Table of Contents Organs of State
Supreme Court
The Supreme Court’s vision is to establish and maintain a world-class Judiciary. It will do this by putting in place efficient and effective court processes to enhance access to justice and imbue public trust and confidence in the court system. A total budget of $81.63 million has been allocated to Supreme Court in FY2010 to achieve this.
The Supreme Court comprises the High Court and the Court of Appeal. As a superior court of record, the High Court also supervises the Subordinate Courts and administrative tribunals through the processes of appeal and judicial review. The Court of Appeal is the highest court of the land. The decisions of the Court of Appeal will clarify and confirm the law, and establish precedents for the guidance of all courts.
Desired Outcomes
The Supreme Court aims to achieve public trust and confidence in the dispensation of justice based on the values of:
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Accessibility
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Expedition and timelines
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Equality, fairness and integrity
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Independence and accountability
To achieve these outcomes, Supreme Court’s budget will be utilised for the following:
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To process, manage and deliver a just decision according to the law in about 18,400 civil and criminal cases and applications, based on the prescribed timelines and allocated resources;
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To provide the enforcement machinery through a system of court bailiffs;
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To provide information services to allow the legal profession and members of the public to have access to court records; and
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To conduct public education programmes on the Singapore court system, correcting misconceptions and keeping the community informed of developments in the courts.
To find out more about the Supreme Court and our initiatives, please feel free to visit our website.
Subordinate Courts
The mission of the Subordinate Courts is to provide an effective and accessible system of justice, inspiring public trust and confidence. Our shared vision is a leading subordinate court serving society with quality judgments, excellent court services, a variety of processes for timely resolution of disputes, our people as the most valuable asset and the innovative use of technology. A total budget of $68 million has been allocated to the Subordinate Courts in FY2010 to achieve this mission.
The Subordinate Courts manages 95% of all judicial matters in Singapore. Specifically, the Criminal Justice Division convicts only the guilty accused persons and protects the public by imposing appropriate sentences to deter crime. The Civil Justice Division ensures the effective and fair resolution of civil disputes. The Family and Juvenile Justice Division protects and enforces family obligations and aims to reintegrate juvenile delinquents into society. The Courts' daily businesses of upholding the rule of law and administering justice sustains investors' confidence and contributes to social stability and economic progress.
Desired Outcomes
The Subordinate Courts seeks to sustain public trust and confidence in the dispensation of justice based on the values of
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Fairness
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Accessibility
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Independence, Integrity, Impartiality
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Responsiveness
To achieve these outcomes, the Subordinate Courts’ budget will be utilized for the followings:
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To adjudicate, manage and process 370,000 criminal, departmental, civil, matrimonial and small claims cases.
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To enhance criminal justice administration by refining work processes through implementing a centralised pre-trial process and efficient deployment of judicial resources; enhancing the computerised criminal case management system to interface with stakeholders and expedite data exchange, court processes and information retrieval; facilitating greater access to litigants in person; implementing new initiatives to expedite resolution of criminal cases.
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To enhance the delivery of civil justice through court-based and court-referred mediation programmes; implementing pre-action protocols to maximise the benefits of the mediation process before such cases are fixed for trial; enhancing the implementation of differentiated case management; implementing the integrated electronic filing and litigation system (iELS).
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To enhance family and juvenile justice administration by refining work processes; implementing programmes to facilitate family reconciliation and the rehabilitation of juvenile offenders; implementing initiatives relating to the Mental Capacity Act and the Community Court.
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To enhance corporate governance by refining organisational learning and training; implementing tools to enhance collective leadership and strategic management; setting up the Service Relations Unit to enhance customer services; implementing the micro-filming and imaging of court records, and the digital-audio recording and transcription of cases.
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To sustain high-quality services to court users through the construction of a sheltered walkway; setting up HELP Centres to provide court services for litigants in person; upgrading the public waiting areas, the restroom and courtroom facilities; enhancement of security systems.
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To enhance IT infrastructure and systems for effective and expeditious management, processing and monitoring of cases in the Subordinate Courts, as well as to build up and facilitate wider and stronger collaboration and partnerships with other government agencies.
To find out more about the Subordinate Courts and our initiatives, please visit our website.
Attorney General's Chambers (AGC)
The mission of the Attorney-General’s Chambers is to enhance the rule of law and constitutional government in Singapore by providing sound legal advice and assistance in developing a fair and responsive legal system, furthering good public administration and protecting the interests of the State and of the people. A total budget of $92.35 million has been allocated to AGC in FY2010 to achieve this mission.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers comprise the Civil Division, Criminal Justice Division, International Affairs Division, Legislation & Law Reform Division and State Prosecution Division; these five legal divisions are supported by the Corporate Services Division and the Information Division. The core values of AGC are: The Rule of Law, A Just Legal System, Integrity & Impartiality, Competence & Professionalism, Teamwork & Cooperation, and the Public Interest.
Desired outcomes
AGC aims to achieve the following outcomes:
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effective, sound, efficient and modern legislative framework;
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decisions and actions of public officers that comply with legal principles;
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a Government which is effectively and professionally represented in all legal matters;
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a just and effective criminal prosecutorial system;
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a nation which abides by international law; and
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a rule based regional and multi-lateral trading system as well as bilateral arrangement with key or strategic trading partners which safeguards and enhances Singapore’s interests.
To achieve these outcomes, AGC’s budget will be utilized to:
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provide sound legal advice and representation for the Government in civil cases, and matters involving constitutional and administrative law;
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enhance the rule of law and principles of good governance among government departments;
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promote a just criminal justice system which protects the public and ensures that wrongdoers are brought to justice;
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pursue a fair and impartial policy in the prosecution of offenders based on sufficient evidence and the public interest;
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protect and advance Singapore’s interests internationally through effective practice and application of public international law;
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advise government departments on international law and represent the State in treaty negotiations and dispute resolution;
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draft legislation to give effect to Parliamentary intention in a simple, clear and concise manner;
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support Parliamentary Select Committees in legislation reviews and advise government on statutory interpretation;
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review and reform the law to meet the needs of Singapore and its people in the 21st century and
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revise, consolidate, modernize and simplify legislation for the public to better understand the law.
In addition, $3.40 million has been allocated to the development of three computer application systems, namely the Legislation Editing and Authentic Publishing System (LEAP), Enterprise Legal Management System (ELMS) and Knowledge Management Next Phase (KNMP) to enhance the workflows of the above functions. LEAP will enhance the drafting and publishing process of legislation and increase efficiency and effectiveness of searching and retrieving legislation. ELMS will digitize paper files, capture matter centric information of the case files and provide an electronic workflow system. KNMP will help users retrieve information more intuitively through implementation of technologies such as automated taxonomy classifier and enterprise and desktop search engines.
A further $1.72 million will also be earmarked for the partial relocation project of the Attorney-General’s Chambers office at The Adelphi to the Ministry of Manpower building at 18 Havelock Road.
To find out more about the AGC and our initiatives, please feel free to visit our website.
