02 SUPREME COURT OF SINGAPORE VisioN Contents To establish and maintain a world class Judiciary Chief Justice’s Message 04 2016 Supreme Court Key Initiatives 06 MissioN The Supreme Court Bench 11 To superintend the administration of justice Organisational Structure 19 Constitution & Jurisdiction 24 VALUes Event Highlights 31 Fairness Accessibility Performance & Statistics 43 Independence, Integrity, Impartiality Responsiveness ANNUAL report 2016 05 CHief Justice’S Message It gives me great pleasure to present for the very first time, Courts “future-ready” while the Singapore Academy of Law a One Judiciary annual report boxed set, which showcases has launched the Legal Technology Vision to help the legal the work of the Supreme Court, the State Courts and sector adopt and implement technological changes. the Family Justice Courts sharing a common mission to superintend the administration of justice and make justice The Supreme Court and State Courts, together with NTU accessible to all. Themed “Upholding Our Values”, SPIRIT Centre, have embarked on the development of the reports detail the work of the three Courts and their an Intelligent Case Retrieval System. The aim is to have a initiatives that are underpinned by the values of fairness, more effective retrieval of key legal documents in decided accessibility, independence, integrity and impartiality. cases for road traffic accidents and personal injury matters. Besides making it easier and quicker for legal research to The Judiciary will have to respond to an increasingly be performed, it will add to the quality of decision making challenging global and economic climate. We must enhance and judgment writing for judges. The technology developed the quality of our work even as we look to reduce the cost through this platform may even perform other legal of litigating by simplifying processes where possible. On this functions, such as Case Summarisation and Logic Reasoning. front, we have introduced significant changes to our civil and This will lead the way to a more sophisticated legal research, criminal litigation processes. At the Family Justice Courts, advisory and decision support system in the future. a child maintenance matrix, based on actuarial data is also being devised to guide the resolution of cases involving The Judiciary is on the cusp of change and these are exciting children so that such disputes can be settled quickly and times. As we implement changes, we must continue to put less acrimoniously. the interest of Singaporeans first and ensure that justice is within their reach. I am confident that my colleagues on On the international front, we are widening and the Supreme Court Bench as well as the judicial officers strengthening our judicial networks. An International and administrators from the State Courts and Family Justice Advisory Council which I chair and comprising family judges Courts will continue to work hard in ensuring effective from various jurisdictions provides the Family Justice Courts access to justice for all. I am deeply grateful for their with many useful and diverse perspectives that will help us dedication and commitment to this extremely meaningful address present and future challenges. cause. I am also delighted by the success of the first judicial I hope this One Judiciary Annual Report will give you a insolvency network conference involving judges from glimpse into the work of the Courts in Singapore. Together, 10 jurisdictions which we hosted in October 2016. The we seek to administer a world class judiciary and make CHIEF JUSTICE’S conference resulted in the promulgation of guidelines for justice accessible for all Singaporeans. court-to-court communication and cooperation protocols. MESSAGE Following the meeting, Singapore and the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware formally implemented the guidelines, with other jurisdictions expected to similarly adopt the guidelines. Technological advancements will require the legal sector to SundaresH Menon rethink entire areas of practice. While this will likely prove to Chief Justice be disruptive, we should embrace and welcome the change Supreme Court of Singapore as technology can potentially improve processes, resulting in greater effectiveness at a lower cost for society. The Courts of the Future Taskforce will make recommendations to get our ANNUAL report 2016 07 Towards A WorLD CLass LegaL Sector Improving Judicial and Litigation Processes Criminal & Civil Litigation Community Justice Centre Reforms in Civil litigation by the Civil Justice Commission Supreme Court collaborated with the Community Justice will simplify and update the Rules of Court, eliminate Centre (CJC) to establish a satellite office at the Supreme time-and-costs-wasting procedural steps, promote Court