The new Supreme Court Building was opened in 2005, designed by Norman Foster
Established
9 January 1970; 54 years ago (1970-01-09)[1]
Composition method
Executive selection
Authorized by
Constitution of Singapore
Judge term length
Tenure until the age of 65, but may be re-appointed
Website
www.supremecourt.gov.sg
Chief Justice of Singapore
Currently
Sundaresh Menon
Since
6 November 2012
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The High Court of Singapore is the lower division of the Supreme Court of Singapore, the upper division being the Court of Appeal. The High Court consists of the chief justice and the judges of the High Court. Judicial Commissioners are often appointed to assist with the Court's caseload. There are two specialist commercial courts, the Admiralty Court and the Intellectual Property Court, and a number of judges are designated to hear arbitration-related matters. In 2015, the Singapore International Commercial Court was established as part of the Supreme Court of Singapore, and is a division of the High Court. The other divisions of the high court are the General Division, the Appellate Division, and the Family Division. The seat of the High Court is the Supreme Court Building.
The High Court exercises both original jurisdiction and appellate jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters. By possessing original jurisdiction, the Court is able to hear cases at first instance—it can deal with trials of matters coming before the courts for the first time. A special aspect of the Court's original jurisdiction is its judicial review jurisdiction, under which it determines the constitutionality of legislation and actions taken by the Government. The Court exercises its appellate jurisdiction when it hears appeals from trials originating in the Subordinate Courts such as District Courts and Magistrates' Courts. The Court also exercises supervisory and revisionary jurisdiction over subordinate courts. The exercise of judicial review of administrative acts carried out by public authorities to ensure that they comply with principles of administrative law is an aspect of the Court's supervisory jurisdiction.
Under the principles of stare decisis (judicial precedent), the High Court is bound by decisions of the Court of Appeal. In turn, decisions of the High Court must be followed by District Courts and Magistrates' Courts. On the other hand, a Judge of the High Court is not bound by previous decisions by other High Court judges. As a matter of comity, though, a Court will generally not depart from a previous decision unless there is a good reason to do so. If there are conflicting High Court decisions, it is up to the Court of Appeal to decide which decision is correct.
^The date of commencement of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1969 (No. 24 of 1969), now the Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Cap. 322, 2007 Rev. Ed.).
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