Forum: Courts actively foster transparency and public trust
We thank Mr Ethan Tan for his Forum letter, 'Encourage more people to attend public hearings' (June 13). We agree that open court hearings are vital for transparency and public trust in our judiciary.
In today's digital age where diverse narratives proliferate, it is even more crucial that the public understands the work of our courts. Witnessing judicial processes first-hand can demystify legal proceedings and foster a more informed citizenry.
To increase public awareness of open court hearings, we actively use SG Courts social media platforms (YouTube, Instagram and TikTok) to provide videos and guides. These resources, with over 360,000 views, offer insights on courtroom decorum and personal accounts of open justice.
We are also simplifying information on hearing schedules on the SG Courts portal to address challenges laypeople might face, and will consider Mr Tan's suggestion to enhance court signage.
Beyond making court hearings accessible, the Singapore Courts are committed to bridging the gap and enhancing public understanding of our work through various initiatives.
Our website hosts all Supreme Court written judgments since 2000, many with summaries for lay readers. Our official WhatsApp channel provides concise summaries of notable judicial decisions for over 17,000 subscribers.
In 2024 , our 'Conversations with the Community' series engaged a wider audience as judges explored various aspects of our work. Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon kick-started the series, explaining the courts' dual role (adjudicative and systemic) and the crucial importance of access to justice. Following seven sessions, we plan to consolidate this material into a freely available e-book.
Our student outreach programmes actively engage young people, including a partnership with Kiss92 FM to reach 10,000 students. Our annual 'A Day in Court' features fireside chats with judges and mock court role-playing sessions. Additionally, our 'Justice Awareness @ Heartlands' community outreach initiative brings legal education directly to local communities; a recent session in Woodlands focused on family violence and harassment.
In 2025 , we will also hold open houses at the Family Justice Courts and Small Claims Tribunals to foster greater public familiarity with their roles.
Finally, the media plays a crucial role in explaining court cases in layman terms, and we continue to work closely with it. We remain committed to proactive and transparent communication to foster public understanding and trust in our justice system.
Michelle Chiang
Director, Outreach and Engagement
Singapore Courts
More on this Topic Forum: What readers are saying
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
23 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Colombia's Senate approves labor reform amid tension with Petro
Colombia's President Gustavo Petro speaks during the rally for peace and democracy at San Francisco Square in Cali, Colombia June 11, 2025. REUTERS/Sebastian Marmolejo/File Photo BOGOTA - Colombia's Senate on Tuesday approved a modified and much-debated labor reform bill, after President Gustavo Petro decreed a referendum to seek direct approval from voters for the initiative. The bill, which includes measures to enshrine an eight-hour daytime work day, increase weekend and holiday pay and require social security payments from delivery app drivers, was approved by 57 lawmakers, while 31 opposed it. Petro decreed the 12-question referendum last week, in a bid to force the Senate to vote on the reform before the end of its session on June 20 and in defiance of his political opposition, who say the vote would disregard institutional norms and threaten Colombia's separation of powers. Lawmakers in May rejected the referendum in a tight 49 to 47 vote. Petro said that vote was fraudulent and decreed the referendum take place. "The government is satisfied, we have managed, vote by vote, article by article, a new democratic, progressive labor legislation," Labor Minister Antonio Sanguino said. The approved reform will immediately increase wages for work conducted from 7 p.m. onward and gradually increase the surcharge for Sunday and holiday work through July 2027. Under the law, workers for popular delivery apps like Rappi, who are independent contractors, will be required to make social security contributions. Meanwhile, the apps will be barred from demanding exclusivity from contractors and must provide human supervision of their algorithms. Analysts' estimates for increased labor costs as a result of the bill range from 6.8% to 35%. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
40 minutes ago
- Straits Times
China, Central Asian countries agree better connectivity by land, flights
Chinese President Xi Jinping (third from left) signed a treaty to elevate ties with Central Asian nations on June 17. PHOTO: REUTERS BEIJING - China and Central Asian countries are willing to improve road and railway connectivity, and will look to open more direct flights to and from China as they agreed to enhance exchanges, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement on June 18. China will look at simplifying visa procedures with the five Central Asian countries while all parties will study the feasibility of opening consular offices, it added. China, together with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, will also accelerate the modernisation of existing port facilities and look at the need for new ports. Chinese President Xi Jinping signed on June 17 a treaty to elevate ties with Central Asian nations as Beijing looks to further deepen cooperation on trade, energy and infrastructure with the resource-rich region. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Business Times
2 hours ago
- Business Times
Trump again pushes TikTok sale deadline with 90 day extension
[WASHINGTON] US President Donald Trump is extending for a third time the deadline for Chinese company ByteDance to divest the American operations of TikTok, allowing the social media app to keep running in the US while negotiations proceed. 'As he has said many times, President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark,' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday (Jun 17). 'This extension will last 90 days, which the Administration will spend working to ensure this deal is closed so that the American people can continue to use TikTok with the assurance that their data is safe and secure.' The decision provides yet another lifeline for the popular app that spurred worries in Washington over national security and which has emerged as a source of friction between the US and China. For Trump, who regards himself as the consummate dealmaker, the reprieve gives him more time to secure a complicated agreement that would require an American buyer and Beijing's sign-off. Movement on a deal has largely stalled with US-China trade relations swept up in larger tensions over negotiate over trade. Both sides are accusing each other of violating an agreement in Geneva in May to lower crippling tariffs. Subsequent talks in London this month saw the two sides look to ease confrontations centred on access to cutting-edge technology and rare-earth minerals. Trump's latest extension, reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal, will come via an executive order and provide ByteDance an additional three months to sell TikTok's US operations beyond the latest Jun 19 deadline. Under a law signed by then-president Joe Biden last year, ByteDance was directed to divest TikTok's US unit by Jan 19, but the company has baulked at selling a lucrative business valued from US$20 billion to as high as US$150 billion depending on the proposed terms and technology included. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Trump first extended the deadline shortly after taking office in January and extended it again in April. Trump's latest move is likely to draw questions over its legality. According to the law, the president could grant a one-time delay for as many as 90 days if 'significant progress' was demonstrated towards securing a deal. When he punted the deadline again in April, Trump said a deal was largely in place but claimed China had changed its stance because of the tariff war between the two countries that saw the president levy high duties on Chinese imports and draw retaliation from Beijing. It's unclear whether lawmakers from either party in Washington will emerge to contest the latest reprieve. The administration has fielded several bids to buy TikTok's US assets, including a consortium of investors featuring Oracle, Blackstone and venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz that had emerged as a top contender. That potential agreement would have granted new outside investors 50 per cent of TikTok's US business in a unit that would be spun off from ByteDance. ByteDance's existing US investors would also own about 30 per cent of the business, cutting the Chinese firm's stake to just below 20 per cent, allowing it to meet the ownership requirements of the US security law. Oracle would take a minority stake in the operations and provide security assurances for user data. The proposal would also have left the app's algorithm in Chinese hands, removing a potential obstacle to winning approval from the company and authorities in Beijing. That exposes it to challenges by China hawks in Congress who worry such a deal would give Beijing too much access to US data and could violate a provision in the law requiring the software to be removed from Chinese control. The Trump administration was close to reaching the deal involving Oracle before the earlier Apr 5 deadline, but China withheld its approval following the US president's decision to impose sweeping tariffs. BLOOMBERG
