SINGAPORE: An inter-agency group is being set up to consider reforms when it come to dealing with family justice.
The group will made up of Supreme Court judges and representatives from the Law Ministry and Social and Family Development Ministry.
Singapore Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon said the reforms should be aimed at reducing acrimony which is inherent in family disputes.
He was speaking at the opening of the 2013 legal year.
CJ Menon said family justice is just one of the areas that the Subordinate Courts will look into this year.
Another is opportunities for the legal profession outside of Singapore. This includes international arbitration
CJ Menon said, Judge of Appeal Justice VK Rajah, together with Senior Minister of State for Law Indranee Rajah, will study the viability of setting up the Singapore International Commercial Court.
Also speaking at the ceremony was the new President of the Law Society, Mr Lok Vi Ming. He said the number of local lawyers holding practising certificates for the first time exceeded 4,000 in 2012. However, between 2007 and 2012, the growth of foreign lawyer numbers have been faster.
Mr Lok said this suggests that the profession is growing steadily in terms of numbers and that the number of foreign lawyers is expanding faster than that of locals. He said these trends are not likely to be reversed in the short term.
Two Senior Counsel were also appointed at this year's ceremony. They are Mr Lionel Yee, the second Solicitor General, and Mr N Sreenivasan, a lawyer in private practice. This brings the number of senior counsel in Singapore to 40.
-CNA/ac
Inter-agency group to look into family justice reforms
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Inter-agency group to look into family justice reforms
