CHIEF Justice Chan Sek Keong on Friday morning announced new initiatives the Subordinate Court plans to implement this year.A central area of focus will be litigants-in-person, or those who represent themselves as they are unable to afford legal fees. In about a third of the criminal cases in court, the accused persons represent themselves.
CJ Chan said that the court must ensure that those in need of legal services were not shut out by ignorance or poverty. To help these litigants-in-person, a centre has been set up. Opened on Friday, it will be fully manned and equipped to help provide resources and information on basic court procedures and processes.
Among the new initiatives is the Mental Capacity Court, which will take effect from March 1, under the newly-enacted Mental Capacity Act. The court will have the power to make decisions on behalf of a person who lacks mental capacity, or appoint a deputy to make decisions on a person's behalf among other things.
To streamline court processes, the court will also encourage a shift toward Alternative Dispute Resolution, as well as implement the Criminal Case Resolution Programme.
The latter will facilitate discussion between the prosecution and the defence, with a senior District Judge acting as a neutral mediator. This stems from the fact that last year, 41 per cent of the criminal cases fixed for trial 'cracked', because the accused person either pleaded guilty, or the cases were withdrawn, resulting in a waste of trial dates for other cases waiting to be tried.
