CHEAH Wui Ling

Dr. Cheah W.L. is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law of the National University of Singapore (NUS). She holds academic qualifications from the National University of Singapore (LL.B., LL.M.), Harvard Law School (LL.M.), European University Institute, and Oxford University (D.Phil). She is a qualified lawyer (called to the New York Bar) and holds a diploma in arbitration (Queen Mary University of London).

Cheah W.L. conducts research in the core disciplines of international and comparative criminal law, transitional justice, and human rights with a focus on the intersections of law, culture, and power. Within these areas, her research explores the diverse and complex roles performed by domestic and international criminal courts beyond their paradigm aim of adjudicating on the guilt or otherwise of those charged with criminal offences.

Her work has been accepted for publication in journals such as the Leiden Journal of International Law, European Journal of International Law, Journal of International Criminal Justice, Human Rights Quarterly, Michigan Journal of International Law, Harvard Human Rights Journal, and International Journal of Law in Context. She is presently working on a book project on the Singapore war crimes trials and post-WWII justice. She also co-founded (with Ms Ng Pei Yi) of the Singapore War Crimes Trials Web Portal, which is kindly supported by Singapore National Heritage Board and Singapore Academy of Law. She has been awarded several research grants, such as the Humboldt University-NUS Research Collaboration Grant and the Singapore Judicial College Research Grant.

Among others, she currently holds editorial positions at the Journal of International Criminal Justice, Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies, and the Singapore Journal of Legal Studies. She serves on the Executive Council of the Asian Society of International Law (AsSIL) and is co-convenor of AsSIL’s Interest Group on International Criminal Law. She is also on the coordinating committee of the European Society of International Law’s Interest Group on International Criminal Law.

Cheah W.L. has received teaching awards from the NUS Law Faculty (2019/2020, 2018/2019, 2015/2016) and the NUS University Scholars Program (2015/2016). Her teaching experience includes periods at the Centre for Transnational Legal Studies (London, UK), Oxford University (UK), Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3 (France), and the Royal University of Law and Economics (Cambodia).

Prior to joining academia, Cheah W.L. served as a Legal Officer at INTERPOL’s Office of Legal Affairs (Lyon, France). She has been invited to speak on the practical impact of her research by the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia. In 2011, Cheah W.L. was a Visiting Professional at the International Criminal Court, and in 2018, she was awarded a Kathleen Fitzpatrick Visiting Fellowship at Melbourne Law School’s Laureate Program in International Law.

Companies

• Editorial Committee Journal of International Criminal Justice (2021)
• Advisory Board Member Studies in International and Comparative Criminal Law, Hart Publishing (2020)
•  Coordinating Committee European Society of International Law Interest Group on International Criminal Law (2020)
• Editor Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies (2020)
• Co-founder/Coordinator of Singapore War Crimes Trials Project: https://www.singaporewarcrimestrials. Singapore War Crimes Trials Project (2015)
• Editor Singapore Journal of Legal Studies (2015)
• Attorney and Counselor-at-Law New York, United States (qualified to practice law in New York) (2010)
• Associate Professor National University of Singapore (2007)
• Kathleen Fitzpatrick Visiting Fellowship Laureate Program in International Law, Melbourne Law School (2018 — 2018)

Education

• Doctor of Philosophy - PhD University of Oxford (2010 — 2015)
• Master of Laws (LLM) Harvard Law School (2007 — 2008)
• Diploma in Human Rights Law European University Institute, Academy of European Law (2012)
• Diploma in International and Comparative Commercial Arbitration Queen Mary, U. of London (2006 — 2008)
• Bachelor of Laws (LLB) National University of Singapore (1999 — 2003)