Judicial system of Singapore

History

After gaining independence in 1965, following the Japanese Occupation, Singapore re-established its Supreme Court in 1969, comprising the High Court, the Court of Appeal, and the Court of Criminal Appeal.

Jury trials were abolished in 1969, and the Criminal Procedure Code was amended in 1992 to allow for trials of capital offences to be heard before a single judge. Judicial Commissioners were introduced in 1986 to assist with the judiciary’s workload, and the first female judges were appointed in the early 1990s. In 1993, the appellate system was streamlined into a single Court of Appeal for both civil and criminal cases.

The State Courts were formally established under the Subordinate Courts Act 1970, consolidating District Courts, Magistrates’ Courts, Juvenile Courts, and Coroners’ Courts into a unified subordinate judiciary. The Family Courts were established in 1995 to handle family-related matters under the Women’s Charter, later expanding to include divorce, nullity, and guardianship cases. In 2014, the Family Courts was restructured into the Family Justice Courts under the Family Justice Act, effective 1 October 2014. The courts include the Family Division of the High Court, Family Courts, and Youth Courts (formerly the Juvenile Court).

Structure of the courts

Supreme Court

Main article: Supreme Court of Singapore

The Supreme Court consists of the Court of Appeal and the High Court. The Court of Appeal exercises appellate criminal and civil jurisdiction, while the High Court exercises both original and appellate criminal and civil jurisdiction. The Chief Justice, Judges of Appeal, Judicial Commissioners and High Court Judges are appointed by the President from candidates recommended by the Prime Minister. The prime minister must consult with the Chief Justice before recommending the judges.

State Courts

Main article: State Courts of Singapore

The State Courts are the District and Magistrate Courts—both of which oversee civil and criminal matters—as well as specialised courts such as the coroner's courts and the Small Claims Tribunals. In 2023, there were 178,080 cases filed in the State Courts.

Family Justice Courts

Main article: Family Justice Courts

The Family Justice Courts was established in 2014 to bring together the courts from the Supreme Court and State Courts that hear cases relating to youth and family issues.

About the legal system

The three branches of government are the Judiciary, the Executive, and the Legislature. Designed to ensure that there are checks and balances to prevent abuse of power, the three-branch arrangement is set by the Constitution, the most fundamental law in Singapore.

• The Judiciary enforces and interprets the laws independently without influence from other branches of Government. Comprising the court system and all officers working for the courts, the Judiciary is headed by the Chief Justice.
• The Executive formulates policy and administers the running of the state. It comprises the Cabinet, various public service agencies, and is led by the Prime Minister, who is advised by the Attorney-General.
• The Legislature is responsible for making the laws. It comprises the Parliament and all members that sit within it. The Legislature is led by the Speaker of Parliament.

The President of Singapore serves as the head of state but is not affiliated with any of the three branches of government. The President's approval is necessary at the final stage of the legislative process for passing laws.

The Attorney-General's Chambers provides legal assistance to both the Executive, serving as the government's legal advisor, and the Legislature, acting as parliamentary drafters. The Attorney-General also holds the office of the Public Prosecutor, responsible for overseeing all public prosecutions in Singapore. In this role, the Attorney-General acts independently, without influence from any of the three branches of government.

Perception

Ranking

In September 2008, a Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) survey reported Hong Kong and Singapore have the best judicial systems in Asia, with Indonesia and Vietnam the worst: Hong Kong's judicial system scored 1.45 on the scale (zero representing the best performance and 10 the worst); Singapore with a grade of 1.92, followed by Japan (3.50), South Korea (4.62), Taiwan (4.93), the Philippines (6.10), Malaysia (6.47), India (6.50), Thailand (7.00), China (7.25), Vietnam (8.10) and Indonesia (8.26). In 2010, the Rule of Law Index by the World Justice Project ranked Singapore number one for access to civil justice in the high-income countries group. In 2021, the Rule of Law Index ranked Singapore 17th out of 139 countries on rule of law.

Judicial independence

Main article: Judicial independence in Singapore

Singapore has a reputation for fairness and impartiality in commercial law, and is a popular jurisdiction for arbitration and trial in Southeast Asia. The Canadian case of Oakwell Engineering v. Enernorth Industries called into question this impartiality and raised the issue of whether the judgments of Singaporean courts are enforceable outside Singapore, but claims of links between the judiciary, business and the executive arm in Singapore which were alleged to suggest a real risk of judicial bias were dismissed in appeals to the Court of Appeal for Ontario and Canadian Supreme Court.

In 2004, the United States Department of State claimed that the President of Singapore and the Minister for Home Affairs have substantial de facto judicial power, leading "to a perception that the judiciary reflected the views of the ruling party in politically sensitive cases." In addition, Singapore's "judicial officials, especially the Supreme Court, have close ties to the ruling party and its leaders". It also claimed that government leaders historically have used court proceedings, in particular defamation suits, against political opponents and critics, leading to a perception that the judiciary reflected the views of the ruling party in politically sensitive cases. Notable cases include those against opposition leaders J. B. Jeyaretnam and Chee Soon Juan. In 1997, Australian Q.C. Stuart Littlemore observed the proceedings of a high-profile defamation suit filed by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong against Jeyaretnam on behalf of the Geneva-based International Commission of Jurists (ICJ). This was followed by his ICJ report stating that the Singapore judiciary was compliant to the ruling People's Action Party (PAP), observations which the Ministry of Law denied, and the ICJ subsequently defended. Littlemore's application to represent Chee Soon Juan in 2002 for another defamation suit was rejected by the High Court for his previous remarks about the judiciary that were seen as contemptuous and disrespectful.

On the other hand, Transparency International noted in its 2006 country study report on Singapore that truth was a defence to the "accusations and insinuations of nepotism and favouritism in government appointments" against government leaders that led to the defamation suits, and "[a]s such, if a serious accusation is made, the public hearing of these suits would give the defendant a prime opportunity to put forward the facts they allege. However, none of the defendants have proved the truth of their allegations."

References

References

1. "Supreme Court Singapore - History". Supreme Court of Singapore.
2. "Supreme Court of Judicature Act". Attorney-General of Singapore.
3. "Caseload statistics 2023".
4. "Hong Kong has best judicial system in Asia: business survey".
5. "Hong Kong has best judicial system in Asia: business survey".
6. "S'pore justice system top in global survey".
7. (14 October 2021). "Singapore ranked 17 out of 139 countries on rule of law, dropping three positions".
8. K.C. Vijayan, "Payout Fight Over 'Biased Judiciary' Rejected: Firm's Final Bid to Canada's Highest Court Fails, so S'pore Court Judgment Stands", ''[[The Straits Times]]'' (27 January 2007).
9. (28 February 2005). "Singapore". [[Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor]], [[United States Department of State]].
10. Richard Lloyd Parry. (4 October 1997). "Political storm over a teacup". [[The Independent]].
11. [Stuart Littlemore]. (11 September 1998). "ICJ condemns parody of justice in Singapore". [[International Commission of Jurists]].
12. Warren Fernandez. (3 October 1997). "QC's report made false statements, says Govt". The Straits Times (reproduced on Singapore Window).
13. (23 October 1997). "ICJ defends observer Littlemore's report". The Straits Times (reproduced on Singapore Window).
14. Mark Baker. (20 April 2002). "Chee loses bid for help in case". [[The Age]].
15. Simon S.C. Tay. (2006). "National Integrity Systems: Transparency International Country Study Report: Singapore 2006". [[Transparency International]].