October 2013

new faces

October

Upcoming Events in

Jacqueline Lee Assistant Registrar “Hello, everyone! Prior to joining the Supreme Court, I was in private practice, specialising in commercial litigation. Coming from the bar, I cherish the opportunity to work with and learn from all in the Supreme Court, as much as I hope to share whatever experience I have in private practice. Cheers!”

Lee May Lin Director, Office of Public Affairs (OPA) “The Supreme Court is the 6th agency that I have been seconded to since I joined the civil service, but the only one with such an interesting building and an impressive design philosophy behind it. I’m glad to be part of the Supreme Court and look forward to working with all of you!”

Magdalene Tan Assistant Director, OPA “Hello everyone! I joined OPA just at the time when it underwent a name change from “CCD” (Corporate Communications Directorate). I’m looking forward to an exciting transition for the department and to working with all of you!”

The International Mediation Working Group (IMWG) was jointly established by the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Law to formulate the plans and strategy to develop Singapore as a centre for international commercial mediation.

Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon hosted a dinner on 23 September 2013 for the co-chairpersons, members and secretariat of the IMWG. The dinner was held at the Candlenut Restaurant located along New Bridge Road and the guests were treated to an evening of authentic Peranakan cuisine personally served by the chef.

International Mediation Working Group

The Learning Hub went live on 26 August 2013. A mass briefing in the morning, followed by lunchtime roadshow were organised at the Auditorium and Supreme Court B1 breakout area on the 19 September 2013. Staff learned more about the features and functionalities of the new system through fun activities and walked away with treats like ice-cream, candy-floss and pop-corn. Supreme Court will be adopting the Learning Hub for our next training cycle starting in April 2014. More modules will be launched for HRMSII later this year and HR is already planning for more activities and events to introduce these new modules to the staff.

HRMSII - The Learning Hub

Legal Directorate welcomed two interns from Temasek Polytechnic's Law and Management Programme, Audrey Koh and Vivian Chua, who are attached to the Criminal Matters and Civil Matters sections respectively. Both interns are impressed with the advanced technology of the Supreme Court, particularly eLitigation, and hope to take away with them a better appreciation of the judicial process. We hope they have an enriching time during their 12-week internship!

Internship Programme at Legal Directorate

ATTORNEY-GENERAL OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA The Attorney-General and Deputy Premier of South Australia, the Honourable John Rau, called on Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon on 6 September 2013. They had a discussion on the use of technology in the courts and the innovations in the eLitigation system.

SENIOR JUSTICES OF THE SUPREME COURT OF BHUTAN A delegation of senior justices and lawyers from the Supreme Court of Bhutan visited the Supreme Court of Singapore on 16 September 2013 where they were briefed on the eLitigation system and toured the various court facilities, including the Learning Court for students. The delegation also met with Professor Walter Woon, SC in his capacity as the Dean of the Singapore Institute of Legal Education, on 18 September 2013.

During the visit, Justice French called on Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, enjoyed a tour of the building and its facilities, and was briefed on the eLitigation system. The visit was capped with a lunch hosted by Chief Justice Menon in Justice French’s honour and a group photo to mark the occasion.

CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana, Her Ladyship Mrs Georgina Wood, visited the Supreme Court on 26 September 2013 while she was in Singapore for the Global Dean’s Forum. She called on Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon and was later briefed on the eLitigation system. She also toured the various court facilities and the Learning Court for students.

MINISTER OF COURTS OF NEW ZEALAND The Minister of Courts of New Zealand, the Honourable Chester Borrows, visited the Supreme Court on 27 September 2013 for a briefing and tour of the Digital Transcription System (DTS) facilities. Honourable Borrows subsequently called on Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon and had a discussion on courtroom technology.

DINING WITH THE STARS Let down your hair and cheer your colleagues on at the 2013 Dinner & Dance “Dining with the Stars” talent show organised by the Judiciary Recreation Club (JRC) on 18 October 2013 at the Marriott Hotel Grand Ballroom! Be sure to turn up in your glamorous best and you will stand to win attractive prizes!

LUNCH WITH NUS LAW FACULTY Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon will be hosting a lunch for the Dean of the NUS Law Faculty, Professor Simon Chesterman, and faculty staff on 23 October 2013. The lunch will be held at the Supreme Court Viewing Gallery with all the Judges, RSC and Chief Executive in attendance.

VISIT BY NEW ZEALAND’S MINISTER FOR JUSTICE The Minister for Justice of New Zealand, Judith Collins, will call on Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon on 24 October 2013. Minister Collins will also be calling on Minister of Law K Shanmugam and visiting the Maxwell Chambers during her visit.

