The High Court of Singapore (SGHC) 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 and insolvency matters respectively. In 2014 the Family Division of the High Court was created, and in 2015 the Singapore International Commercial Court ("SICC") was established as a division of the High Court. The current divisions of the High Court are the General Division and the Appellate Division. The seat of the High Court is the Supreme Court Building.
Under changes in 2021 made due to the increasing volume and complexity of civil appeals, the High Court was in effect sub-divided into two divisions, the General Division and the Appellate Division. The General Division took over the former role and jurisdiction of the High Court (and thus the Family Division and the SICC became divisions of the General Division), while the Appellate Division was a new court formed to hear those civil appeals from the General Division which were not allocated to the Court of Appeal. Thus, some civil appeals from the General Division lie directly to the Court of Appeal based on the subject matter of the appeal,See section 29C and the Sixth Schedule of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1969. while all other civil appeals from the General Division lie to the Appellate Division. Appeals from the Appellate Division to the Court of Appeal are allowed only with permission of the Court of Appeal in cases which raise a point of law of public importance.See section 47 of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1969. In addition, the Court of Appeal may, under section 29D of that Act, allow the transfer to itself of an appeal made to the Appellate Division. For a description of these changes, see Noor Azlin bte Abdul Rahman and another v Changi General Hospital Pte Ltd SGCA 59. The Appellate Division has no criminal jurisdiction. (In general, references below to the High Court now refer to the General Division).
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.
History In 1826, Singapore was united with Malacca and Prince of Wales' Island (present-day Penang) to form the Straits Settlements, which were granted a Court of Judicature by the Second Charter of Justice dated 27 November 1826.. The Charter conferred on the Court the jurisdiction of the Courts of King's Bench, Chancery, Common Pleas and Exchequer in civil, criminal and revenue matters, among other things. The judges of the Court were the Governor, the Resident Counsellor, and the Recorder of Prince of Wales' Island, Singapore and Malacca. The Governor's power to overrule decisions of the Recorder led to dissatisfaction as the Recorder was the only member of the Court who was a professional judge, and there were calls for the executive and judicial branches to be separated. This issue was not resolved by the Third Charter of Justice. granted to the Straits Settlements on 12 August 1855, though there were now to be two Recorders, one for Penang and the other for Singapore and Malacca. It was only in 1867By Ordinance Nos. III and XXX of 1867 (Straits Settlements). that the Governor and Resident Counsellors ceased to exercise judicial powers.
The Court of Judicature of the Straits Settlements was abolished in 1868 and replaced by the Supreme Court of the Straits Settlements.By the Supreme Court Ordinance 1868 (No. V of 1868, Straits Settlements). The Supreme Court was reorganized in 1873 to consist of the Chief Justice, the Judge at Penang, and a Senior and Junior Puisne Judge. By this time Singapore had become the centre of government and trade in the Straits Settlements, so the Chief Justice and Senior Puisne Judge resided in Singapore, while the Judge of Penang and the Junior Puisne Judge were stationed in Penang. The Supreme Court was also given jurisdiction to sit as a Court of Appeal. As a result of legislation passed in 1885,Ordinance No. XV of 1885 (Straits Settlements). the Supreme Court consisted of the Chief Justice and three puisne judges. The Court was significantly altered in 1907.By the Courts Ordinance 1907 (No. XXX of 1907, Straits Settlements). It now had two divisions, one exercising original civil and criminal jurisdiction and the other appellate civil and criminal jurisdiction.Chionh, "Development of the Court System", pp. 104–106.
