2021 was, for many, a difficult and unusual time as the COVID-19 pandemic entered its second year. But it was also a full and fruitful period. In 2020, many had still hoped for a return to pre-pandemic life. In 2021, we came to terms with the fact that we would have to learn to live with it.
The Singapore Courts have made significant progress on that front. We continued to leverage on technology to enhance access to justice. Remote hearings and asynchronous case management tools kept lines of communication open and allowed the administration of justice to continue uninterrupted despite the evolving COVID-19 situation. The SG Courts mobile application now allows users to view case files, hearing lists and court calendars on the go, and more features are in the pipeline.
Beyond enhancing access to our courts, we have also made great strides towards equipping users with the necessary knowledge and information to pursue their legal rights more effectively and efficiently. The Motor Accident Claims Online (MACO) outcome simulator generates ballpark estimates of the quantum of expected damages to facilitate settlement negotiations and help users make better-informed decisions. It has since performed over 13,000 outcome simulations. Efforts are also underway to remodel the LawNet platform into a single digital hub for a wider suite of services, including the expansion of materials to include more Asian content, and the ability to subscribe to a digital library which offers access to a variety of titles published by the Singapore Academy of Law.
REMOTE HEARINGS
90% of criminal and civil non-trial matters, and more than 60% of civil trials, were heard through video conferencing technology in 2021.
The transformation of our courts has proceeded apace. The Courts (Civil and Criminal Justice) Reform Act 2021 enacts a number of modernising reforms, such as empowering our courts to deal with a wider range of matters without hearing oral arguments, or to require that parties attempt to resolve disputes amicably where appropriate. The new Rules of Court 2021 and Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC) Rules 2021 likewise demonstrate our firm commitment to modernising the civil justice landscape. Under the latter, a new specialised Technology, Infrastructure and Construction List offers unique case management features which cater specifically to highly complex technical disputes. It enhances the SICC’s status as a leading commercial court in the region, if not the world.
In contrast to the traditional adversarial model of civil justice, the Family Justice Courts (FJC) have continued to build on our vision of delivering a more therapeutic model of justice. Given that matrimonial disputes often implicate various underlying non-legal issues, multi-disciplinary teams comprising judicial officers, mediators and counsellors were established to allow for the holistic management of high-conflict divorce cases. In a similar vein, a Panel of Therapeutic Specialists was formed to provide specialised therapeutic services for families in need. Family Neutral Evaluation was piloted as an alternative dispute resolution option for resolving financial disputes quickly and more cost-effectively. Further, a Divorce eService portal was launched to assist self-represented litigants in preparing and filing court papers in uncontested divorce applications.
Over at the State Courts, a specialised Protection from Harassment Court (PHC) was established. The PHC offers a streamlined filing process and provides a one-stop platform for victims of harassment to seek effective and holistic recourse. Already, some 370 claims have been filed — more than twice the number of harassment claims filed in any year prior. We also piloted the conduct of civil trials entirely over video conference, thus allowing civil trials to proceed uninterrupted where parties or witnesses were unable to attend in person, or where they resided overseas and were unable to travel to Singapore due to pandemic-related travel restrictions. Eight civil trials were conducted entirely remotely in 2021.
Another major development was the restructuring of the Legal Service into the Judicial Service and the reconstituted Legal Service. This will allow for greater specialisation, enabling each Service to develop bespoke personnel management frameworks as well as specialist training and professional development opportunities so as to better equip officers to discharge their duties. I am confident that the establishment of the Judicial Service Commission will prove a significant boon as we grow from strength to strength as One Judiciary.
Moving forward, our corporate administrative functions across the Supreme Court, State Courts and FJC will be further integrated. This will facilitate closer collaboration among our three courts, achieve greater economies of scale, and ensure greater consistency in the implementation of administrative policies and practices.
On the international front, we continued to engage significantly with our foreign counterparts despite the challenges posed by the pandemic. We co-hosted the fifth Singapore-China Legal and Judicial Roundtable, where we concluded a landmark Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation on Information on Foreign Law with the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China. We implemented protocols on court-to-court communication and cooperation in admiralty, shipping and cross-border corporate insolvency matters with the Federal Court of Malaysia, and successfully hosted the third meeting of the Standing International Forum of Commercial Courts. In addition, we established and deepened ties with the Supreme Court of the Republic of Korea and the Supreme Court of Rwanda, and continued to play a leading role in the International Consortium for Court Excellence.
Whereas 2020 will inevitably be remembered as a year of crisis and crisis management, 2021 will go down as a year of renewal and reform. Legal transformation — the transformation of our institutions and processes — has taken centre stage in the face of increasing digitalisation and globalisation. We have continued to bring technological tools into the mainstream of our work and the way we engage with our stakeholders. These are important steps in our drive towards realising our vision of being a Leading, Trusted Judiciary, and harnessing the tremendous potential of technology will surely be among our most significant projects in the years to come.
Third Meeting of the Standing International Forum of Commercial Courts
Singapore takes over hosting duties