The winner of the Christopher Bathurst Essay Prize 2013 is Mr Kelvin Kow Weijie, State Counsel/DPP from the Attorney-General’s Chambers. The first and second runners-up of the Essay Prize are Mr Keith Han Guangyuan, Clifford Chance Asia, and Mr Daniel Gaw Wai Ming, Justices’ Law Clerk, Supreme Court respectively.

The winner will be invited to spend time at Fountain Court with a range of members to deepen their understanding of the Commercial Bar in London. This is sponsored by Fountain Court Chambers and supported by the Singapore Academy of Law. The winners were announced by Mr Michael Brindle Q.C. at a ceremony at One on the Bund, Collyer Quay, SIngapore on 25 September 2013.

Participants were asked to submit an essay of not more than 1300 words on the topic “How can an anti-suit injunction in relation to proceedings before a competent court of another jurisdiction ever be justified?”

Entrants were judged on a variety of criteria, namely, on originality, critical analysis, succinctness, clarity, persuasiveness and pragmatism. The judges were Mr Michael Brindle QC, Mr Toh Kian Sing, S.C. of Rajah & Tann LLP and Ms Sandra Annette Booysen, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore.

The winners’ essays are found on the Singapore Academy of Law’s website:

• Mr Kelvin Kow Weijie, Winner, Attorney-General’s Chambers 
• Mr Keith Han Guangyuan, First Runner-Up, Clifford Chance Asia
• Mr Daniel Gaw Wai Ming, Second Runner-Up, Supreme Court

The Christopher Bathurst Essay Prize is named in honour of the late Christopher Bathurst QC (Viscount Bledisloe QC), a senior member of Fountain Court Chambers who for many years often practised in Singapore. The essay competition was open to full-time students enrolled in undergraduate, graduate, or doctoral studies in Law at the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law, and the Singapore Management University School of Law, as well as qualified persons under the Singapore Legal Profession Act.