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Justice Teh Hwee Hwee: Speech delivered at 10th Anniversary Celebration of the Family Justice Courts
10th Anniversary Celebration of the Family Justice Courts
Keynote Address
"Building Hope, Embracing Change"
Monday, 21 October 2024
The Honourable Justice Teh Hwee Hwee
Presiding Judge of the Family Justice Courts
The Honourable the Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon
The Honourable Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for Health, Mr Masagos Zulkifli
The Honourable Minister of State for Law and Transport, Mr Murali Pillai SC
The Honourable Judges and Judicial Commissioners of the Supreme Court
Deputy Attorney-General Mr Tai Wei Shyong SC
The President of the Law Society, Ms Lisa Sam
Distinguished Guests, Colleagues and Friends
1. It is an honour and privilege to welcome you to the 10th Anniversary Celebration of the Family Justice Courts (FJC), and to do so here, at our new home.
2. This is the very first gathering at the new FJC building, often referred to as “The Octagon”, due to its distinctive octagonal architecture and design. We will be commencing our operations in this building later this year, bringing our teams, which are currently sited at Havelock Square just across the road and at Maxwell Road, together under one roof. Our new premises are symbolic of the FJC’s commitment to evolution and growth, and a tangible representation of the spirit of transformation that permeates our work.
3. Capturing the essence of our journey and aspirations is our theme for this milestone celebration – “Building Hope, Embracing Change”. There is an adage commonly attributed to the ancient Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, which states that “change is the only constant”. This insight is illustrated by the observation that “no man ever steps in the same river twice, for it is not the same river and he is not the same man”.(1) Change is indeed the natural order of life. Nature is governed by the rhythmic patterns of change; the sun rises and sets each day, and the four seasons come and go in their set order each year.
4. Change is also closely intertwined with hope, one of the most powerful and necessary mindsets for humankind. Consider how change engenders hope, much like the regeneration of cells in our bodies, fostering healing and rejuvenation. Similarly, the changing seasons yield bountiful harvests. As Professor Chan Hellman put it, “hope” is the “belief or the expectation that the future can be better, and that more importantly, we have the capacity to pursue that future”.(2)
5. For the individuals and families who come through the doors of the FJC, we want to instil in them a sense of hope and support them on their journey of healing and transformation, ultimately paving the way for a brighter future.
6. To build hope, we have to embrace change. We are not new to change in our decade-long journey. The administration of family justice has been transformed, following our Chief Justice’s vision to build a family justice system that is well-suited to meet the unique needs of families and children.
7. The role of Family Judges has evolved. We are not only adjudicators and Judge-mediators, but dedicated learners, system reformers and leaders,(3) guided by our reflection on how we can make the FJC better, to meet the needs of those we serve more holistically.
8. Family lawyers have also evolved to be more than legal advisers – they are counted on as creative problem-solvers and skilled advocates for the children’s and family’s interests. As I noted previously, the role of family lawyers today is not just about resolving disputes, but about rehabilitating relationships, championing resilience and restoring hope.(4)
9. As observed by commentators, the most sought-after family lawyers will be those who can offer constructive advice and find solutions to meet the family’s needs.(5) The value-add that family lawyers can provide to their clients, through their increasingly multifaceted roles, gives our Family Bar much to look forward to.
10. These roles of our Judges and lawyers will be fundamental to the developments that we hope to make to the family justice landscape through enhanced Therapeutic Justice (TJ) processes. These processes are focused on problem-solving and collaboration, with multidisciplinary teams working with the parties, and tapping on extensive multi-agency support networks.
11. We start this new phase to further integrate TJ into our court processes, with the publication of version one of the FJC TJ Model, in conjunction with new Practice Directions that will be issued after the launch of our TJ symbol and tagline by the Chief Justice later in this event. The FJC TJ Model is about helping families accept the past and move towards their best possible futures. It involves a judge-led process where parties and their lawyers, along with other professionals, work together to find timely and enduring solutions within the framework of the law. Conceived with Singapore’s unique socio-cultural context in mind, the model will contribute to establishing our common understanding of what TJ means in practical terms. We envisage that our TJ Model will continue to grow and mature, and we look forward to improving it with feedback from our stakeholders, and to continue to re-define what it truly means to “win” in the family law context.
