Judiciary System of Singapore - Case Study Example

Judiciary system of Singapore Table of content Judiciary system of Singapore Introduction 3 Judiciary system of Singapore 4 Conclusion 6 International maritime law 7 Introduction 8 Maritime law 9 Conclusion 10 References 11 Bibliography 12 Introduction The government is supported by three branches, namely the executive, legislature and judiciary branch of a government. They form the back bone of the government. For the government to run efficiently the three branches need to perform there task in an effective manner. They should work independently but at the same time there should be proper coordination between them for the government to administer a country in a good manner. The secret to a successful government lies in the fact that how well these three pillars function. The roles of these three branches are distinctly different although they all aim at helping the government run the state in a better manner. The judiciary system is considered to be the main branch as it helps to maintain law and order in the country. It is also the impartial branch that has got nothing to do with politics. The system looks after the rights of the people in an equitable manner and thus maintains the sovereignty of a country. In a democratic country like Singapore the republic government does not involves itself in the functioning of the judiciary system. Judiciary system of Singapore The judiciary system of Singapore is an appropriate example of a good independent judiciary system. The judiciary system of the country is divided by the constitution into two levels. They are the Supreme Court and the subordinate courts. The Supreme Court is the highest authority of the judicial system. It consists of a chief justice and a number other judges. The judges of the Supreme Court including the chief justice are appointed by the President of the country. However before appointing them the President has to consult with the Prime Minister. In the same way the Prime Minister has to consult with the chief justice in case of suggestions that he might propose for the Supreme Court. The High Court is under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. Civil cases, criminal cases and cases that involve capital punishment can be tried in the High Court if the decision is not satisfactory. There are two other appeals where a judgement can go after a hearing in the High Court. They are the Court of Appeal which listens to any civil cases from the high court. Where as the Court of the criminal Appeal listens to criminal cases from the High Court. However the highest appeal in the judiciary system is not inside the country. This is a unique feature of the judicial system. The Singapore judicial system has some features of British judicial system in common. The highest appeal is heard in London before the Privy Council. The Privy Council is a judicial committee under Her Majesty, the Queen of England. There are a number of other courts under the subordinate court. They are the magistrate court, district court, juvenile court, coroners’ or the small claims court. Each court has their own jurisdiction and there are some qualifying criteria for a case that can be tried at a particular type of court. Magistrate court can hear civil and criminal cases where the maximum penalty can be of three years imprisonment and a fine up to 10,000 Singapore dollars. The Districts court can handle cases that can give a maximum of ten years imprisonment and impose a fine of S$50,000. Juvenile court is for children up to the age of sixteen. Lastly the small claim courts can take up civil and commercial cases where a maximum of S$2000 can be claimed. The attorney general of the Government is appointed by the President after consulting with the Prime Minister. Any judge who has the qualification of becoming a Supreme Court judge can be a candidate for Attorney general. Solicitor general is a subordinate of the Attorney general who is the public prosecutor and the government’s legal advisor. The Attorney general is divided into three sections namely the legislation, civil and criminal (The Library of Congress, “Singapore: The Judiciary,”). Conclusion The judiciary system in Singapore has maintained its integrity and reputation as an independent system of the Government. Strict actions are taken against judges who are incapable to prove their worth and removed immediately. The system has maintained its consistency by delivering strong verdicts against politician and civilians. Even the efforts of the government and intense political turmoil during 1950 to 1980, the system has not buckled under pressure and maintained its reputation as a strong judiciary system. Amendments like the ‘Supreme Court of Judicature Act of 1969’ have made sure that the judiciary system is able to work independently. International maritime law Introduction With the ever increasing trend of globalization countries are integrating their economies in order to surge ahead. In order to integrate the one economy with another, counties should have a sound trading relation. Trade is vital for the commerce of a country and has been an integral part of a country’s economy since time immemorial. Since ancient times sea routes has been used extensively by merchants to ship their cargo from one place to another. Centuries later technology has advanced in leaps and bounces but sea routes are still the life line of the trade and commerce. The ships using sails previously now uses technology to travel faster but the use the same medium that is the sea. Another significant change that has taken place is the development of maritime laws. In those times, the worst nightmare of the merchants where the pirates. They were a major threat to the trade as they used to hijack the ships that use to carry cargos. For a long time the trade used to suffer a lot due to this reason. It took a long time for the countries suffering from this nexus to come together and develop international bodies that would make laws and safe guard the waters that were used for trade. Maritime laws were formulated and implemented so that countries could protect their ships from any risks. Since then ship could travel in a safer environment. Maritime law Maritime law is also referred to as admiralty. It consists of laws that govern navigation of ships through inland as well as marine water. The maritime laws have gained importance specially countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea where commerce between countries mainly uses the sea routes since 900 B.C. The need for monitoring the legal side of doing commerce through sea has played a vital role in the development of maritime laws. The aim of the law was to provide a legal solution that did not include land as a result the ports of Europe developed a common law of governing the waters. The merchants were the main driving force for introducing these laws (Loyola University New Orleans, “ADMIRALTY AND MARITIME LAW: RESEARCH GUIDE,”). In a case pertaining to maritime laws the place is very important. Each country has their own rules governing there internal waters where as soon as the ship enter the international waters it is under a different set of laws. Thus when a case involving maritime law comes up firstly it is to find out the location of the ship where the incident has occurred. If the ship is in international waters the case is referred to the admiralty court according to the country the ship has originated from. The Admiralty court is responsible for handling the case and maritime laws apply. Even if the case involves applying laws of another country the admiral court can overrule it. The international law of the sea that is formulated by the United Nations works to bring homogeneity in the laws governing the international water. The importance of the international law of sea has gained a lot of importance in the last century. The international body governed by the United Nation which looks after the international maritime law is known as the International Maritime Organization (IMO). It was formerly known as Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO). With its headquarters in London the organization has 168 members from different countries, with Singapore joining in 1966. Conclusion With the days of pirates almost made extinct a new problem that maritime laws are facing is that of increasing number of crimes related to smuggling, terrorism and stowaways being committed in seas. The IMO are working round the clock in order to improve maritime safety. What makes maritime laws unclear is the fact that each country has its own version of understanding it. This is because the jurisdictions and the demarcations of seas are not distinct and the laws are still murky. Moreover the seas and the oceans are divided into territorial, contiguous and international waters. Each of them has different set of laws so depending upon where an incident has taken place that law is applicable. This makes it all the more complicated. However there are a lot of loop holes in the laws governing the high seas which can be exploited by anyone. Each country has their own laws for international law and they often contradict with one another. The IMO tries to standardize these maritime laws but it is a difficult proposition as each country has their own legal systems that may not be capable of handling cases and the accused may get away through the loop holes. References The Library of Congress. “The Judiciary.” Singapore. December 1989. The Library of Congress. 13 July 2009. Loyola University New Orleans, “ADMIRALTY AND MARITIME LAW.” RESEARCH GUIDE. 2001. Loyola University New Orleans. 13 July 2009. Bibliography International Maritime Organization, “Introduction to IMO.” International Maritime Organization. 13 July 2009. < http://www.imo.org/HOME.html> Read More