Constitutional Law in Singapore by Kevin Y.L. Tan

Author:Kevin Y.L. Tan [Tan, Kevin Y.L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789065449443
Published: 2014-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

§8. CONSTITUTION OF SINGAPORE’S JUDICIARY

352. Singapore’s judiciary may be divided into the Supreme Court and the Subordinate Court. The Supreme Court comprises the Court of Appeal (as Singapore’s highest court) and the High Court, while the Subordinate Courts comprises a number of courts, including the Magistrates’ Court, District Court and even the Small Claims Tribunal.

I. The Court of Appeal

353. The Court of Appeal consists of the following judges: (a) the Chief Justice as President of the Court; (b) Vice-Presidents of the Court of Appeal; (c) Judges of Appeal (other than Vice-Presidents); and (d) other puisne judges of the High Court who may be appointed from time to time. As its name suggests, the Court of Appeal has only appellate jurisdiction over all civil and criminal matters. It sits as a bench of at least three judges, but may sit as a bench of five or even seven. At present, there are only four judges appointed to this Court – the Chief Justice and three Judges of Appeal, with one of them serving as Vice-President of the Court.

354. Under the Supreme Court of Judicature Act, a Judge of Appeal may also preside in the High Court when he or she is otherwise unoccupied in the Court of Appeal. This means that the Chief Justice and the Judges of Appeal can sit in the High Court exercising original or appellate jurisdiction. At the same time, if help is needed up in the Court of Appeal, the Chief Justice is empowered to appoint a puisne judge to sit in the Court of Appeal. These provisions enhance the efficiency of the courts. However, this has been rare since 2006.

355. An appellate court such as the Court of Appeal only hears appeals on points of law and not points of fact. In other words, the Court of Appeal will not re-examine witnesses, documents and other materials tendered in the trial court. It will only consider points of law and their application to the particular case. The decision of the Court of Appeal on any matter is final and cannot be reopened or reheard in any other court. The Court of Appeal’s decision is also binding on all other courts in the judicial hierarchy except itself. To qualify for appointment to the Court of Appeal, a person must have the same qualifications required for that of puisne judge (see below).

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