Singapore, 11 August 2015 – A legal history app which takes the visitor on an interactive virtual tour of the Old Supreme Court as well as two law book titles were launched today by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon at an appreciation event for contributors of Singapore Academy of Law’s Academy Publishing division.

Designed on an online gaming platform, the Old Supreme Court app is targeted to appeal to members of the public, in particular, young Singaporeans and is a result of a one year project collaboration between the Academy and local artist Eugene Soh.

Mr Eugene Soh, who developed the Old Supreme Court app, said “It was exciting incorporating the history of Singapore’s legal system into a computer game and the challenge was to ensure the app replicated the inside of the building as accurately as possible.”

In the mobile app, the user enters the court house in first person and is invited to make stops at various locations within the court house. Some of these ‘stops’ include the holding cells at the basement, jury box, the CJ’s court and the foundation stone. Visitors of the app can learn interesting facts and anecdotes on Singapore’s history, through photographs and audio recordings from top criminal lawyer David Marshall and our first Asian Chief Justice, Wee Chong Jin.

Mr Edmund Kronenburg, one of the narrators for the app, used to argue cases at the old Supreme Court. Said Mr Kronenburg, “The app brings us back to when the building was a functioning courthouse, evoking fond memories for many lawyers and judges. As you walk around, you learn intriguing facts about the building's design, its courtrooms, its underground cells and its colourful history, including its time-capsule, which most lawyers don't even know about, let alone the public. Anyone who plays the app, young or old, will certainly appreciate this grand building's central role in Singapore's history."

Two latest law titles, ‘Singapore Law – 50 Years in the Making’ and ‘Asia-Pacific Arbitration Reporter’ was also launched at the Academy’s event.

The first book, titled ‘Singapore Law – 50 years in the Making’, tells the story of the birth and subsequent growth of the Singapore legal system putting together statistical data over close to 50 years of court cases and analyses of data and explanations for certain trends. This empirical study tells of the people behind the Singapore legal system who have contributed much to the growth of Singapore law.

‘Asia-Pacific Arbitration Reporter’ is the first Asia-Pac publication on arbitration by Singapore Academy of Law and features a distinguished team of country reporters as well as an international law reporter, who are leading names in arbitration practice from Asia-Pac countries.

The app is available to the public for download on mobile Android and Apple iOS platforms for free and will be available on desktop computers by year end. The app will be continually refreshed with future updates that will include more interactive features and new characters.

Where to buy the books

Singapore Law – 50 years in the Making, is priced at S$90 (exclusive of GST). Orders can also be placed at the e-Bookshop via the Singapore Academy of Law e-Bookshop www.sal-e.org.sg
For more information, call 6332 4388

Asia-Pacific Arbitration Reporter, is priced at S$80 (exclusive of GST). Orders can also be placed at the e-Bookshop via the Singapore Academy of Law e-Bookshop www.sal-e.org.sg
For more information, call 6332 4388

About Singapore Academy of Law

The Singapore Academy of Law (the “Academy”) is the promotion and development agency for Singapore’s legal industry. Our vision is to make Singapore the legal hub of Asia.

We aim to drive legal excellence through developing thought leadership, world class infrastructure and legal solutions. We do this by building up the intellectual capital of the legal profession by enhancing legal knowledge, raising the international profile of Singapore law, promoting Singapore as a centre for dispute resolution and improving the efficiency of legal practice through the use of technology.

As a body established by statute, the Academy also undertakes statutory functions such as stakeholding services and the appointment of Senior Counsel, Commissioners of Oath and Notaries Public.

The Academy is headed by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon. We have over 10,000 members comprising members of the Bench, the Bar, Legal Service Officers, corporate counsel, legal academics and foreign lawyers.

More information can be found at www.sal.org.sg.

About Academy Publishing

Academy Publishing is a division of the Singapore Academy of Law. It was officially launched on 18 May 2007 by the former Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong when he was President of the Academy. This division was set up to publish books and other texts on Singapore law, and its objectives are threefold:

• To provide affordable legal materials to the legal profession (including corporate counsel), law academics, law students, and the Judiciary;
• To provide an alternative avenue to the academics in our law schools to publish their writings and thereby to encourage them to produce more works; and
• To disseminate the laws of Singapore to a wider public in the region and internationally.

Academy Publishing is not profit-driven and its immediate priority is to publish books on areas of law that fulfil practice and student needs, although other kinds of legal texts will also be included.