新加坡法律制度介绍

虽然大多数人认为新加坡是一个规则约束的国家，请称为“精美的城市”（用沉重的罚款乱扔垃圾，口香糖，在公共场所吸烟，使用后，使用后，jaywalking和在使用后没有冲洗厕所等），也被认为是许多人来说是一个非常安全的生活和做生意。新加坡有世界上最低的犯罪率之一。

作为一个前英国殖民地,法律体系Singapore is based on the English common law. All Singapore citizens are equal in the eyes of law irrespective of their race, religion and creed. Singapore’s law is founded on four pillars – Constitution, Legislation, Subsidiary legislation and Legal decisions made by judges. These are explained below:

• The Constitution enshrines the fundamental rights of the individual. It also comprises the fundamental principles and basic framework for the three organs of state – the Executive (consists of the President, Prime Minister and other ministers responsible for government affairs and accountable to the Parliament), the Legislature (consists of the President and Parliament with its legislative authority responsible for enacting legislation) and the Judiciary (the various courts of law which operate independent of the Executive and Legislature).
• 立法或法定法律是法律ena写的cted by the Singapore Parliament or other bodies that had power to pass such laws in the past in Singapore.
• Subsidiary legislation or subordinate legislation refers to written law made by ministers, government agencies or statutory boards. Subsidary legislation is made under the parent statute.
• 法官制定的法律是法院判决considered a source of law. For instance, property law, contract law and trust law are largely judge-made.

Understanding the Court System

The Chief Justice, who is appointed by the President, is the head of the Judiciary. The Judiciary is made up of the Supreme Court and the Subordinate Courts. The Supreme Court hears both civil and criminal matters and is separated into the Court of Appeal and the High Court. The Subordinate Courts consist of District Courts, Magistrates’ Courts, Juvenile Courts, Coroners’ Court and Small Claims Tribunals. A Senior District Judge overlooks the Subordinate Courts. It is important that you know which Court to approach when you are suing someone or are being sued.

上诉法院

As its name suggests, the Court of Appeal hears appeals from the decisions of the High Court in both civil and criminal matters. It is the Chief Justice and Judges of Appeal who sit in the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal is usually made up of three judges (the Chief Justice and two Judges of Appeal). However, on certain occasions there may be less than or more than three judges.

高等法院

It is the Chief Justice and Judges of the High Court (which can in certain instances include a Judge of Appeal or subject matter experts to provide assistance in certain cases) who comprise the High Court. Normally all proceedings are heard before a single judge.

高等法院听到刑事和民事案件，以及区域法院和裁判法院的决定上诉。此外，它还听取了关于海军部门，公司卷绕，破产和申请倡导者和律师的诉讼程序。高等法院对任何民事或犯罪物质的所有下属法院都有一般监督和不诚实的管辖权。总的来说，高等法院涉及索赔主题价值超过250,000股股东法院的事项。它有管辖权试图在新加坡和某些情况下犯下所有犯罪，并在新加坡外犯下的罪行。高等法院试图刑事案件，其惩罚涉及死刑或超过10年监禁。

下属法院

The Subordinate Courts consist of the District Courts, Magistrates’ Courts, Juvenile Courts, Coroners’ Courts and Small Claims Tribunals. The Senior District Judge has overall responsibility for the administration of the Subordinate Courts. In recent years, other courts such as the Family Court, Night Court, Community Court, Syariah Court and Traffic Court have also been added to the Subordinate Courts.

地方法院

Civil cases involving claims of more than 60,000 SGD but not exceeding 250,000 SGD are heard before the District Court. This court can also try offences where the maximum imprisonment term is 10 years or below or that are punishable with only a fine. It can sentence a person to (a) a maximum prison sentence of 7 years, (b) impose a maximum fine of up to 10,000 SGD, (c) a caning of up to 12 strokes, (d) attend reformative training or (e) a combination of the above.

Magistrates’ Courts

Civil cases involving claims not exceeding 60,000 SGD are dealt with by the Magistrate Court. This court also tries offences with a maximum imprisonment of 3 years or below or offences punishable by only a fine. It can either sentence a person for a maximum of 2 years or impose a maximum fine of 2,000 SGD or issue a maximum of 6 strokes of the cane.