15th CONFERENCE OF CHIEF JUSTICES OF ASIA AND THE PACIFIC The Supreme Court will be hosting the 15th Conference of Chief Justices of Asia and the Pacific (“the Conference”) from 28 to 30 October 2013. The Conference is a biennial event which is hosted in turn by the Chief Justices of Asia and the Pacific, and provides useful discourse amongst various heads of the Judiciary. Singapore will play host to some 50 judiciaries, including senior government officials, Chief Justices and their judiciary representatives from Asia and the Pacific.

5TH APJRF ROUND TABLE MEETING The Asia Pacific Judicial Reform Forum (“APJRF”) is a network of 49 Superior Courts and Justice Sector agencies in the Asia Pacific, including the Supreme Court of Singapore, that have joined together to advance judicial reform in the region. This will be the second time that the Supreme Court is hosting the APJRF since the network’s inception in 2005. We previously hosted the 3rd APJRF Round Table Meeting in 2009 and will be hosting the upcoming 5th APJRF Round Table Meeting from 31 October to 1 November 2013, which is expected to be attended by over 100 delegates who will exchange discourse on the theme “Developing Judicial Capabilities to enhance Public and International Confidence in Legal Systems”.

Have you ever wondered how some of your colleagues fill their working hours? Take a walk in their shoes with our “A Day in the Life” column!

Mr Suleiman Shariman Corporate Support Officer, DTS

0830

“I believe that there is no such thing as failures, just learning experiences.”

It’s the start of the day and time to follow up on the issues that surfaced during the morning checks on the courtroom/chamber AV equipment where recording would be taking place. All issues must be resolved well before 9:00am for Registrars’ Chambers and 10:00am for open courts.

Next, it’s time to update our records on transcript collection by the previous day parties. This is always kept up to date because the courts may request for such information any time.

A quick check now to ensure that loggers assigned are ready to log the open court proceedings and that they have the required information for the logging notes.

0915

Hearings have started. I need to keep my communicator on to ensure that the loggers can reach me. This is very important because at any time, we may need to summon for technical assistance to ensure that audio recording goes smoothly. Meanwhile, I have to record and keep track of the transcript requests and the delivery timelines while having an overview of all private transcription cases going on. Next, it is time to work on the “KIV” cases where I will need to contact the law firms/litigants on transcript matters. Throughout the day, I will also attend to telephone and walk-in enquiries on DTS transcripts. By noon, I have to retrieve the two sets of audio DVDs of the previous day’s hearings. After ensuring that one set is safely stored and taken away for off-site storage, I would take care of the onsite storage of the other set. A random check of the audio records is done to pick out defective ones for follow-up action.

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It’s now time to move on to the stacks of transcripts that have been randomly checked by my manager. I prepare the lists of errors and check the softcopy transcripts to ensure that the errors are rectified accordingly. At this time, I will make a note that the transcript is to be finalized. Once all transcripts of a case are finalized, they are ready for uploading onto the case files.

1430

To keep track of the large number of transcripts produced, I am required to prepare statistics on the DTS workload of each month. I help ensure that all incident reports of our recording system are documented. I also see to video-conference arrangements (including dry runs) for court proceedings from time to time.

It is always a full day here – tiring but satisfying. The section may be small, but we strive to deliver our best every day. Will we be around for a Saturday hearing? No problem. A hearing on a public holiday? We are always ready!

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THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HARI RAYA HAJI

Hari Raya Haji (Malay), meaning the Festival of Performing the Pilgrimage, or Eid al-Adha (Arabic), meaning the Feast of the Sacrifice or the Major Festival, which will be celebrated on 15 October 2013, is one of the two most important religious holidays in Islam, the other being Hari Raya Puasa. During this occasion, Muslims will sacrifice their best halal animals, usually a sheep, to commemorate a sacrifice performed by the Prophet Ibrahim depicted in the Quran, the Islamic sacred book. The meat is then offered to charity or the poor. The sacrifice symbolizes distribution of one’s wealth to others as an expression of generosity, which fulfils one of the five basic acts of Islam. Hari Raya Haji is also a time where Muslims around the world undertake a pilgrimage to the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia – the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad and the site of Muhammad's first revelation of the Quran.

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October 2013

CHIEF JUSTICE OF AUSTRALIA The Honourable Justice Robert Shenton French AC, Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, visited the Supreme Court on 17 September 2013 in conjunction with the Singapore Academy of Law’s Annual Lecture Series.