Courts in different countries must find solutions suited to their circumstances
By
K. C. Vijayan, Law Correspondent
THERE is no 'one size fits all' model for countries looking to upgrade their judicial systems, said Singapore's Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong yesterday.
While the Republic has, over time, developed one of the world's most efficient legal systems, other countries bent on improving their courts must come up with answers suited to their unique circumstances.
CJ Chan was speaking at the start of the third Asia-Pacific Judicial Reform Forum, which has attracted judges and judicial officers from 22 countries.
Singapore was chosen to host the event so it could share its record of judicial reform with other countries.
CJ Chan said that while the judicial systems of the participants may be different, their challenges are 'more or less the same'. These include providing better access to justice and settling disputes fairly and quickly.
Singapore's system faced a backlog of cases until the 1990s, when several changes helped speed up the court process, he said.
Court administrators promoted alternatives such as arbitration and mediation to reduce the number of cases that ended up in court.
In addition, a rule was created that removed cases from the system if there had been no movement for a year.
Judges also made a concerted effort to set earlier trial dates.
The effect of these moves was to break the back of delays within a decade, even though the number of Supreme Court judges fell from 22 to 15.
Last year, despite a 24 per cent increase in the number of civil cases filed, the courts achieved a clearance rate of 91 per cent and also met its benchmark of disposing of 85 per cent of such cases within 18 months of filing.
Singapore's success was even chronicled in a 2007 World Bank publication which lauded the country as 'having one of the most efficient, effective judicial systems in Asia, perhaps the world'.
But CJ Chan warned that while the numbers showed progress, it is 'judges who ultimately make or break a justice system'.
He said judicial reform must not be done 'at the expense of sacrificing the quality of justice'.
Participants agreed with the CJ's remarks and placed priority on curbing case backlogs through proper management.
Thai Supreme Court Chief Judge Pongdej Wanichkittikul said his country was looking for ways to deal with this problem.
'We have similar thinking and similar technique, but in details you are many steps in advance and we can learn from this.'
Also present at yesterday's gathering at the Supreme Court auditorium was Law Minister K. Shanmugam and Attorney-General Walter Woon.
