Doing Justice In The Courts

By the Constitution of Singapore, the government is given powers to set up the courts. Greater details about the duties and powers of these courts are found in the Supreme Court of Judicature Act and the Subordinate Courts Act.

The Singapore judicial system comprises of two main divisions: the Supreme Court and the Subordinate Courts. The Courts inside these divisions are ranked as being "higher/superior" or "lower/inferior"; a higher court can overrule the lower court.

Of the two divisions, the Supreme Court is the higher division. It is subdivided into the High Court and the Court of Appeal. The High Court is superior to all the courts in the Subordinate Courts but is lower than the Court of Appeal, which is the highest court in Singapore.

The Family Court has the same rank as the High Court in hearings to grant divorces. In all the other divorce-related matters (such as custody of children, maintenance or alimony), it is part of the Subordinate Courts.

Cases involving Muslim Law are conducted in the Syariah Court under the Administration of Muslim Law Act. The Syariah Court is treated as having the same powers and rank of the High Court in some areas (such as divorce) but in some other areas it is treated like the Subordinate Courts.

A diagram to illustrate the system is as follows:-