12. Here at the FJC, our work touches the lives of many, from adoption to probate – so in that sense, from cradle to grave. Our decisions do not merely involve binary “rights” and “wrongs”. Families that come before us do not merely seek court orders, but sustainable solutions. This is why FJC officers are a very special breed of people. Our Judges and Court Administrators are the lifeblood of the family judicial system – tireless and deeply committed to being a quiet force for good.
13. We are truly blessed to have had the leadership of former Presiding Judges, Justice Valerie Thean and Justice Debbie Ong, as well as the dedication of FJC officers, for all the progress that has been made. More of such stewards of justice are needed to keep our hearts pumping strong for the service of families in need. One of our top priorities has been to recruit and develop officers with a passion for family justice. We will continue to invest in our officers to realise their individual potential, as well as our collective potential.
14. I had previously likened our approach to family justice to the ancient art of kintsugi, which does not seek to conceal fractures of the original pottery but rather to restore its functionality while honouring its history. Like artisans, all of us in the family justice eco-system can come together to preserve relationships and craft practical solutions for a path forward for troubled families.(6)
15. On behalf of the FJC, I express our deepest appreciation to our partners and stakeholders. As the saying goes, if we want to go far, we go together. To provide the families and individuals we serve with the enduring solutions they need, the FJC cannot do this alone and we are very grateful to have so many of you working closely alongside us as we press on in this journey. My FJC colleagues and I thank you, and we look forward to the next decade and beyond in building hope and embracing change together with all of you.
16. Thank you very much.
(1) Modern-day understanding of the fragments of Heraclitus. See T.M. Robinson, Heraclitus: Fragments (Phoenix Supplementary Volume 22) (University Toronto Press, 1987) at pp 83 – 84.
(2) Angela Haupt, “How to Cultivate Hope When You Don’t Have Any”, TIME: <https://time.com/6327444/how-to-be-more-hopeful/> (accessed 20 October 2024).
(3) Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, “The role of the judiciary in a changing world”. Speech delivered at the Inaugural Supreme Court of India Day Lecture on 4 February 2023 <https://www.judiciary.gov.sg/news-and-resources/news/news-details/chief-justice-sundaresh-menon-speech-delivered-at-the-inaugural-supreme-court-of-india-day-lecture> at [44]-[45] (accessed 20 October 2024) and Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, “Judicial Education Townhall 2024 - Opening Remarks”. Remarks delivered on 25 January 2024.
(4) Justice Teh Hwee Hwee, “From Confrontation to Collaboration: A Decade in Transforming The Family Justice Paradigm” (Speech delivered at the Family Conference 2024, 3 September 2024) <Justice Teh Hwee Hwee: Keynote address delivered at the Family Conference 2024 (judiciary.gov.sg)> at [36] (accessed 20 October 2024).
(5) Tricia Ho and Aaron Yoong, “Therapeutic Justice: For Practitioners, by Practitioners?” [2021] SAL Prac 29 at [39].
(6) Justice Teh Hwee Hwee, “From Confrontation to Collaboration: A Decade in Transforming The Family Justice Paradigm” (Speech delivered at the Family Conference 2024, 3 September 2024) <Justice Teh Hwee Hwee: Keynote address delivered at the Family Conference 2024 (judiciary.gov.sg)> at [6] (accessed 20 October 2024), citing the reference to kintsugi to describe restorative justice in Scotland in the context of reintegrating criminal offenders back into society: <https://communityjustice.scot/blogs/how-restorative-justice-can-repair-the-broken-and-heal-the-harm/>.
Topics:
Court initiatives
2024/10/23
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