From the Editor-in-Chief
The criminal law governs the acts of individuals and seeks to establish order while simultaneously preventing harm in inherently chaotic societies. As its control and reach over citizens over the land are manifestly formidable, the criminal law must invariably be underpinned by notions of justice and fairness; otherwise it would lose all normative reason for its existence. This issue of the Juris Illuminae examines the various facets of the law in this regard, from the initiation stage of prosecutorial discretion to evidential and constitutional worries at trial, and …

William O. Douglas, the longest serving Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States once mused: “Absolute discretion is a ruthless master. It is more destructive of freedom than any of man’s other inventions.” Indeed, while internal guidelines ensure that prosecutorial discretion is less than absolute in Singapore, the Public Prosecutor (officially the Attorney-General on whose authority the Deputy Public Prosecutors act) is undeniably a very important actor in the local criminal justice system.
As Mr. Winston Cheng, Deputy Public Prosecutor of the Attorney-General’s Chambers admitted during a talk held …

There are 2 widely-accepted models of criminal justice process, namely due-process and crime-control.
The due-process model embodies the ideology that it is better to let 10 guilty men go free than convict an innocent one. The presumption of innocence is therefore a central tenet of this model.
On the contrary, the main feature of the crime-control model concentrated on vindicating victim’s rights rather than on protecting the defendant’s rights.
The Criminal Procedure Code (Amendment) Act 1976 introduced elements of the crime-control model into Singapore. Prior to 1976, the criminal justice system …

While criminal law practice in Singapore is largely confined to the statutory framework of the Penal Code (Cap. 224, 1985 Rev. Ed. Sing.) and the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 68, 1985 Rev. Ed. Sing.), it is not as insular or sterile as those unfamiliar with this area of law make it out to be.
The Penal Code standing on its own is directed towards a wide spectrum of harmful social behaviors. The criminal law also extends from offences against the person (eg. assault, murder) and traffic offences to white collar crimes …

Criminal law plays a vital role in society by ensuring justice and fairness and serves to protect society from injurious acts. Essentially a coercive arm of the law which carries overtones of moral condemnation by society through the criminal label, criminal law differs from many other areas of law. Furthermore, the criminal law has always been the most visible aspect of a country’s legal system and is subject to much public scrutiny.
In Singapore, criminal cases are heard in the Subordinate Courts and in the High Court for more …