Appointment of New Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court (Mar 2025)

The President of the Republic of Singapore has appointed Mr Sushil Sukumaran Nair <苏西尔.耐尔> as Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court under Article 95(4)(a) of the Constitution, with effect from 1 April 2025 for a period of one year.

Mr Sushil Sukumaran Nair graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the National University of Singapore in 1989. He was admitted to the Singapore Bar in 1990 and joined Drew & Napier LLC. He is currently the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Drew & Napier LLC and also heads its Corporate Restructuring and Workout practice group.

Mr Nair has been in practice for about 35 years and majority of his time has been dedicated to restructuring work. His practice primarily targets the Asia Pacific region, in particular Indonesia and China, where he has been involved in some of the largest restructuring exercises in Asia including cross-borders exercises. Mr Nair’s expertise and contributions have been publicly recognised. Asia Pacific Legal 500 has recognised his contributions and he was made a Hall of Fame member. Similarly, Who’s Who Legal honoured him as a Global Elite Thought Leader. He has been ranked in Band 1 for Restructuring/Insolvency by Chambers Asia Pacific for the last 17 years.

Mr Nair has also played a leadership role in Singapore’s legal ecosystem, having previously chaired the Law Society’s Advocacy Subcommittee and subsequently its Insolvency Subcommittee. He was a board member of the Singapore Accountancy Commission. Presently, Mr Nair is a member of the Insolvency Law Review Committee set up by the Minister for Law as well as the Insolvency Practice Committee of the Law Society of Singapore, both of which involve the development of the law relating to insolvency and restructuring in Singapore. He is also a Fellow of the Insolvency Practitioners Association of Singapore and sits on its Board of Directors.

Mr Nair received the Friends of Ministry of Culture, Community & Youth (MCCY) Award in 2022 for his role in the team that negotiated the takeover of the Singapore Sports Hub by Sport Singapore. In 2023, he was awarded Singapore’s Public Service Star (COVID-19) accolade for conceptualising the framework of and drafting Singapore's COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Bill. Passed by Parliament in April 2020, the Bill was integral to the management of the impact of COVID-19 on Singaporeans. Mr Nair also received the Ministry of Law Partner of the Year Award for this work.

With this appointment, the Supreme Court will have a total of 35 Judges (including the Chief Justice, three Justices of the Court of Appeal, four Judges of the Appellate Division, 17 Judges of the High Court, five Judicial Commissioners, five Senior Judges) and 24 International Judges.

Mr Sushil Sukumaran Nair will be appointed as Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court with effect from 1 April 2025.

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ISSUED BY:

PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE
12 MARCH 2025