Juvenile Court

少年法院特别涉及“儿童”（14岁以下）或“年轻人”（14至16岁）犯下的罪行。它涵盖了父母对照案例（BPC），青少年逮捕案件（JAC）和护理和保护订单案例（CPO）。

Coroners’ Court

This court holds inquiries into any death (a) which occurs in a sudden or unnatural way or (b) by violence, or (c) where the manner in which the death occurred is unknown. Suspected suicides, road traffic and industrial accidents, and death in a prison are some common examples. The Coroner is a Judge of the Subordinate Courts who will conduct investigations with police assistance.

Small Claims Tribunal

The Small Claims Tribunal deals with resolution of small claims between consumers and suppliers, contracts arising from the sale of goods or provision of services, and lease of residential premises not exceeding 2 years. The Tribunal has the jurisdiction to hear claims not exceeding 10,000 SGD but can be raised to 20,000 SGD in certain cases. All claims should be lodged within a year of the dispute and parties usually need not be represented by a lawyer. The Tribunal is presided over by Referees appointed by the President, on the recommendation of the Chief Justice.

Family Court

The Family Court deals with adoptions, divorce, children’s issues, division of matrimonial property, personal protection orders, resolution and joint conferences (mediation), spousal and child maintenance, family violence and enforcement of Syariah Court orders.

夜总会

两晚上的法院从周一到周五在下午6点之后运营，以便工作公众处理大量的监管案件。第一夜法院涉及各部门，如住房和发展局，城市重建管理局，中央公积金委员会和公司和企业登记处发布的传票和通知。第二个夜间法庭处理了土地运输当局带来的交警和监管罪行带来的道路交通犯罪。

社区法庭

The community Court deals with cases relating to youthful offenders (aged 16 to 18), offenders with mental disabilities, neighbourhood disputes, attempted suicide cases, family violence cases, carnal connection offences committed by youthful offenders, abuse and cruelty to animals, cases which impact on race relation issues and selected cases involving offenders ages 65 years and above.

Syariah Court

The Syariah Court administers and resolves marriage and divorce disputes between parties who are either Muslims or who have married under the provisions of Muslim Law.

Traffic Court

The Traffic Court hears and tries traffic offences brought by the Traffic Police as well as the Land Transport Authority.

Types of Law and Courts

普通法

从英国人继承的普通法是新加坡法律框架的一个重要方面。新加坡的普通法的特点是司法先例的实践。换句话说，法律是由法院交还的判决。在这方面，法官只需要在同一层级内申请高等法院的联名比率（或决定的行为原因）。因此，在新加坡，ratio decidendifound in the decisions of the Singapore Court of Appeal are strictly binding on the Singapore High Court, the District Court and the Magistrates’ Court. Major portions of Singapore law, particularly contract law, equity and trust law, property law and tort law, are largely judge-made, though certain aspects have now been modified to some extent by statutes.

Criminal Law

Singapore’s Criminal Law is largely statutory in nature and can be traced to the exhaustive Penal Code. The Penal Code sets out to explain what constitutes each of the offences listed in its 24 chapters and the minimum as well as maximum punishment for the same. The Penal Code was originally based on Indian Law. This was changed and replaced with the Criminal Procedure Code which is based on law pertaining to criminal procedures in England. All criminal offences under the Penal Code or other statutes are investigated and tried according to the Criminal Procedure Code. Criminal Proceedings in Singapore are heard in the High Court and Court of Appeal.

The High Court deals with:

• 其原始管辖权审判刑事犯罪
• 从下属法院的决定上诉
• Revision in criminal proceedings and matters dealt with by the Subordinate Courts and
• Points of law reserved for the High Court’s consideration by way of special cases submitted by the Subordinate Courts

The Court of Appeal deals with:

• 呼吁高等法院在行使其原始刑事管辖区的决定
• 保留的法律要点，审议高等法院在其原始，上诉或无需管辖权中审理的刑事事项。

Criminal cases can also be tried at the Criminal Mentions Court. An accused person is produced at a Criminal Mentions Court when the prosecution is ready to formally charge him or her. A criminal must be charged within 48 hours after his or her arrest and remand. There are two Criminal Mentions Courts, one to deal with District Arrest Cases (DACs) and the other with Magistrates Arrest Cases (MACs).

可以在高等法院审判的违法行为属于资本类别（即死刑）和非资本案件。法院由法官主持。来自相关执法和政府机构的被检察官也在场。提交犯罪的人/人士（犯罪）的费用（罪行），他们可以选择辩护，以便逮捕罪，申请审判或申请休会。刑事试验通常涉及预先试验会议。法院积极监督调查的进展情况和为审判做准备的其他步骤。这些会议不公开。初步调查 - 确定是否有足够的证据证明在高等法院审判的被告审判 - 是公开的。在大多数情况下，审判也适当向公众开放。如果要审判被告，他将在审判日期之前保留入狱。 Bail is available only at the discretion of the High Court.