During the Japanese occupation of Singapore (1942–1945), all the courts that had operated under the British were replaced by new courts established by the Japanese Military Administration. The Syonan Koto-Hoin (Supreme Court) was formed on 29 May 1942; there was also a Court of Appeal, but it was never convened. Following the end of World War II, the courts that had existed before the war were restored and remained largely unchanged until Singapore's independence from the United Kingdom through merger with Malaysia in 1963. The judicial power of Malaysia was vested in a Federal Court, a High Court in Malaya, a High Court in Borneo (now the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak), and a High Court in Singapore.By the Malaysia Act 1963 (No. 26 of 1963, Malaysia). In 1965 Singapore left the Federation of Malaysia and became an independent republic. However, the High Court remained part of the Federal Court structure until 1969, when Singapore enacted the Supreme Court of Judicature ActSupreme Court of Judicature Act 1969 (No. 24 of 1969), now the . to regularise the judicial system. Coming into force on 9 January 1970, the Act declared that the Supreme Court of Singapore now consisted of the Court of Appeal, the Court of Criminal Appeal and the High Court. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council remained Singapore's highest appellate courtConstitution (Amendment) Act 1969 (No. 19 of 1969). until a permanent Court of Appeal for both civil and criminal appeals was established. Appeals to the Privy Council were completely abolished in 1994.By the Judicial Committee (Repeal) Act 1994 (No. 2 of 1994).Chionh, "Development of the Court System", pp. 108, 110–111, 113–114, 116.
Constitution of the Court The Supreme Court of Singapore is the nation's superior court of record. ("SCJA"), section 3. It is superior in the sense that its jurisdiction to hear civil and criminal cases is unlimited compared to the Subordinate Courts of Singapore, and it hears appeals from lower courts. As a court of record, it keeps a perpetual record of its proceedings. The High Court is the lower division of the Supreme Court, the upper one being the Court of Appeal., Article 94(1): "The Supreme Court shall consist of the Court of Appeal and the High Court with such jurisdiction and powers as are conferred on those Courts by this Constitution or any written law."
The High Court consists of the Chief Justice of Singapore and the Judges of the High Court.SCJA, s. 9. People qualified to be appointed a Judge must be qualified within the meaning of the Legal Profession Act for at least ten years., s. 2. or a member of the Singapore Legal Service, or both.Constitution, Art. 96. The Chief Justice and Judges of the High Court are appointed by the President of Singapore if he, acting in his discretion, concurs with the advice of the Prime Minister. Where the appointment of Judges is concerned, the Prime Minister is required to consult the Chief Justice before tendering advice to the President.Constitution, Arts. 95(1) and (2). In addition, to facilitate the disposal of business in the Supreme Court, the President may, if he concurs with the Prime Minister's advice, appoint people qualified to be judges to be Judicial Commissioners of the Supreme Court. Judicial Commissioners exercise the same powers and perform the same functions as Judges of the High Court.Constitution, Art. 94(4). However, unlike Judges who generally hold office until the age of 65 years,Constitution, Art. 98(1). A Judge who has reached that age may be reappointed on a term basis for such period or periods as the President shall direct, if the President concurs with the Prime Minister's advice on the matter: Art. 94(3). Judicial Commissioners do not have security of tenure.
In general, all proceedings in the Court are heard and disposed of before a single judge.SCJA, s. 10(1). Whenever the business of the Court requires, a Judge of Appeal of the Court of Appeal may sit in the High Court and act as a High Court Judge.SCJA, s. 10(3). If the Court feels that it requires assistance in a particular case, it may summon persons of skill and experience in the matter to which the proceedings relate to sit with the Court and act as assessors.SCJA, s. 10A(1).
The Chief Justice may give directions of a general or particular nature to distribute the business of the Court among his fellow Judges.SCJA, s. 11(2). In 2002, it was announced that specialist commercial courts would be set up in the Supreme Court to emphasize the judiciary's "commitment to transform Singapore into a premier international commercial dispute resolution centre in litigation, arbitration and mediation".. The Admiralty Court was established in February 2002 to deal with admiralty law matters, followed in September by the Intellectual Property Court which is presided over by Judges and Judicial Commissioners with expertise in intellectual property law.. In April 2003, Justice Judith Prakash was appointed to preside over all arbitration matters brought before the High Court;. Justices Belinda Ang Saw Ean and V.K. Rajah were similarly appointed in November of the following year..