Synopsis
In 2014, following the recommendations of the Committee for Family Justice, the family justice landscape in Singapore was overhauled both structurally and legislatively. Chief among the changes was the creation of the Family Justice Rules unique to the newly constituted Family Justice Courts. The FJR are meant to reflect a new judicial philosophy for family law disputes, in that proceedings are supposed to be made less adversarial, with the judge adopting what may be described as a more inquisitorial role so as to safeguard the interests of the family. In particular, R 22 of the FJR mandates family judges to adopt a "judge-led approach", but what exactly should this entail in a jurisdiction that is steeped in common law traditions and principles? The purpose of this seminar is to consider some of the main implications and complications arising from this shift to judge-led proceedings. Various areas of departure from the common law system brought about by the new procedural rules will be analysed here, including: the aforementioned judge-led approach to case management; the mandatory exhaustion of alternative dispute resolution avenues; judicial interviews of child witnesses; and the awarding of costs. Cases that have talked about some of these changes will also be discussed.
About the Speakers
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Assistant Professor
Chen Siyuan
Assistant Professor
Eunice Chua
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Siyuan and Eunice obtained their law degrees from NUS in 2007 with first class honours and worked as Justices' Law Clerks and Assistant Registrars of the Supreme Court between 2007 and 2009. In 2010, they went on scholarships to Harvard for their LLM. Siyuan joined SMU as an Assistant Professor in 2010 while Eunice continued her stint as an Assistant Registrar, before assuming the role of Deputy CEO of the Singapore International Mediation Centre between 2014 and 2016. Their research and writing touch on subjects relating to evidence, procedure, mediation, and family law, and their publications have appeared in leading peer-reviewed journals such as Civil Justice Quarterly, the International Journal of Evidence and Proof, and the International Commentary on Evidence. Publications they have written together include Civil Procedure in Singapore (Wolters Kluwer, 2nd ed: 2016) and Family Procedure in Singapore (LexisNexis, forthcoming: 2017). Siyuan is also the principal author of The Law of Evidence in Singapore (Sweet & Maxwell: 2016), and his works have been cited by the Singapore courts. Eunice is an accredited Associate Mediator with the SMC and has co-mediated various types of civil disputes. Siyuan and Eunice co-founded the International Moots Programme in SMU in 2010. SMU has since featured regularly in the championship finals of major international moots, including the Jessup (2013 and 2014), Vis (2015 and 2016), Vis East (2015 and 2016), Price (2015 and 2016), and International Criminal Court (2015 and 2016) competitions.
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Fees
Seminar fee of S$200* is applicable.
For Group registration (at least 10 participants from the same organisation), a discounted fee of $180* applies.
For SMU law alumni (LL.B., J.D. and LL.M.), a discounted fee of $180* applies.
*Registration fee is payable via cheque or credit card.
*Above stated fee is inclusive of GST and is non-refundable if registrant did not attend the seminar.
For any transferring of registration / substitution, please email: cle@smu.edu.sg, latest by 24 April 2017.
Continuing Legal Education reserves the right to cancel or postpone any events owing to unforeseen circumstances.
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