Parliament: New Appellate Division to be created to hear civil appeals in restructured Supreme Court

SINGAPORE - A new Appellate Division of the High Court will hear all civil appeals not allocated to the Court of Appeal under a proposed restructure of the Supreme Court.

The new division, to be staffed by newly designated Judges of the Appellate Division, will have no criminal jurisdiction.

The change was among several tabled in Parliament on Monday (Oct 7) by the Ministry of Law (MinLaw), which submitted for first reading the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment) Bill, the Supreme Court of Judicature (Amendment) Bill and the Judges' Remuneration (Amendment) Bill.

MinLaw said the three Bills seek to refine the judicial system and enhance the efficiency and flexibility of court processes.

"The reforms are being introduced against the backdrop of a growth in the number of appeals, and an increase in the complexity of the matters that have come before the Court of Appeal in recent years," the ministry said, adding that the new Appellate Division will enable the Supreme Court to better deploy limited judicial resources and manage the appeal caseload.

The Court of Appeal (commonly referred to as the apex court) will remain the apex court and will hear all appeals in criminal matters, appeals made to the Court of Appeal under written law, and prescribed categories of appeals.

Such prescribed categories will be set out in a Schedule to the amended Supreme Court of Judicature Act.

Among the civil matters the Court of Appeal will hear are appeals arising from cases related to constitutional and administrative law, appeals arising from contempt of court cases, and appeals against a decision of the Singapore International Commercial Court.

As part of the proposed changes, the Court of Appeal will also have powers to transfer cases which ordinarily ends up in its jurisdiction to the Appellate Division.

And it will have powers to transfer and hear such appeal cases where it holds there is a point of law of public importance involved and where it is more appropriate for the Court of Appeal rather than the Appellate Division to hear the appeal.

With the structural changes, the Supreme Court will continue to consist of the Court of Appeal, which will remain the apex court, and the High Court.

But the High Court will be restructured into the General Division of the High Court, and the Appellate Division.

The existing High Court will be renamed the General Division of the High Court with its judges still known as Judges of the High Court.

A new class of judges will be created to sit on the Appellate Division. They will be known as Judges of the Appellate Division.

The Court of Appeal judges will be newly designated as Justices of the Court of Appeal.

Any appeal against decisions made by the Appellate Division may only be brought to the Court of Appeal with the apex court's permission.

Such permission may be granted only if the appeal raises a point of law of public importance, although the court may also hear other matters as may be prescribed by the Rules of Court.

MinLaw said with the restructure of the Supreme Court, the appeals caseload will be allocated between the existing Court of Appeal and the new Appellate Division.

"This will ensure that court processes remain efficient and maintain high standards of access to justice and quality of justice," added the ministry.

Senior Minister of State for Law and Health Edwin Tong had raised the prospect of a new appellate court to ease the burden on the current apex court in April this year.

He noted then that the total number of cases before the Court of Appeal rose by 56 per cent in 2018 compared to five years earlier, with Singapore positioning itself as an international hub for dispute resolution services.