The visiting professorships were established through a US$2 million gift from the Jones Day Foundation

_{(From left to right) Prof Simon Chesterman, NUS Law Dean; Justice Ayesha Malik, Supreme Court of Pakistan; Ms Indranee Rajah, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Finance and National Development; Assoc Prof Jaclyn Neo, Director of the Centre for Asian Legal Studies at NUS Law; and Mr Vinay Kurien, Partner, Jones Day (Singapore).}

The National University of Singapore Faculty of Law (NUS Law) announced yesterday the establishment of two new visiting professorships – the Jones Day CALS Visiting Professorship on the Rule of Law in Asia, and the Jones Day Visiting Professorship on Comparative Commercial Law. These were established through a generous endowed gift of US$2 million from the Jones Day Foundation, with the gift being the largest single donation from a law firm foundation to NUS Law to date.

These new visiting professorships further strengthen NUS Law’s education and research capabilities, affirming its position as one of the foremost leading law schools in the world. With the overarching aim to build up specialist knowledge and deepen expertise within the legal industry in Singapore, visiting Jones Day professors, who are leading judges or practitioners, will deliver a public lecture on the relevant area of law and participate in research and teaching activities, or deliver a public lecture and partake in a series of engagements with students, academics and legal practitioners.

The visiting professorships will allow NUS Law to bring in two visiting professors each year.

The announcement was made at an event to mark the tenth anniversary of the Centre for Asian Legal Studies (CALS) at NUS Law, where Ms Indranee Rajah, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Finance and National Development, was Guest-of-Honour.

_{Prof Chesterman presenting a token of appreciation to Ms Indranee.}

As part of the anniversary celebrations, the first Jones Day CALS Visiting Professor on the Rule of Law in Asia, the Honourable Justice Ayesha Malik of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, delivered a professorial lecture on “Judicial Review and the Rule of Law” to guests comprising practitioners, government representatives, academia and students.

Professor Simon Chesterman, Dean of NUS Law, said, “Commercial law has long been a catalyst for economic growth in Singapore and the region, while the rule of law is the foundation of its larger success. We are tremendously grateful to Jones Day for its generous support for legal education and research. These endowed visiting professorships will enhance the research mission of NUS Law, enabling us to bring leading scholar-practitioners to Singapore to engage and enrich our students, faculty, the profession, and the wider community.”

NUS Law plans to appoint the Jones Day Visiting Professor on Comparative Commercial Law next year.

Ms Sushma Jobanputra, Partner-in-Charge of Jones Day’s Singapore Office, commented, “As a global law firm committed to pro bono work, and community involvement in all of our locations around the world, we take great pride in investing in the communities in which we operate, and helping to advance the rule of law. The Jones Day Foundation is proud to support NUS Law in the pivotal role that they play, developing legal scholarship and advocating professional excellence in Singapore and the region. We also congratulate the Centre for Asian Legal Studies on its tenth-year anniversary and look forward to our continued work with NUS Law.”

Please refer to Annex 1 for more information on Jones Day Foundation and Jones Day, and Annex 2 for more information on Justice Ayesha Malik.

This story was first published on 12 November 2022 on NUS News. Click here for more NUS News stories.