Singapore to try dissident Gopalan Nair for “misconduct”
September 5, 2009 by admin
The Singapore Law Society had submitted an application to the Chief Justice claiming that former Singaporean lawyer Gopalan Nair has “brought the profession as a whole into disrepute and lowered its esteem in the eyes of the general public”
A two-man disciplinary tribunal consisting of either a senior counsel, former high court judge or judicial commissioner with a senior lawyer will be formed to determine if Mr Nair is guilty of misconduct “unbefitting” of a lawyer.
Mr Gopalan Nair took part in the 1988 and 1991 general elections under the banner of the Workers’ Party. He renounced his Singapore citizenship a few years later and migrated to the United States of America where he now runs his own law practice.
Mr Nair was jailed last year by the Singapore government for allegedly insulting a Singapore judge Belinda Ang who was presiding over a defamation lawsuit launched by MM Lee against SDP Secretary-General Chee Soon Juan.
Technically speaking, as Mr Nair no longer sits on the Singapore Bar, the judgement passed by the tribunal will have no impact on his career since its jurisdiction is only restricted to Singapore.
Mr Nair will be able to continue practising law in the state of Califonia in the U.S. regardless of what the tribunal says about his “conduct”.
It is not known what the tribunal hopes to achieve and if taxpayers’ monies are well spent to “flog a dead horse”.
Gopalan Nair is a well-known fierce critic of the Singapore government and the judiciary, lambasting them frequently on his blog, the Singapore Dissident.
The latest move by the Law Society may be related to an article he posted on 31 August 2009 criticising the appointment of three senior lawyers as Judicial Commissioners.
There were no immediate comments from Mr Nair about the tribunal.
September 5, 2009 by admin
The Singapore Law Society had submitted an application to the Chief Justice claiming that former Singaporean lawyer Gopalan Nair has “brought the profession as a whole into disrepute and lowered its esteem in the eyes of the general public”
A two-man disciplinary tribunal consisting of either a senior counsel, former high court judge or judicial commissioner with a senior lawyer will be formed to determine if Mr Nair is guilty of misconduct “unbefitting” of a lawyer.
Mr Gopalan Nair took part in the 1988 and 1991 general elections under the banner of the Workers’ Party. He renounced his Singapore citizenship a few years later and migrated to the United States of America where he now runs his own law practice.
Mr Nair was jailed last year by the Singapore government for allegedly insulting a Singapore judge Belinda Ang who was presiding over a defamation lawsuit launched by MM Lee against SDP Secretary-General Chee Soon Juan.
Technically speaking, as Mr Nair no longer sits on the Singapore Bar, the judgement passed by the tribunal will have no impact on his career since its jurisdiction is only restricted to Singapore.
Mr Nair will be able to continue practising law in the state of Califonia in the U.S. regardless of what the tribunal says about his “conduct”.
It is not known what the tribunal hopes to achieve and if taxpayers’ monies are well spent to “flog a dead horse”.
Gopalan Nair is a well-known fierce critic of the Singapore government and the judiciary, lambasting them frequently on his blog, the Singapore Dissident.
The latest move by the Law Society may be related to an article he posted on 31 August 2009 criticising the appointment of three senior lawyers as Judicial Commissioners.
There were no immediate comments from Mr Nair about the tribunal.
