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| The 33 commandments of the Subcourts |
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How should a court administrator
respond if he receives a box of chocolates from
a member of the public in appreciation of his services?
What should he do if while performing his duty in
court, he realises that a witness taking the stand
is a childhood friend of his? What should he say
to a journalist who calls to ask about the verdict
of a case he is handling?
Administrators from the Subordinate Courts (Subcourts)
face such scenarios on a daily basis. Without formal
guidelines to abide by, their responses could undermine
the professionalism of the judiciary, or worse,
hinder the administration of justice.
For these reasons and more, the Subcourts introduced
the Code of Conduct and Ethics for Court Administrators
on 1 July 2005. It spells out in 33 main clauses
what court administrators should and should not
do.
The code, which builds upon the Subcourts’
Justice Statement, is relevant to all Subcourts
officers. It complements the Code of Conduct and
Discipline set out in the Government Instruction
Manual No. 2 Section L. In the event of any inconsistency
between the code and the manual, the manual will
be applied.
Every staff has been given a copy of the code in
the form of a small booklet. The code is also easily
accessible on the Subcourts’ intranet. To
ensure that all staff understand and know how to
apply the code, each division head held briefing
sessions to discuss the code with their staff.
Since the code was implemented on 1 July 2005, response
from staff has been good. Most court administrators
are glad to have a formal code that guides their
conduct.
Said Head Interpreter (Chinese) Tan Swan Liang:
“In the past, what we had was an inherent
code of conduct — an unwritten law. Now the
Subcourts’ rules have been codified and institutionalised.
The code provides guidance and direction for all
court administrators.”
Chief Court Officer Rebecca Thaver added: “The
Code of Conduct and Ethics is actually very important.
It solidifies what we’re already doing and
adds checks and balances so that there are no more
grey areas.
“Besides the Supreme Court, we are the only
judiciary in Singapore, and we’re world-class.
This code helps us to reinforce and maintain that
world-class standard.”
Read the following story on how Subcourts staff
apply the code to everyday scenarios. |
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By
Subcourts
Next: Putting the code into
practice |
