IN THIS ISSUE

Next match lineup: State v. X by Emily Choo & Lynette Lim (here)
Restricting Freedoms of Expression in New Media by Rachel Leow (here)
• The Defence of Unsoundness of Mind: Unsound Law? by Amos Toh (here)
• Subhas Anandan, The Best I Could by Justin Yeo (here)
• Pro Bono Feature: CLAS – Defending the Cause of the Less Fortunate (here)
• Pro Bono Feature: “Criminal Law and Pro Bono” – NUS Pro Bono Group Annual Seminar Series 2009, in partnership with KhattarWong (here)

ANG HOUFU
Chief Editor (Singapore Law Review)

Television makes everything simple – does the glove fit? If it does, then surely he must be guilty.

Although criminal law is the branch of law that receives the most attention, its practices of procedure and evidence are commonly overlooked. But substantive questions cannot be answered without the facts.

So while amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code may appear to be less important than those made to  the Penal Code itself, these reforms strike at the very heart of justice in Singapore.

Criminal procedural laws affect the men and women who begin proceedings, and their abilities to gain access to the criminal justice system.

Procedural injustice is magnified in criminal law where the citizen is pitted against the State. But if the criminal justice system is perceived to be faulty, or worse, unjust, this impression will extend to the entire judicial system in Singapore.

It would bode well for both laymen and lawyers to gain a better understanding of the procedures underpinning our criminal justice system.

NG SOOK ZHEN
Juris Editor

“Sentencing cannot be fully democratised, lest it becomes populist and ruled by fashionable opinions of the most articulate members of the public,” said Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong at a book launch of Sentencing Principles In Singapore, written by Deputy Senior State Counsel Kow Keng Siong.

I disagree. Law forms part of the fabric of our society, and should necessarily reflect community expectations.

In fact, public opinion is not a “weather vane” that changes constantly, especially in the one season tropical Singapore. Granted, there are days sunnier than others, but in general, the temperature, like public opinion, falls within a limited spectrum.  Taking into account public opinion when meting out criminal sentences is hence, not so unpredictable a process as CJ Chan makes it out to be.

Public opinion, I’m quick to add, is not merely what CJ Chan defines as the “fashionable opinions of the most articulate members of the public”, but the opinion of the judge, as a member of the community, and not as a judge living in ivory towers or isolated circles.

For now, however, removing popular opinion from sentencing as proposed by CJ Chan is perhaps the better option.