CONTENTS 04 MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF JUSTICE 06 ABOUT THE COLLEGE 08 BOARD OF GOVERNORS 09 FACULTY 10 AREAS OF FOCUS FOR PROGRAMMES OF THE COLLEGE 11 CORE CURRICULUM 16 MASTERCLASSES 18 LOCAL WING 25 INTERNATIONAL WING 33 PROGRAMME OFFERINGS IN 2018 38 EMPIRICAL JUDICIAL RESEARCH 40 ACCREDITATION 41 INTERNATIONAL OUTREACH 43 INTERNATIONAL ALUMNI SINGAPORE SINGAPORE JUDICIAL JUDICIAL 2 COLLEGE COLLEGE 3 MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF JUSTICE of the law. The two masterclasses on arbitration and intellectual property that were organised this year also attracted external and international participants. As for its international work, the College built on its well-earned reputation and further extended its reach. It has to date received close to 1,300 participants from 76 jurisdictions. I am heartened by the demand for the programmes offered by the College which evidences their quality and usefulness. Besides conducting inaugural runs of its flagship case management, court technology and dispute resolution mechanisms programmes in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, the College was proud to present a customised judgment writing programme in Brunei for the Brunei judiciary. The Supreme Court of Korea’s Judicial Research and Training Institute also invited the College to In four short years, the Singapore Judicial College has established itself speak at its international conference alongside the US National Judicial as a critical institution serving the developmental and learning needs of College and the European Judicial Training Network. This year also our judges and judicial officers, as well as undertaking empirical judicial saw our cooperation with the National Judges College of the People’s research to support and drive innovative court practices and policies. In Republic of China advance to a new level, with mutual visits for institutional 2018, the College welcomed Mr Paul Quan as its new Executive Director. exchange of ideas and perspectives on judicial training and education. Paul takes over from Mr Tan Boon Heng who commendably completed a three-year stint at the College. I wish to express my deep appreciation to As it begins another chapter, the College will work with the Singapore Boon Heng and I am confident that Paul will build on the good work that Management University (“SMU”) School of Law to offer for the first time, Boon Heng has done during the formative years of the College. the Master of Laws in Judicial Studies programme. This programme for higher judicial learning for judges by judges is a first of its kind in the Against a backdrop of frenetic change, the College has sought to region. It will see the involvement of not only SMU faculty members, continuously strive to renew and enhance itself so that it remains relevant. but also our judges to teach, mentor and supervise the first cohort of It was timely and opportune therefore that the College started the year by candidates in 2019. reviewing and revamping the curricula for several programmes. Notably, the induction programme for newly appointed judges has been enhanced This annual report details the work of the College for the past year. It is so that it spans a year-long period beginning with the court-specific a superb effort and I congratulate the Dean and his team as well as the orientation and culminating in the year-end Judiciary-Wide Induction Board of Governors of the College for a job well done. The College has Programme. Further, mandatory core courses such as judgment writing already done extremely well and I look forward to seeing the team drive and case management, are to be undertaken during the course of the it to new heights in the years to come. year, interspersed with hearings and on-the-job training. The upshot is that 24 training days are committed to equip our newly appointed judges to discharge their duties. In addition, the Masterclasses were reconceived CHIEF JUSTICE and implemented as one-day programmes with the objective of having SUNDARESH MENON detailed and intensive discussions on selected issues in specialised areas Supreme Court of Singapore SINGAPORE SINGAPORE JUDICIAL JUDICIAL 4 COLLEGE COLLEGE 5 ABOUT THE COLLEGE Established under the auspices of the Supreme Court of Singapore, the Singapore Judicial College serves the learning and developmental needs of judges and judicial officers. LOCAL WING VISION The Local Wing conducts core, continuing education and special programmes for the To achieve excellence in Singapore Bench. It equips new judges to discharge their duties through a signature judicial education and research induction programme. It also continually refreshes the bench skills of existing judges and exposes them to the latest developments in the specific context in which they make judicial decisions. MISSION INTERNATIONAL WING To