S. Chandra Mohan graduated from the law faculty of the then University of Singapore (NUS) in 1967. In his third year at the University, he was co-winner of the Higgins Book Prize for the best undergraduate contribution to a legal journal. Upon graduation, he joined the Singapore Legal Service where he held a number of senior posts including that of a senior Judge of the District Court, Director of Legal Aid, Official Assignee/Official Receiver, Public Trustee and Director of Legal Policy (Ministry of Law). He has served on numerous public service committees. In 2004 he became a consultant with a law firm and joined the Singapore Management University law school faculty in June 2007.
Whilst in the judiciary, Chandra heard a number of high-profile criminal trials. His proposals that arrest cases be classified as DAC, MAC and JAC and draft orders and summonses in respect of the protection of spouses and children against domestic violence, are still in use. He has attended a training course on the administration of justice, on a Colombo Plan award, at the UN institute in Tokyo, received training at the US National College of the State Judiciary and in 1983, and studied the UK criminal justice system on a UN Human Rights Fellowship. During his term as Official Receiver, Chandra was a member of the United Nations Working Group which drafted the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency in 1997. He also served as Singapore’s representative on the UNCITRAL Working Group on Insolvency Law in New York. For outstanding work in bankruptcy administration and for initiating major reforms in insolvency law, he was conferred the Public Administration Medal (Gold) at the National Day Honours in 1999. Under his leadership, in 2003, the Law Ministry’s Legal Policy Division won the United Nations Public Service award for the creation of the “Polygon of Good Laws”, a method devised to determine good legislation.
Since graduation, Chandra has had a keen interest in learning and teaching law. In 1972 he obtained an LLM from the University of Singapore and in 1988 was awarded a PhD by the University of London for his dissertation on “The Control of Corruption in Singapore”. He taught continuously at the NUS law faculty as an adjunct from 1971 to 1981 and from 2003 to 2007 and at the Postgraduate Practical Law Course from 1972 to 1999. He was a Visiting Fellow at UNAFEI in Tokyo in 1996 and 2001 and is an Academic Counsellor with the Asian Crime Prevention Foundation. Chandra has written widely on criminal law and procedure, evidence, family law and insolvency law and practice.
Chandra’s other interest is in collecting and studying Singapore historical documents. He is particularly interested in the origin of Singapore street names on which he has written a number of articles.
Publications:
I BOOKS AND MONOGRAPHS
Authored
- Bail in Singapore (Malayan Law Journal, Singapore,1977)
Edited
- Mallal’s Digest, Vol. 1 (Arms and Explosives, Banishment, 2002, LexisNexis)
- Mallal’s Digest, Vol.5 (Criminal Procedure, 2004, LexisNexis)
Book Review
- “Casebook on Insolvency and the Construction Industry” by Philip CF Chan (Singapore : Sweet & Maxwell Asia, 2004), (July 2005) Singapore Journal of Legal Studies, 310
- “Criminal Law in Malaysia and Singapore” by Stanley Yeo, Neil Morgan and Chan Wing Cheong (Singapore : LexisNexis,2007), (July 2008). Singapore Journal of Legal studies
II LAW JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS
- “Balancing Competiting Interests in Bankruptcty : Discharge by Certificate of the Official Assignee in Singapore”, (2008) 20 SAcLJ, 464
- “ The Crimson Logic Case: When is a Judgment not a Judgment?”, Law Gazette, September 2007, 23
- “The High Court’s Latest Bail Decision: Overdue for 50 Years? ” Law Gazette, May 2006, 36
- “Countermeasures to the Abuse of Power and Corruption : Some Lessons From Singapore” (1996) UN Resource Material Series) No. 48, 74
- “Police Interrogation and the Right of Silence in Singapore”, [1986] 2 Malayan Law Journal, lxxxi
- “Bail in Offences Punishable with Death or Imprisonment for Life”, [1977] Journal of Malaysian and Comparative Law 311
- “Admissibility and Use of Statements made to Police Officers”, [1976] 2 Malayan Law Journal, lxxxiii (Part I), [1977] 1 Malayan Law Journal, lxxxiv (part II)
- “Maintenance Proceedings in Singapore ”, (1974) 16 Malaya Law Review 230
- “Public Participation in the Administration of Justice in Singapore” (1971) UN Resource Material Series No.4
- “The Introduction and Development of Trial by Jury in Malaysia and Singapore” (with S.Ramankutty), (1966) 8 Malaya Law Review 270
III CONFERENCE PAPERS
“The Singapore Maintenance of Parents Act”, Malaysian Bar Council Seminar,
Kuala Lumpur, 2007
“Medical Negligence in Singapore: Is litigation on the Rise?”, Malaysian Medico-
Legal Society Conference, Kula Lumpur, 2003
“UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency – The Singapore
Perspective”, Conference on Harmonisation of Int’l Trade Law & UNCITRAL,
Singapore, July 2002
“Towards an Understanding of Corruption”, UNAFEI, 4th International Training
Course on Corruption, Tokyo, 2001
“Assisting Ministries in their Legislative Programme : Role of the Ministry of
Law’s Legal Policy Division”, Singapore, 2001
“Evolving Strategies in Bankruptcy Administration” Bankruptcy and
Liquidation Conference, Singapore, 2000
“Balancing Competing Interests: Discharge by Certificate of the Official
Assignee”, Malaysian Official Assignee’s Conference, Kota Bahru, 1999
“The Challenges to Admissibility of DNA Evidence”, 3rd Nordic Medico-Legal
Conference, Latvia, 1998
“The Past, the Present and the Future - An Overview of Singapore’s Bankruptcy
Regime”, Conference on Bankruptcy Law & Practice, Singapore Academy of
Law, 1997
“The Control of Bureaucratic Corruption – Some Lessons from the Singapore
Experience”, Asian Crime Prevention Foundation Conference, Manila, 1994
“Compensating Victims of Crime: The Making of Compensation Orders in
Singapore”, Asian Crime Prevention Foundation Conference, Kuala Lumpur,
1993
“Effective Delivery of Legal Aid Services – The Singapore Experience”,
Conference on Legal Literacy, Bangkok, 1989