EditRegion3

Opening of Legal Year 2009



The annual Opening of Legal Year ceremony was held on 3 January 2009 in the Supreme Court Auditorium. During the ceremony, the Attorney-General and the President of the Law Society renewed the pledges of support by the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the practicing Bar for the Judiciary in upholding the rule of law and the administration of justice.


Delivering the first address of the ceremony, the Attorney-General Professor Walter Woon referred to 2008 as being a year of great change for the Legal Service, noting the re-organisation of the Attorney-General’s Chambers. The Attorney-General also spoke about the importance of defending the integrity of the judicial system against those seeking to undermine the authority of the courts and Judiciary, as well as on the competitive market for legal talent in Singapore.


In his wide-ranging address, the President of the Law Society, Mr Michael Hwang SC, spoke about impending changes to the handling of clients’ money in conveyancing practice, the success of the Law Society’s pro bono programmes and cooperation between the Law Society and the Singapore Academy of Law, among other matters. He also outlined the Law Society’s planned activities for 2009 such as increasing dialogues with sister Bar Associations in the region


In his Response, Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong thanked the Attorney-General and President of the Law Society for their pledges of continuing support and renewed the Judiciary’s pledge to render justice to all litigants. The Chief Justice emphasised that respect for the court’s authority was fundamental to the rule of law and noted the efforts of the Attorney-General in the past year in upholding the authority of the courts in the face of various attacks against the Judiciary.


With regard to the courts’ work in 2008, the Chief Justice stated that despite a progressive increase in court filings in 2008, continuing measures to re-organise the allocation of judicial work to maximise the utilisation of resources had enabled the courts to increase productivity and maintain or increase the disposal rate for various types of cases.


The Chief Justice also addressed future developments and challenges in the administration of justice, including the Integrated Electronic Litigation System, the impact of information technology on civil procedure and the award of licences for Qualifying Foreign Law Practices. Finally, the Chief Justice outlined plans to encourage the growth of the Criminal Bar and for the courts to reach out to the community.


The Chief Justice then announced the newly-appointed Senior Counsel before declaring the new legal year open.



The Honourable the Chief Justice, Judges of Appeal and Judges at the Opening of Legal Year 2009