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The Inaugural Law Society Biennial Lecture
The idea for a lecture organised by the Law Society for the legal profession was first mooted by past president Mr Chandra Mohan K Nair at the annual general meeting of 2004.
The objective of the lecture is to bring to Singapore distinguished international lawyers and legal jurists to share with us their experiences in promoting justice. As noted by our President, Mr Philip Jeyaretnam SC,1 'The political, social and cultural context of legal systems varies across the world, but much of what makes the legal profession special, and especially valuable to society, is universal. So notwithstanding differences of context, the Society believes that our members will find much that will inspire them in the addresses given by our invited lecturers.'
A sub-committee chaired by Mr Jimmy Yim, SC with
members Mr Thio Shen Yi, Ms Audrey Phua, Ms Tan Weiyi, Ms Shivani Retnam,
Ms Jacintha Thannimalai and Mr Raymund Anthony, with the support of the secretariat,
was tasked to organise the lecture.
To kick off the new biennial lecture series, the Society was honoured to have
internationally renowned human rights lawyer, Professor Irwin Cotler, deliver
the inaugural lecture on 6 July 2007 at the Supreme Court Auditorium.
In a career spanning more than 30 years, Professor Irwin Cotler has often been described as being at the forefront of the struggle for justice, peace and human rights in his various roles as law professor, constitutional and comparative law scholar, international human rights lawyer, counsel to prisoners of conscience, community leader, peace activist and Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of Canada (2003 - 2006). He is presently a Member of Parliament of Canada.
In his 50-minute lecture to an audience of 300 which included The Honourable The Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong, the Attorney-General Chao Hick Tin, Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee, Judges of Appeal, Judges of the Supreme Court and judicial officers, Professor Cotler spoke passionately on the topic of 'Pursuing Justice and Confronting Injustice: Lawyers Can Make a Difference'.
Professor Cotler drew from the Canadian experience and his personal experience to elucidate why law and lawyers can make a difference. He said '... if you want to pursue justice, you have to feel the injustice … otherwise, the pursuit of justice is only an abstract agenda. To understand injustice ..., you have to go about amongst the people to sense the injustice, to feel the injustice and to confront that injustice ... "if you don't know what hurts me, you can't tell me that you love me " … that is a profound principle for human relationships, also a profound principle for the relationship [between] a government and its citizenry, particularly, ... those who are less unfortunate or disadvantaged amongst us and I sought to make that one of the centrepieces of our work'.
Professor Cotler expressed the view that lawyers, having been given the stewardship of public trust and by virtue of their education and training, can have a transformative impact on the building of a just and compassionate society. He shared his views on the importance of the independence of the judiciary; terrorism and human rights; the protection of the vulnerable; combating hatred and intolerance; and confronting international injustice and impunity. Anecdotes from his personal experiences gave the audience a glimpse of how a lawyer can (and does) transform lives and make a difference in the pursuit of justice.
It is hoped that Professor Cotler's lecture, and indeed, his life experiences, have inspired many of us to recognise and appreciate what it really means to be a lawyer and the role a lawyer can play in the quest for justice.
As Mr Philip Jeyaretnam, SC said in his Opening Remarks at the inaugural biennial lecture, 'The practice of law must never just be a matter of hiring out our words and anger: it is also about speaking for those who find difficulty in speaking for themselves, about advocating their causes fearlessly.'
Chua Lik Teng
Sharmaine Lau
The Law Society of Singapore
Notes
1 Opening Remarks by Mr Philip Jeyaretnam SC at the inaugural Law Society
Biennial Lecture on 6 July 2007.
CAPTIONS:
Professor Irwin Cotler
(left to right) Mr Thio Shen Yi, Mr Alan Virtue, Canadian High Commissioner,
and Prof Irwin Cotler
(left to right) Mr Michael Hwang, SC, Vice President of the Society and Senior
Minister of State for Law & Home Affairs, Assoc Prof Ho Peng Kee
(left to right) Prof Irwin Cotler and the Attorney-General Mr Chao Hick Tin
Guests included Judges of the Supreme Court and past Presidents of the society
Mr Jimmy Yim, SC, chairman of the organising sub-committe, giving the introduction
A packed auditorium at the Society's inaugural lecture
(left to right) Mr Philip Jeyaretnam, SC with The Honourable The Chief Justice
Chan Sek Keong
Foreign lawyers were also present at the lecture
Prof Cotler receiving a gift of appreciation from Mr Philip Jeyaretnam, SC
The lecture ended with a reception for guests