Media Release: Family Justice Courts commence operations in new premises

The Family Justice Courts relocated to new premises on 25 November 2024 to consolidate all services in one location for court users’ convenience

            The Family Justice Courts relocated to and commenced operations in their new premises at 3 Havelock Square, Singapore 059725 on 25 November 2024. The Honourable the Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon and the Presiding Judge of the Family Justice Courts, Justice Teh Hwee Hwee, led Judicial Officers and Court Administrators in a ceremonial march on 2 December 2024 to mark the move. The official opening ceremony for the newly refurbished Family Justice Courts building is slated for the second half of 2025. 

Consolidated and streamlined services for court users’ convenience and to support the Therapeutic Justice approach

2.           The Family Justice Courts used to operate from two different locations at Maxwell Road and Havelock Square. The move to the new Family Justice Courts building enables the Family Justice Courts to centralise all services at one location and hence offer greater convenience for court users. The building features dedicated spaces designed to facilitate a therapeutic approach to administering family justice, to better assist families and their lawyers, alongside with other professionals, to work together to find timely and enduring solutions to family disagreements.

3.          The new Family Justice Courts building has 25 courtrooms and 52 chambers, designed to address the specific needs of family-related cases. This is more than double the combined capacity of 12 courtrooms and 21 chambers in the previous Maxwell Road and Havelock Square locations. For hearings that are held remotely, court users without access to an electronic device that supports video conferencing may arrange to use video conferencing facilities available at the new Family Justice Courts building.

4.          The new building also provides child-friendly interview rooms, quiet rooms for distressed adults and children, and vulnerable witness rooms to allow for remote testimony in hearings. The new quiet rooms are designed for court users to access and calm themselves down without needing staff intervention. In consultation with professionals, various sensory items such as ear defenders, fidget cubes and white noise machines are placed in the room for users to help regulate their feelings, especially when they feel overwhelmed. These inclusive features complement the Therapeutic Justice approach, ensuring that the physical environment itself contributes to the healing and resolution process for families navigating difficult legal situations. This in turn also helps the courts achieve the mission to make justice accessible to families and youth.

5.          The locations of the other services are appended below: 

Conservation features

6.         The new Family Justice Courts building, also known as the Octagon, was constructed in 1975 and gazetted for conservation on 10 July 2013. Mr Sonny Chan, the original architect of the Octagon, designed it in a Brutalist style, which is generally characterised by geometric structures, featuring bare building materials with no ornamental adornments.

7.          As part of the conservation initiative, an existing larger courtroom in use when it was formerly the State Courts building, has been restored and renamed as the “Heritage Court”. Measuring 220 square metres, the Heritage Court is a fully functional modernised courtroom that effortlessly combines the former courtroom’s design with the modern courtroom standards of today. It features the original timber wall slats, preserving the timeless appeal of the original wood.

8.          The main podium on level two is a re-interpretation of the original podium. The marble tiles used on the floor form an inner circle on the podium. These are the same marble tiles used in the original podium floor of the old Octagon building, that were laid above the previous Criminal Mentions Court, Court 26. Approximately 71 square metres of conserved marble tiles were used for the new podium. Similarly, the iconic space-frame feature hanging from the ceiling is an aesthetic feature conserved from the old Octagon building but touched up with a fresh coat of paint.

Accessibility and location

9.          The new Family Justice Courts building is situated next to the building formerly occupied by the Family Justice Courts. The main entrance faces Havelock Square and the vehicular drop-off point, with pedestrian and wheelchair access from Upper Cross Street or from Havelock Square. The nearest MRT station is Chinatown Station (via Exit D). Please refer to Annex A for the location map.

10.         The address and contact details of the Family Justice Courts remain unchanged as follows:

11.         Refer to these annexes (PDF 582KB) for more information:

• Annex B for Directory of the Family Justice Courts Building
• Annex C for Services provided at the Family Justice Courts Service Hub
• Annex D for photos of services provided at the Family Justice Courts Building

Issued by: SG Courts

2 December 2024

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