DEALING WITH DISCORD: CJ Chan said that 'emotions prevail over common sense' in neighbourly squabbles. The Everitt Roas dispute is one such example. -- ST FILE PHOTO

A specialised court known as the Neighbourhood Court will be where such disputes are heard from next Thursday.

The Neighbourhood Court will be presided over by legally qualified Justices of the Peace, the same people who can solemnise marriages.

The idea is for these specialist magistrates to take a conciliatory approach in handling such cases. If all else fails, they have the sentencing powers to impose fines or jail terms on the offenders.

Figures from the Subordinate Courts show a 56 per cent increase in the number of magistrate's complaints involving neighbourly quarrels filed over a three-year period.

In 2004, 2,367 complaints were filed. The number grew steadily to 3,716 last year.

Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong said that the rising trend was not surprising given the high population density here.

The CJ said there was a need to reduce anti-social behaviour which caused 'stress, tension and disharmony' in the community.

The traditional route for the aggrieved parties involved in such conflicts is to seek redress through the criminal justice system.

But punishing the wrongdoers does not get to the root of the problem, he said. 'These are essentially social disputes where, more often than not, emotions prevail over common sense,' said CJ Chan.

The Neighbourhood Court will adopt a 'problem-solving approach'. Parties are expected to make a serious effort to sort out their differences at the Community Mediation Centre (CMC) before having their case heard in the Neighbourhood Court.

The list has yet to be finalised but at least two Justices of the Peace will be appointed as magistrates to this court.

The two, Mr Shriniwas Rai and Mr Lee Chow Soon, are practising lawyers who have each spent about two years as mediators.

Mr Rai, 61, said: 'Most of us are senior citizens and we have the life experience to deal with these matters.'

Added Mr Lee, 68: 'We have a lot of experience at the grassroots level and we understand the problems on the ground.'

Mr Rai recalled a case he had handled between a Singapore woman and her neighbour, a man from China.

The man alleged that she had placed unwanted items outside her flat, while she alleged that he had made obscene remarks. Both filed private summonses against each other.

After two attempts over two months, Mr Rai convinced them that it was futile to incur legal fees over such trivial matters. They later dropped their complaints.

The two new magistrates hope that they will not be called upon to exercise their sentencing powers.

'We still hope we can bring about a settlement between parties,' said Mr Lee.

SELINA LUM