUS Law) was proud to host Her Excellency Tun Tengku Maimun binti Tengku Mat, the former Chief Justice of Malaysia and the current President of the Asean Law Association (ALA), for a fireside chat held on 10 July. The event centred on the timely and urgent theme, “Justice for All: Advancing Gender Equality in the Law”.
Ng Ziqin’s passion for the literary arts began before her NUS days. Blending law with a love for writing, she continued honing her craft in her undergraduate years, and put her skills to use—she led University Court Friends, a pro bono project; was Editor-in-Chief of NUS Law's publication, Justified; and taught writing classes via Book-a-Writer. Her determination in pursuing the literary arts has manifested in all aspects of her young life, such as participating in the Global Experience (GEx) Paris programme under the NUS College experience, which inspired a collection of five short stories. She may have graduated, but this is the start of another chapter for her, as soon-to-be lawyer and writer.
Despite a financially challenging background and academic struggles in her first year reading law, Julia's can-do attitude saw her surmounting these roadblocks. She continually pushed herself outside her comfort zone, enriching her life with a multitude of experiences driven by a sense of empathy and a desire to absorb lessons unique to law. Not only did she volunteer to mentor youth from disadvantaged families, she also made time for pro bono work and participated in moots. In her own words, "I really disliked it, but I did it because I disliked it”—this describes how Julia has always seized opportunities for growth. For this newly minted graduate with a double degree in Law and Liberal Arts, we can't wait to see what her future holds.
At the 22nd Annual Asian Law Institute Conference co-organised by its Secretariat which is based in NUS Law, five NUS Law professors convened in Shanghai to present their papers and co-host panel discussions with legal scholars from all over the world. As one of the largest conferences centred on Asian law, the event proved to be a forum for outstanding scholarship and demonstrated the collective commitment to advancing knowledge about law and justice in the region.
Associate Professor Stephen Phua met a 31-strong delegation from Thailand’s Standing Committee on Social Welfare, under the House of Representatives, and discussed taxation frameworks of casinos, redistribution and social controls, in the light of plans to set up an entertainment complex in their country. Following his visit to Bangkok in September 2024 where he spoke on Singapore’s SG50 and SG100 policies, they made a reciprocal trip to the Bukit Timah campus on 13 June to further get his insights into the Singapore integrated resorts’ impact on tourism, job creation and tax revenue collection, as well as learn about the nation’s support structures.
As we come to the half-way mark of 2025, we applaud the efforts of our students for their excellent showing at moot competitions near and far, with new records set at the Vis-Japan Pre-Moot and the Inter-American Human Rights Moot Court Competition. Travelling to countries including India, Japan, Paris, Turkey and the United States, our students gained a broadening of their world views as they benefitted from the opportunity to argue legal standpoints against peers from law schools around the world.