provide and inspire continuing The International Wing builds on the reputation of Singapore’s legal and judicial system judicial learning and research to and lends technical assistance to other jurisdictions, as well as offers signature and flagship enhance the competency and programmes in areas such as bench skills, judgecraft, court administration and governance, professionalism of judges court technology, dispute resolution mechanisms and the training of judicial educators. EMPIRICAL JUDICIAL RESEARCH The Empirical Judicial Research initiative provides a unique opportunity for empirical work, including quantitative and data analysis, to produce innovative judicial practices and policies. SINGAPORE JUDICIAL 6 COLLEGE BOARD OF GOVERNORS FACULTY CHAIRMAN DEAN FOO CHEE HOCK The Honourable JUSTICE ANDREW PHANG Judge of Appeal, Supreme Court of Singapore EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR PAUL QUAN DEPUTY CHAIRMAN The Honourable JUSTICE QUENTIN LOH Judge, Supreme Court of Singapore DEPUTY DIRECTOR, SECRETARIAT JAM CHEE CHONG MEMBERS The Honourable JUSTICE SEE KEE OON Presiding Judge of the State Courts of Singapore The Honourable JUSTICE DEBBIE ONG ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, Presiding Judge of the Family Justice Courts of Singapore SECRETARIAT CHARMAIN LEE The Honourable JUSTICE JOHN DYSON HEYDON AC International Judge, Singapore International Commercial Court Professor JOSEPH H H WEILER University Professor, New York University School of Law MANAGER, SECRETARIAT Professor JEFFREY PINSLER, SC Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore MAZUINDAH MAZLAN Associate Professor GOH YIHAN Dean, School of Law, Singapore Management University FOO CHEE HOCK Dean, Singapore Judicial College PS TO THE DEAN HARYATI SUNGIT PAUL QUAN Executive Director, Singapore Judicial College SINGAPORE SINGAPORE JUDICIAL JUDICIAL 8 COLLEGE COLLEGE 9 AREAS OF FOCUS CORE CURRICULUM FOR PROGRAMMES OF THE COLLEGE The core curriculum of the College centres around a signature induction programme with an emphasis on essential bench skills and judgecraft that are foundational to effective decision-making. Newly appointed judges undergo this induction programme comprising: • A 2-week programme (Part A) where the newly appointed judges undergo orientation that is tailored specifically for them by the court to which they have been appointed. The programme consists of briefings, sit-ins and interaction with other judges. • Core programmes (10 days) interspersed with hearings and on-the-job training. • The annual 4-day Judiciary-Wide Induction Programme (Part B) where the newly COURT appointed judges have the opportunity to interact with the Chief Justice to gain LEADERSHIP BENCH better perspective of the judicial philosophy and workings of the Singapore judiciary, SKILLS as well as undertake “summation” modules conducted by experienced judges with the College faculty on bench skills, judicial ethics and conduct, judicial resilience, and legal JUDICIAL development. This programme culminates in a dinner hosted by the Chief Justice and ETHICS the Supreme Court Bench. As part of the programme, foreign participants are taken on immersive learning journeys to the Supreme Court, the State Courts and the Family Justice Courts. The core programmes are also open to foreign participants. LEGAL DEVELOPMENT PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AND RESILIENCE SOCIAL TECHNOLOGY AWARENESS AND SCIENCES SINGAPORE SINGAPORE JUDICIAL JUDICIAL 10 COLLEGE COLLEGE 11 JUDICIARY-WIDE INDUCTION PROGRAMME The core programmes of the College are: 13 – 16 Nov 2018 • Judgment Writing and Oral Judgment • Case Management • Judgment Writing: Construction of Contract • Assessing Credibility of Witnesses • Effective Engagement of Litigants-in-Person JUDGMENT WRITING AND ORAL JUDGMENT 10 – 11 May 2018 Participants of this 2-day programme were equipped with a practical framework that can be applied when writing judgments, developed a consciousness of the best practices in judgment writing, and gained confidence in delivering oral judgments. Apart from local judicial officers, there were foreign participants comprising judges from Brunei and Fiji, as well as officers from the Central Bank of Malaysia, the Competition & Consumer Commission of Singapore, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore and the Ministry of Manpower of Singapore. A delegation from the National Judges College of the People’s Republic of China also observed the programme. SINGAPORE SINGAPORE JUDICIAL JUDICIAL 12 COLLEGE COLLEGE 13 ASSESSING CREDIBILITY CASE MANAGEMENT OF WITNESSES 31 Jul – 1 Aug 2018 30 – 31 Aug 2018 This 1.5-day programme equipped participants with the skills to prepare for and Deploying a distinctive pedagogy, conduct effective pre-trial conferences, hearings and trials with a robust approach to this 2-day programme