In
ST on 25 Jun, it was reported that ‘The apex court has made it clear that
neither the Govt nor judges can be sued for judicial decisions made, pointing
to judicial immunity under the Govt Proceedings Act(GPA)… “In Singapore, the general rule is that
the Govt may be liable for, inter alia, the tortuous acts of its public
officers,” noted Justice Chao. This means that the Govt is liable like any
ordinary employer. However, exceptions to this rule specified in the Act
include those exercising judicial functions, he said.’
The
above sounds logical and reasonable on the presumptions that the judges are
honourable people performing the duties of judges free from interferences from
other people or offices. This should be the case as Judge Chao added, ‘The
independence of the Judiciary is one of the foundation pillars of Singapore’s constitutional
framework and must not be shaken. To this end, the Govt should not be liable
for the acts of the Judiciary, over which it has no control or influence.’
Here
there is another assumption, that the Judiciary is fully independent of the
Govt. What if there is a rogue govt and running roughshod over the judiciary
and controlling the Judiciary? There is always the possibility of a rogue govt
in office. If this law is to be read without exceptions, even if a rogue govt
is in office, should it be valid to shield the Judiciary in such circumstances,
or when a corrupt Judiciary is in cahoot with a rogue govt?
There
is also another assumption that the Judiciary is made up of righteous men and
women. In reality, there are always flawed characters in every profession and
the Judiciary is no exception. What happens if there is a crooked judge or a
compromised judge, a beholden judge, would he still be protected by this GPA,
no exceptions?
I
think this is a very dangerous precedent to set, to allow some people, in this
case the Judiciary, to be above the law with no exceptions. As long as human
beans are involved rogues will appear once a while. How can there be no
exceptions?
Judges are also human beans and human beans are human beans, no
exceptions. Just because one becomes a judge, one is flawless in character and
above the law.
The
only consideration that may warrant an exception is that the judiciary cannot
be sued by the govt, but can be sued by the people. The people are the highest
office in the country. All govt and govt offices, officials are there to serve
the people. And if the judiciary committed errors or there is a miscarriage of
justice against the people, they must be answerable and held accountable.
The
point about cannot be sued by the govt is to protect the judiciary in case they
have to rule against the govt. And this is a very likely case when no one can
guarantee the characters of politicians and rogue govt. The judiciary must be
free from the fear of the govt, independent and not beholden, to do what it is
supposed to do, to deliver justice to the people. It is the people that the
judiciary should serve and be accountable for and cannot be above the law.
What
do you think?
6 comments:
In reality, there are always flawed characters in every profession and the Judiciary is no exception.
RB
Tiok. And even ruling party politicians, and which is much higher and powerful than the Judiciary, is also no exception. There will be flawed characters too.
But if the opposition is not even ready to take over if even the whole govt is flawed, then how? LPPL? LOL.
To uphold and seek justice is the duty of every human being with conscience.
Those who judge others MUST ensure that they provide justice impartially to all. There should be no lapse in their judgements.
patriot
Ah...Judiciary Immunity. This is a thorny, extremely controversial topic which has raged on for thousands of years, dating back to the time where The King (or Ruler) was the ultimate judge in legal matters, and that he himself should be IMMUNE from the very damn laws he interprets and administers.
This is one of those "never can finish" arguments like which is "better"? Mac or PC? or iPhone or Android? Europeans or Asians? Christianity or Buddhism? Belief or Freethought?
Anyway, good luck in finding a definitive answer.... ;-)
Hi redbean
Off topic. But just in case you have exposure to the China stock market.
"Everything You Need To Know About The Chinese Stock Market"
http://jessefelder.tumblr.com/post/122512306510/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-chinese
Thanks Anon 1:59. Will take a look.
This is constitutional and administrative law. The expert is dead. His name is Karpal Singh.
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