Role and structure of the Supreme Court

In this section:

Role of the Supreme Court
Organisational structure of the Supreme Court

Role of the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is part of the court system in Singapore that upholds the law and ensures justice is accessible to all. It has judicial power to hear both criminal and civil matters.

View the vision, mission and values of the Supreme Court.

Types of courts in the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is made up of the following courts:

Court of Appeal.
High Court.
- Appellate Division of the High Court.
- General Division of the High Court.
  - Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC).

Jurisdiction: what the courts can hear

The courts within the Supreme Court deal with the following types of cases:

Court of Appeal	All criminal appeals against decisions made by the General Division in the exercise of its original criminal jurisdiction. Prescribed categories of civil appeals and appeals that are made to the Court of Appeal under written law. The prescribed categories of civil appeals are set out in the Sixth Schedule of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act.
Appellate Division of the High Court	Civil appeals that are not allocated to the Court of Appeal under the Sixth Schedule of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act. Any civil appeals or other processes that any written law provides is to be heard by the Appellate Division. It does not have criminal jurisdiction and does not hear criminal appeals.
General Division of the High Court	Both criminal and civil cases commenced in the General Division, which include: All criminal offences committed in Singapore, including those that are punishable with death or an imprisonment term exceeding 10 years. Civil cases where the value of the claim exceeds $250,000. Matters which must be commenced in the General Division, which include: Admiralty matters. Company winding up and other insolvency-related proceedings. Bankruptcy proceedings. Applications for the admission of advocates and solicitors. Appeals and other matters such as: Criminal or civil appeals from the State Courts (District Courts and Magistrates’ Courts). Appeals from tribunals. Criminal revisions of State Courts decisions. Cases under the specialised lists.
Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC)	International commercial disputes, such as: Claims that are international and commercial in nature in accordance with the requirements in Section 18D(1) of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act. Cases related to international commercial arbitration in accordance with the requirements in Section 18D(2) of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act. Cases may be commenced in the SICC or transferred from the General Division to the SICC.

Specialised lists in the General Division of the High Court

Specialised lists have been set up in the General Division. These specialised lists apply to cases in the General Division of the High Court other than those in the SICC. Each specialised list comprises docketed Judges, and a team of Assistant Registrars who manages the cases in consultation with the docketed Judges as appropriate. SICC cases are international and commercial cases managed by the SICC’s specialist judges and supported by the Assistant Registrars in the SICC Divisional Registry.

The docketed Judges on the specialised lists in the General Division comprise the following:

Judge of the Appellate Division Justice Quentin Loh
Justice Lee Seiu Kin
Justice Vinodh Coomaraswamy
Justice Tan Siong Thye
Justice Ang Cheng Hock
Justice Vincent Hoong
Justice S. Mohan
Justice Andre Maniam
Justice Philip Jeyaretnam
Justice Kwek Mean Luck

Justice Vinodh Coomaraswamy
Justice See Kee Oon
Justice Aedit Abdullah
Justice Ang Cheng Hock
Justice Dedar Singh Gill
Justice S. Mohan
Justice Andre Maniam
Justice Philip Jeyaretnam
Justice Kwek Mean Luck

Justice Vinodh Coomaraswamy
Justice Kannan Ramesh
Justice Aedit Abdullah
Justice Chua Lee Ming
Justice Valerie Thean
Justice Hoo Sheau Peng
Justice Pang Khang Chau
Justice Audrey Lim
Justice Ang Cheng Hock
Justice Vincent Hoong
Justice Mavis Chionh
Justice Philip Jeyaretnam

Note: Refer to the Guide for the Conduct of Companies, Insolvency, Equity and Trust, and Arbitration suits for more information on the case management features and specialist practices developed by the Supreme Court in the management of cases relating to companies, insolvency, equity and trust. These supplement the Rules of Court and the Supreme Court Practice Directions.

Justice of the Court of Appeal Justice Judith Prakash
Justice Vinodh Coomaraswamy
Justice Chua Lee Ming
Justice Kannan Ramesh
Justice Ang Cheng Hock
Justice S. Mohan
Justice Andre Maniam
Justice Philip Jeyaretnam

Note: Refer to the Guide for the Conduct of Companies, Insolvency, Equity and Trust, and Arbitration suits and the Guide for the Conduct of Arbitration Originating Summons for more information on the case management features and specialist practices developed by the Supreme Court in the management of cases relating to arbitration. These supplement the Rules of Court and the Supreme Court Practice Directions.

Justice of the Court of Appeal Justice Steven Chong
Justice Chua Lee Ming
Justice Pang Khang Chau
Justice Ang Cheng Hock
Justice Vincent Hoong
Justice S. Mohan
Justice Kwek Mean Luck

Note: Refer to the Admiralty Court Guide for more information on the case management features and specialist procedures for admiralty cases in Singapore. This supplements the Rules of Court.

Defamation, professional negligence, statutory tort

Justice Choo Han Teck
Justice Tan Siong Thye
Justice Valerie Thean
Justice Pang Khang Chau
Justice Audrey Lim
Justice Vincent Hoong
Justice Dedar Singh Gill
Justice Mavis Chionh
Justice S. Mohan

Medical negligence

Justice Choo Han Teck
Justice Tan Siong Thye
Justice Mavis Chionh
Justice S. Mohan
Justice Philip Jeyaretnam
Justice Kwek Mean Luck

Justice Dedar Singh Gill
Justice Lee Seiu Kin
Justice Valerie Thean
Justice Hoo Sheau Peng
Justice Aedit Abdullah
Justice Mavis Chionh
Justice Andre Maniam

Note: Refer to the Intellectual Property Court guide for more information on the Intellectual Property (IP) Court's case management features and specialist practices. This applies to all cases under the IP Court. This supplements the Rules of Court and the Supreme Court Practice Directions.

Justice Choo Han Teck
Justice Aedit Abdullah
Justice Mavis Chionh

Justice See Kee Oon
Justice Chua Lee Ming
Justice Kannan Ramesh
Justice Valerie Thean
Justice Hoo Sheau Peng
Justice Aedit Abdullah
Justice Audrey Lim
Justice Ang Cheng Hock
Justice Dedar Singh Gill

Organisational structure of the Supreme Court

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