KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, SINGAPORE ACADEMY OF LAW, THE HONOURABLE CHIEF JUSTICE, MR JUSTICE WEE CHONG JIN

• Published date: 01 December 1990
• Date: 01 December 1990

As we approach the end of the second year since the establishment of the Academy of Law, it is encouraging to see how the Academy has grown steadily in achieving its first objective of promoting and maintaining high standards of learning and conduct of the legal profession in Singapore. Through its many seminars and workshops, the Academy has spurred its members not only to keep themselves up-to-date in the law but also into new areas of learning. I hope that the workshops have benefitted the many members who are in practice by guiding them past the pitfalls and errors of a superficial knowledge of the law. All this has been made possible because judges, senior members of the profession and academia have given unstintingly of their time and shared their experiences in their areas of specialisation. I wish to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to them as well as all other members who have voluntarily given of their services and time to the work of the Academy.

With this first Academy Conference, we are ready to turn a page in the history of our legal profession. I am pleased to note that the objective of the Conference has gone beyond mere dissemination of knowledge. This Conference is a major step towards preparig the profession for even higher standards of learning, competence and conduct in the 1990s. We have with us today many of the leading members of the various branches of the profession to assist other members to gaze into the future and prepare for the challenges ahead.

This Conference is unique because for the first time there is a forum for all members of the legal profession whether they be from the judiciary, the Bar, the Legal Service, the academia, the public service or the corporations. A meeting of minds such as this is a good occasion for the forging of a joint purpose and for the creation of an impetus to the whole profession to lift itself onto a higher plane. In this process of discussion and mutual consultation, much will be learnt and an atmosphere of learning engendered. The ambience of the Academy is a collegial one where members are part of one community in pursuit of justice, wisdom and knowledge. This Conference will help us to build and strengthen this collegial spirit within which honour, integrity, industry and competence can flourish.

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