TAN Seow Hon
Full-time Faculty
Associate Professor of Law
Yong Pung How School of Law
YPHSL
- SJD, Harvard Law School, 2004
- LLM, Harvard Law School, 1999
- LLB (First Class Honours), National University of Singapore, 1997
- Advocate & Solicitor, Singapore, 2002
Academic Positions Held
Current Appointment:
- Associate Professor of Law, School of Law, Singapore Management University, Jan 2010-Present
Previous Appointments:
- Associate Dean (Student, Alumni & Staff Affairs), School of Law, Singapore Management University, Jul 2017-Jun 2019
- Alumni Relations Director, 2011-Jun 2019
- Associate Dean (Research), School of Law, Singapore Management University, 2014-2015
- Member, Singapore Management University Senate, March 2011-March 2013
- Associate Professor, National University of Singapore, July 2009-Dec 2009
- Assistant Professor, National University of Singapore, 1999-2009
- Senior Tutor, National University of Singapore, 1997-1999
- Clark Byse Fellow, Harvard Law School, 2003-2004
- Landon Gammon Fellow, Harvard Law School, 1998-1999
Teaching Awards
- Singapore Management University School of Law Teaching Award 2023-2024
- Singapore Management University School of Law Teaching Award 2021-2022
- Singapore Management University School of Law Teaching Award 2019-2020
- Singapore Management University School of Law Teaching Award 2018-2019
- Singapore Management University School of Law Most Outstanding Teacher Award, 2017-2018
- Singapore Management University School of Law Teaching Award 2016-2017
- Singapore Management University School of Law Teaching Award, 2015-2016
- Singapore Management University Excellent Teacher Award, 2015
- Singapore Management University School of Law Most Outstanding Teacher Award, 2014-2015
- Singapore Management University School of Law Teaching Award, 2013-2014
- Singapore Management University Innovative Teacher Award, 2013
- Singapore Management University School of Law Most Outstanding Teacher Award, 2012-2013
- Singapore Management University School of Law Teaching Award, 2011-2012
- National University of Singapore Annual Teaching Excellence Award, 2008-2009
- NUS Faculty of Law Teaching Award, 2008-2009
- National University of Singapore Annual Teaching Excellence Award, 2007-2008
- National University of Singapore Annual Teaching Excellence Award, 2005-2006
Courses Taught in SMU
- Legal Theory & Philosophy
- Jurisprudence: Modern and Critical Theories of Law
Research Areas / Areas of Specialisation
- Jurisprudence / Legal Theory
- Legal Education
Personal Website
Selected Publications
- Success and Flourishing in Singapore: The Impact of Laws and Policies on the Ethos and Character of a People, International Journal for the Semiotics of Law (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11196-026-10453-6
- Decriminalising Male Homosexual Acts, Protecting Opposite-Sex Marriage: An Analysis of Singapore’s Shift in the Stance towards Homosexuality, Archiv-fuer-Rechts-und-Sozialphilosophie: Supplement: East Meets West: Justice, Law and Politics 299 (2026).
- The Excellent Legal Scholar, 54 Netherlands Journal of Legal Philosophy 134-152 (2025).
- Faith Misplaced: Working Out the Roles of Faith and Law in Pluralist Democracies, Journal of Christian Legal Thought 1-8 (2025(1)).
- Punishing Individuals Who Complied with Intolerably Unjust ‘Laws’ in Predecessor Regimes, Israel Law Review, 57 Israel Law Review 480–506 (2024).
- Radbruch’s Formula Revisited: The ‘Lex Injusta Non Est Lex’ Maxim in Constitutional Democracies, Canadian Journal of Law & Jurisprudence (First View).
- Surrogacy and Human Flourishing, 45 Journal of Legal Philosophy 49-79 (2020).
- Justice As Friendship: A Theory of Law. Paperback edition issued in 2017. 206pp.
- Between Judicial Oligarchy and Parliamentary Supremacy: Understanding the Court’s Dilemma in Constitutional Judicial Review, Sing. J. Leg. Stud. 307-335 (2016).
- Law Firm Internships and the Making of Future Lawyers: An Empirical Study in Singapore 17 Legal Ethics 79–106 (2014).
- Religion in the Abortion Discourse in Singapore: A Case Study of the Relevance of Religious Arguments in Law-making in Multi-Religious Democracies XXVI Journal of Law & Religion 505–539 (2011).