Indian-origin lawyer appointed to Singapore top court

An Indian-origin leading intellectual property lawyer of Singapore has been appointed as a judicial commissioner of the country's Supreme Court, according to an official statement.

Dedar Singh Gill, 59, has been appointed by President Halimah Yacob as the apex court's judicial commissioner for a period of two years.

Gill will begin his role on August 1 for a period of two years, a statement from the Prime Minister's Office said on Wednesday.

He will be sworn in on August 3.

A graduate of National University of Singapore (1983), Gill was previously managing director of intellectual property department of the law firm Drew and Napier LLC, where he spent most of his career since graduation.

A lawyer with over 30 years of experience, he is one of Singapore's top intellectual property (IP) litigators, representing corporate clients who are household names.

He is a former president of the Asian Patent Attorneys Association (Singapore Group) and was also appointed as deputy president of the Copyright Tribunal.

With Gill's appointment, the Supreme Court will now have a total of 21 judges - including four judges of appeal and the chief justice - six judicial commissioners, four senior judges and 15 international judges.