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Credit: World Scientific
Down Memory Lane: Peter Ellinger’s Memoirs details the life of Law Professor Peter Ellinger, which has taken him around the world from Israel, to the United Kingdom, Australasia and finally Singapore, where he has chosen to retire. From his escape from Austria during Hitler’s reign, to his growing-up years in Israel, academia and legal practice, and his eventual retirement, this book takes you on a journey in time alongside Professor Ellinger.
Professor Ellinger is a Professor Emeritus of the National University of Singapore and was a Consultant of Rajah and Tann Singapore LLP. Over the course of his journey, he has also held Chairs of Law at the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, and at Monash University, Australia. An internationally renowned leading authority on banking law, Professor Ellinger has published widely, including Modern Banking Law and chapters in Benjamin’s Sales of Goods and Chitty on Contracts. He has lived a long and fruitful life, contributing to the development of the law. In addition, he came across several well-known individuals during his teaching years, including Professor S. Jayakumar, former Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore; V.K. Rajah, former Justice of the Court of Appeal and then Attorney-General of Singapore; Davinder Singh, one of the Commonwealth’s leading advocates; and Andrew Phang, a Justice of the Court of Appeal. Professor Tommy Koh, Ambassador-at-Large at the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is an old friend of Professor Ellinger. In his Foreword, he refers to their friendship which can be traced back to 1961, including his being Best Man at Professor Ellinger's wedding.
Down Memory Lane: Peter Ellinger’s Memoirs details Professor Ellinger’s journey in four parts. The first covers his escape from Austria, his years as a refugee in Italy and France, and his education in Israel. He sets out his reflections as he witnessed the foundation of Israel and the struggle of the newly born country in its early years. His first practice of law was in Tel Aviv, of which he discusses some of the cases handled by him.
The next part covers Professor Ellinger’s post-graduate years in Oxford, his first steps towards academia and his first spell in Singapore. Likewise, his journey also captures Singapore’s history, in particular its development from a Crown colony into a sovereign city-state.
The third section deals with his life as a mendicant professor and teacher of law in Wellington, New Zealand; Monash, Melbourne, Australia, and Singapore. He also spent some time in Germany as a Humboldt Fellow at the Institute of Comparative Commercial Law, Freiburg. During a spell in Hamburg, he envisaged the fall of the Brandenburg Wall and the unification of the DDR with Western Germany.
The last part of the book covers his employment at the National University of Singapore, his experience in legal practice in the city and his eventual retirement during which he reflected on the world’s future.
He also captures his personal life, including his marriage with Patricia Goh, a Chinese-educated girl to whom he was married for 43 years until her death; his religious and political views; his hobby of collecting antiques and Bible Critique.
Down Memory Lane: Peter Ellinger’s Memoirs retails for US$48 / £40 (paperback) and US$88 / £75 (hardcover) and is also available in electronic formats. To order or know more about the book, visit http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/13271.
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About the Author
Peter Ellinger graduated from the Hebrew University, Israel with an MJur in 1959 and was called to the Israeli Bar. Following practice in Tel Aviv, he went to Oxford University, UK, obtaining his DPhil in 1964. He started his academic career at the University of Singapore (1961–1966). In 1963, he married Patricia Goh Peh Choo. He subsequently held Chairs of Law at the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand (1967–1976) and at Monash University, Australia (1977–1986). In 1986, he accepted the post of Professor of Law at the National University of Singapore. After his retirement from this position, he was appointed as a consultant at Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP and obtained a practice certificate. He also continued to teach as a Professorial Fellow at the National University of Singapore.
On 14 September 1998, Professor Ellinger was constituted an Emeritus Professor. During his academic career, he has published books, chapters in leading commercial law texts and numerous articles in regional law reviews as well as in the United Kingdom, Australasia, Canada, the United States and in Europe. Modern Banking Law (published by Oxford University Press) is a standard text on banking law and went into five editions.
Professor Ellinger has specialised in commercial law with particular emphasis on banking law. Over the years, he has acquired an experience in opinion work and drafting of documents. He has also appeared as an expert witness in local and foreign courts. In 2008, Professor Ellinger retired from his position as a consultant of Rajah and Tann but continued to teach as a Professorial Fellow at the University. His wife passed away in 2011 after a lengthy battle with cancer. He retired from teaching in July 2013 and has remained in Singapore since.
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