PART VIII

THE JUDICIARY

Judicial power of Singapore
93. The judicial power of Singapore shall be vested in a Supreme Court and in such subordinate courts as may be provided by any written law for the time being in force.

Jurisdiction to determine questions as to validity of Presidential election
93A. —(1) All proceedings relating to the election of the President shall be heard and determined by the Chief Justice or by a Judge of the Supreme Court nominated by the Chief Justice for the purpose (referred to in this Constitution as the Election Judge).

(2) The Election Judge shall have the power to hear and determine and make such orders as provided by law on proceedings relating to the election of the President, and the decision of the Election Judge in any such proceedings shall be final.

(3) The procedure and practice in proceedings relating to the election of the President shall be regulated by rules which may be made by the Rules Committee constituted and appointed under section 80 of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Cap. 322).

Constitution of Supreme Court
94. —(1) The Supreme Court shall consist of the Court of Appeal and the High Court with such jurisdiction and powers as are conferred on those Courts by this Constitution or any written law.

(2) The office of a Judge of the Supreme Court shall not be abolished during his continuance in office.

(3) A person qualified for appointment as a Judge of the Supreme Court or a person who has ceased to hold the office of a Judge of the Supreme Court may be appointed as the Chief Justice in accordance with Article 95, or may sit as a Judge of the High Court or as a Judge of Appeal, if designated for the purpose (as occasion requires) in accordance with Article 95, and such person shall hold office for such period or periods as the President, if the President, acting in his discretion, concurs with the advice of the Prime Minister, shall direct.

(4) In order to facilitate the disposal of business in the Supreme Court, the President, if he, acting in his discretion, concurs with the advice of the Prime Minister, may appoint a person qualified for appointment as a Judge of the Supreme Court to be a Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court in accordance with Article 95 for such period or periods as the President thinks fit; and a Judicial Commissioner so appointed may, in respect of such class or classes of cases as the Chief Justice may specify, exercise the powers and perform the functions of a Judge of the High Court. Anything done by a Judicial Commissioner when acting in accordance with the terms of his appointment shall have the same validity and effect as if done by a Judge of that Court and, in respect thereof, he shall have the same powers and enjoy the same immunities as if he had been a Judge of that Court.

(5) For the purposes of clause (4), the President may appoint a person qualified for appointment as a Judge of the Supreme Court to be a Judicial Commissioner to hear and determine a specified case only.

Appointment of Judges of Supreme Court
95. —(1) The Chief Justice, the Judges of Appeal and the Judges of the High Court shall be appointed by the President if he, acting in his discretion, concurs with the advice of the Prime Minister.

(2) Before tendering his advice as to the appointment under clause (1) of a Judge, other than the Chief Justice, the Prime Minister shall consult the Chief Justice.

(3) This Article shall apply to the designation of a person to sit as a Judge of the High Court or as a Judge of Appeal under Article 94 (3) and to the appointment of a Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court under Article 94 (4) as it applies to the appointment of a Judge of the High Court other than the Chief Justice.

Qualifications of Judges of Supreme Court
96. A person is qualified for appointment as a Judge of the Supreme Court if he has for an aggregate period of not less than 10 years been a qualified person within the meaning of section 2 of the Legal Profession Act (Cap. 161) or a member of the Singapore Legal Service, or both.

Oath of Office of Judges and Judicial Commissioners of Supreme Court
97. —(1) The Chief Justice and every person appointed or designated to sit as a Judge of the High Court or a Judge of Appeal or appointed as a Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court shall, before he enters on the execution of his office, take, in the presence of the President, the Oath of Office in the form set out in the First Schedule.

(2)   Notwithstanding clause (1), a Judicial Commissioner who is appointed under Article 94 (5) to hear and determine a specified case need not be required to take the Oath of Office again if a period of less than 12 months intervenes between the date of his judgment in any specified case he is so appointed to hear and determine and the start of hearing for the next specified case.

Tenure of office and remuneration of Judges of Supreme Court
98. —(1) Subject to this Article, a Judge of the Supreme Court shall hold office until he attains the age of 65 years or such later time not being later than 6 months after he attains that age, as the President may approve.

(2) A Judge of the Supreme Court may at any time resign his office by writing under his hand addressed to the President, but shall not be removed from office except in accordance with clauses (3), (4) and (5).

(3) If the Prime Minister, or the Chief Justice after consulting the Prime Minister, represents to the President that a Judge of the Supreme Court ought to be removed on the ground of misbehaviour or of inability, from infirmity of body or mind or any other cause, to properly discharge the functions of his office, the President shall appoint a tribunal in accordance with clause (4) and shall refer that representation to it; and may on the recommendation of the tribunal remove the Judge from office.

(4) The tribunal shall consist of not less than 5 persons who hold or have held office as a Judge of the Supreme Court, or, if it appears to the President expedient to make such an appointment, persons who hold or have held equivalent office in any part of the Commonwealth, and the tribunal shall be presided over by the member first in the following order, namely, the Chief Justice according to their precedence among themselves and other members according to the order of their appointment to an office qualifying them for membership (the older coming before the younger of 2 members with appointments of the same date).

(5) Pending any reference and report under clause (3), the President may, if he, acting in his discretion, concurs with the recommendation of the Prime Minister and, in the case of any other Judge, after consulting the Chief Justice, suspend a Judge of the Supreme Court from the exercise of his functions.

(6) Parliament shall by law provide for the remuneration of the Judges of the Supreme Court and the remuneration so provided shall be charged on the Consolidated Fund.

(7) Subject to this Article, Parliament may by law provide for the terms of office of the Judges of the Supreme Court, other than their remuneration.

(8) The remuneration and other terms of office (including pension rights) of a Judge of the Supreme Court shall not be altered to his disadvantage after his appointment.

(9) Notwithstanding clause (1), the validity of anything done by a Judge of the Supreme Court shall not be questioned on the ground that he had attained the age on which he was required to retire.

(10) The President may, in his discretion, grant leave of absence from his duties to the Chief Justice and, acting on the advice of the Chief Justice, to any other Judge of the Supreme Court.

Restriction on Parliamentary discussion of conduct of a Judge of Supreme Court
99. The conduct of a Judge of the Supreme Court or a person designated to sit as such a Judge or a Judicial Commissioner shall not be discussed in Parliament except on a substantive motion of which notice has been given by not less than one-quarter of the total number of the Members of Parliament.

Advisory opinion
100. —(1) The President may refer to a tribunal consisting of not less than 3 Judges of the Supreme Court for its opinion any question as to the effect of any provision of this Constitution which has arisen or appears to him likely to arise.

(2) Where a reference is made to a tribunal under clause (1), it shall be the duty of the tribunal to consider and answer the question so referred as soon as may be and in any case not more than 60 days after the date of such reference, and the tribunal shall certify to the President, for his information, its opinion on the question referred to it under clause (1) with reasons for its answer, and any Judge in the tribunal who differs from the opinion of the majority shall in like manner certify his opinion and his reasons.

(3) The opinion of the majority of the Judges in the tribunal shall, for the purposes of this Article, be the opinion of the tribunal, and every such opinion of the tribunal shall be pronounced in open court.

(4) No court shall have jurisdiction to question the opinion of any tribunal or the validity of any law, or any provision therein, the Bill for which has been the subject of a reference to a tribunal by the President under this Article.

Definition of “office”
101. In this Part, “office”, in relation to a Judge of the Supreme Court, means the office as Chief Justice, Judge of Appeal or Judge of the High Court, as the case may be.