to provide practical support and useful assistance technology, and allow greater judicial control of the to persons involved in bankruptcy proceedings. Besides litigation process when it completes its wide ranging review offering advice and practical support on preparatory work towards the end of 2017. The proposed establishment of for trials, volunteers are at hand to provide emotional the Criminal Procedure Rules will also benefit Criminal support. The satellite CJC may consider expanding its scope litigation with more deliberated and customised procedures. beyond bankruptcy proceedings for the benefit of its users. These reforms are part of our efforts to improve judicial and litigation processes, thereby enhancing access to justice for Evolving Paradigms in Medical Litigation all Singaporeans. To assuage Singaporeans’ concerns over medical care, the Supreme Court is realigning our Medical litigation paradigm to ensure that medical practice is not distorted by the fear of litigation. We will promote alternative dispute resolution and move away from the adversarial mode of litigation to a more inquisitorial, judge-led process. To help our judges, we are working with the Singapore Medical Council to establish a panel of medical assessors to work alongside them on cases. 2016 SUPREME COURT KEY INITIATIVES 08 SUPREME COURT OF SINGAPORE ANNUAL report 2016 09 Towards A WorLD CLass LegaL Sector Cementing our Position as a Regional Hub for Embracing Technology Pursuing Excellence without Compromise Legal Services Promoting Court-to-Court Arrangements: Courts of the Future Taskforce Professionalism of the Judiciary Singapore International Commercial Court Cross-Border Insolvency With advancement in technology, a Courts of the Future The Singapore Judicial College (SJC) enjoyed notable success The Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC) saw The Supreme Court brought together insolvency judges Taskforce was set up to undertake a strategic study to in its international and local programmes. On the local six more transfer cases in 2016 and this is expected to from 10 jurisdictions for a meeting to promote cross- identify technological opportunities that will support the front, the SJC offered more than 40 programmes in 2016. expand as familiarity with its commendable work grows. border insolvency in October 2016. The meeting enabled strategic direction of the Judiciary over the medium to This meant that each of our Judges and Judicial Officers The first judgment was delivered on 12 May 2016. By the the insolvency judges to draft guidelines to facilitate long term. Focusing on enhancing access to justice, the would have attended an average of at least five judicial end of 2016, eight cases were transferred from the Singapore communication and cooperation between courts on cross- Taskforce developed a Blueprint which consists of 15 key education programmes during the year. In the international High Court to the SICC and six written judgments/grounds border insolvency matters which should lead to better IT initiatives encompassing each broad phase of the court arena, with the 13 courses conducted in 2016, more than of decision were delivered. The SICC also saw the filing of financial returns for all parties involved. The United States process such as developing self-help solutions and the use 600 foreign participants from more than 60 jurisdictions the first two notices of appeal to the Court of Appeal arising Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware and the of artificial intelligence and data analytics. As we pursue our would have become alumni of the SJC’s international wing from one of the cases. The appeals will present potential Supreme Court of Singapore formally implemented the journey of court excellence, the Taskforce will continue to since its inception. Besides judicial training, the SJC runs an users with further opportunities to observe and be better guidelines on 1 February 2017, the first for cross-border recommend initiatives and leverage technology to enhance active empirical judicial research programme. As at 2016, acquainted with the SICC dispute resolution framework. insolvency matters on a global level. More jurisdictions are our adjudication process. a total of seven research projects have been approved. expected to follow suit in the near future. THE SUPREME COURT BENCH 12 SUPREME COURT OF SINGAPORE ANNUAL report 2016 13 OUR JUDGES AS OF 31 JANUARY 2017 Justice Choo Han Teck Justice Belinda Ang Justice Woo Bih Li Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon Justice Lee Seiu Kin Justice Chan Seng Onn Justice Quentin Loh Judge of Appeal Judge of Appeal Justice Chao Hick Tin Justice Andrew Phang Justice Steven Chong Justice Vinodh Coomaraswamy Justice George Wei Judge of Appeal Judge