Supreme Court of Singapore

Supreme Court Of Singapore

Main articles: Court of Appeal of Singapore and High Court of Singapore

The Supreme Court of the Republic of Singapore is one of the two tiers of the court system in Singapore, the other tier being the Subordinate Courts.

The Supreme Court consists of the Court of Appeal and the High Court and hears both civil and criminal matters. The Court of Appeal hears both civil and criminal appeals from the High Court. The Court of Appeal may also decide a point of law reserved for its decision by the High Court, as well as any point of law of public interest arising in the course of an appeal from a subordinate court to the High Court, which has been reserved by the High Court for the decision of the Court of Appeal.

The High Court's jurisdiction is as follows: generally, a civil case is commenced in the High Court if the subject matter of the claim exceeds S$250,000. Probate matters are dealt with in the High Court if the value of the estate exceeds S$3 million or if the case involves the resealing of a foreign grant. In addition, ancillary matters in family proceedings involving assets of S$1.5 million or above are heard in the High Court.

Criminal cases involving offences which carry the death penalty and generally those punishable with imprisonment for a term exceeding ten years, are prosecuted in the High Court. Non-bailable offences are generally tried in the High Court. As a rule of thumb, the High Court in Singapore has inherent jusrisdiction to try all matters within Singapore.