Paul Singh has been appointed the acting chair of the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal (BCHRT).

The BCHRT is an independent tribunal that mediates and adjudicates human-rights complaints in the province.

Singh, a lawyer who has been a full-time member of the BCHRT since 2018, previously served with the Department of Justice Canada as senior federal crown counsel from 2010 to 2018, according to a January 29 news release.

Prior to that, from 2004 to 2010, Singh practised civil litigation in a private capacity in B.C.

The BCHRT noted in the release that because "it is imperative there are no interruptions to service until a full-time chair is appointed through a robust, merit-based recruitment process", Singh's six-month appointment is effective February 1.

Singh replaces Diana Juricevic Vandor, who was appointed as a Provincial Court judge on December 21, 2020. Her swearing-in takes place on February 1. Vandor was appointed chair of the BCHRT effective August 1, 2016. Prior to that, she had been a full-time member of the tribunal since 2011.