{"id":12723,"date":"2026-01-01T00:03:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T16:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/?p=12723"},"modified":"2026-01-01T09:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T01:00:00","slug":"a-lifelong-devotion-to-duty-and-purpose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/2026\/01\/01\/a-lifelong-devotion-to-duty-and-purpose\/","title":{"rendered":"A Lifelong Devotion to Duty and Purpose"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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WHO SHE IS:<\/strong> Justice Judith Prakash is Singapore\u2019s first woman to be appointed as a permanent Judge of the Court of Appeal. A pioneer in arbitration law, she has played a key role in strengthening Singapore\u2019s judicial excellence. An NUS Law alumna, she was named Her World Woman of the Year 2024 for her trailblazing contributions.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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In 1970, when Justice Judith Prakash filled in her course application for the University of Singapore, her father strongly encouraged her to pursue law. \u201cMy mother died when I was 13,\u201d she recalled. \u201cShe had ambitions to be a lawyer. Living in Penang, her family didn\u2019t have money to send her to London, which was the only way one could become a lawyer then.\u201d Undeterred, her mother apprenticed at a law firm as an articled clerk, but her training was cut short by the Japanese Occupation. After the war, she worked for David Marshall, Singapore\u2019s first elected Chief Minister and a celebrated criminal lawyer, as his secretary. \u201cMy father saw me filling in for her,\u201d said Justice Prakash with a laugh. \u201cIt was emotional blackmail.\u201d<\/p>

What began as filial obedience became a genuine love for the law. \u201cI started enjoying law school pretty early on,\u201d she said. \u201cI was happy with the kind of reasoning you had to do \u2014 it suited me very well.\u201d<\/p>

Among her most memorable lecturers were Professor Tan Sook Yee \u2014 \u201ca very elegant woman with a sharp and quick wit\u201d \u2014 and Professor Tommy Koh (Law \u201961, HonLLD \u201922), who taught criminal law and served as Dean. Her 1970 cohort was the first to have 50 per cent women. It also had a strong Malaysian contingent. \u201cNational Service started in 1969, so the boys went into the army, except the top 20 per cent who could defer,\u201d she recalled.<\/p>

Law school gave her more than a career foundation. It also gave her lifelong friends \u2014 and a husband. She met Mr Jaya Prakash (Law \u201974) earlier when they were on the debating teams of Raffles Girls\u2019 School and Raffles Institution, respectively. \u201cOur teams didn\u2019t debate against each other, but we met through that. Later, when we ended up in the same law class, things developed. There were quite a lot of romances in my class, I can tell you!\u201d The couple graduated in 1974, were called to the Bar in 1975, and married in 1976.<\/p>

BREAKING GROUND IN THE COURTROOM<\/strong><\/p>

Justice Prakash began her career at Chor Pee & Hin Hong, handling commercial law, before joining Drew & Napier\u2019s shipping division. In 1992, then-Chief Justice Yong Pung How invited her to join the Supreme Court as a Judicial Commissioner. Three years later, she became a High Court Judge \u2014 and in 2016, made history as the first woman appointed a permanent Judge of the Court of Appeal.<\/p>

Over her 31 years on the Bench, she also served as the lead judge for arbitration cases and has been a role model for women in law. Her poise, intellect and discipline have earned admiration far beyond the courtroom, earning her recognition as Her World<\/em>\u2019s Woman of the Year 2024.<\/p>

BALANCING FAMILY AND THE BENCH<\/strong><\/p>

\u201cIt was helpful that I became a judge quite young,\u201d she reflected. \u201cAs a judge, I had a routine. I didn\u2019t travel anymore or attend to clients, so I could be there for my family much more.\u201d With four daughters and now three grandchildren, she knows the challenges working mothers face. \u201cDuring court sessions between 10am and 1pm, and again from 2.30 to 5pm, my children couldn\u2019t reach me directly. They\u2019d call my secretary, who would pass me notes for urgent matters. I could adjourn for a few minutes and call home to sort things out.\u201d<\/p>

Her husband\u2019s support was invaluable. \u201cHe was very helpful and involved with the children,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I was lucky my mother-in-law cared for my two older children and later moved in when my third daughter was born. Having her and my father-in-law under one roof was such a blessing \u2014 I never had to worry about what was happening at home.\u201d<\/p>

Her advice to working mothers? \u201cChoose work that allows regular family time. And check out your spouse very carefully \u2014 see how helpful he\u2019s going to be! The right partner or reliable childcare makes all the difference.\u201d With characteristic humour, she added: \u201cMy daughters have helpful husbands, but they still rely on nursery and childcare. As for me, I\u2019m not the type to mind my grandchildren the way my mother-in-law did. I\u2019m going to work till I drop!\u201d<\/p>

PAVING THE WAY FOR WOMEN IN LAW<\/strong><\/p>

Justice Prakash has witnessed \u2014 and helped shape \u2014 great change for women in the profession. \u201cMy mother would have been a very good lawyer, but women then were expected to stay in the office, run things for the men, and be grateful for it,\u201d she said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t have many women in court or the judicial service.\u201d Today, she sees a far more level playing field. \u201cWomen are on a good course,\u201d she said, crediting Chief Justice Yong for recruiting talented women into the judiciary. \u201cThe judicial clerkship system he introduced brought many bright young women into public service and private practice.\u201d<\/p>

CONTINUING TO SERVE \u2014 WITH GRATITUDE<\/strong><\/p>

Since 2024, Justice Prakash has served on the NUS Board of Trustees \u2014 returning to the institution where it all began. \u201cWhen I was at university, there were 5,000 undergraduates, and 80 of us in law. Now there are 50,000 students across so many faculties. I\u2019m amazed at how forward-thinking the University is \u2014 improving not only its reputation but also the student experience. It\u2019s been eye-opening.\u201d<\/p>

In 2025, she received the NUS Distinguished Alumni Award for her exceptional career and public service \u2014 an honour that still humbles her. \u201cI\u2019m very grateful I went to law school. It suited me down to the ground,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m even more grateful to have come to the Bench \u2014 it suited me even better than being a litigator. It\u2019s the icing on the cake to be recognised for something that has given me so much satisfaction.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a recipient of the NUS Distinguished Alumni Award, Judge Judith Prakash (Law \u201974) has charted a remarkable journey over five decades, showing how conviction, intellect and family support can shape a meaningful career \u2014 and pave the way for generations of women after her.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":12724,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-leadership"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12723"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12723\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12975,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12723\/revisions\/12975"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}