Civil Law

总的来说，高等法院涉及索赔主题价值超过250,000股股东法院的事项。The District Court deals with any claim for which the amount in dispute does not exceed 250,000 SGD and the Magistrates’ Court where the amount in dispute does not exceed 60,000 SGD. The Small Claims Tribunal deals with any claim not exceeding 10,000 SGD (or up to 20,000 SGD where both parties to the dispute agree) over a dispute arising from the contract for the sale of goods or provision of services, or where there is damage to property (except in the case of accidents involving a motor vehicle).

Dispute Resolution Channels for Businesses

Before you go to Court it is important to consider the fact that it may be an expensive as well as time consuming process. Majority of the business disputes are settled out of court system through Mediation and Arbitration procedures.

调解

TheSingapore Mediation Centre(SMC) is a non profit body that trains and selects a panel of neutral mediators who can help parties resolve disputes in a peaceful manner. The mediators are distinguished personnel from the legal or other professional fields who, with the assistance of each party’s lawyer, help the parties negotiate and reach a practical solution that is acceptable to all. The decision is arrived at by the parties and the mediator only helps them; he does not decide for them. 90% of the settled cases are settled within one working day by the SMC and it is reported to have saved significant cost and time. The mediation fee starts from 900 SGD per party per day. The SMC also conducts neutral evaluation (an objective opinion by an industry expert when parties have reached a deadlock in negotiations) when needed.

• The Labour Relations Department of the Ministry of Manpower helps resolve employer-employee disputes amicably, through mediation.
• TheConsumers Association of Singapore(CASE) Mediation Centre helps resolve disputes between a consumer and a business.
• eAlternative Dispute Resolutionis a Singapore Subordinate Courts’ initiative, for parties in an e-commerce transaction to resolve their disputes on the Internet. Disputes include consumer and contractual matters, intellectual property rights between businesses (B2B) , consumers (C2C) or both (B2C, C2B).
• Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Centre（FIDREC）是一个经济实惠，无障碍，公正和独立的消费者，以解决与金融机构的纠纷。
• Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers（SISV）调解房地产和建筑纠纷。
• DisputeManager.com is an Internet portal that helps settle disputes through online mediation, neutral evaluation, e-settlement and the Singapore Domain Name Dispute Resolution Service (SDRP). Parties can register cases online and arrange for video-conferencing, Internet chats etc. on the website.

Arbitration

Unlike mediation, arbitration is legally binding. It is similar to going to court, except that the process does not take place in a court room and is not open to public. The arbitrator will arrive at a decision himself, irrespective of the parties agreement. TheSingapore International Arbitration Centre(SIAC) handles arbitration cases in Singapore. The SIAC can resolve almost any civil case, but does not handle criminal and family law matters. Under the New York Convention, arbitration decisions are enforceable in over 120 countries. The arbitration fee involves the administration fee, arbitrators’ fee and lawyers’ fee which depends on the quantum of dispute and seniority of arbitrators. The SIAC has a panel of over 190 legal and industry experts to choose from or parties can choose their own arbitrators.

• 新加坡海事仲裁室(SCMA) offers to resolve maritime disputes by arbitration in a reliable and efficient manner.
• 法律社会调解/仲裁计划helps parties come to an agreement on costs by mediation first, followed by arbitration.

Resolving Disputes Through Court System

Usually business disputes are heard in Civil Courts. You can approach the高等法院，地方法院,Magistrates’ Court或者Small Claims Tribunaldepending on the amount and nature of claim. There are other specialised Courts like the版权法庭和劳动法院.

版权法庭

The Copyright Tribunal helps resolve disputes between copyright owners and users of copyright materials.

劳动法院

The Labour Court deals with issues between employers and employees when they cannot be resolved through mediation or reconciliation.

记住新加坡法院程序的有用事实

• The person making the claim is the Plaintiff.
• The person being served or against whom the claim is made is the Defendant.
• Depending on the nature and amount of the claim a suit is filed in the appropriate Court.
• If the Defendant wishes to settle the claim and not dispute it, he can contact the Plaintiff or the Plaintiff’s lawyer for an out-of-court settlement.
• If not, the Court will set a date to hear both sides and evaluate all evidence and proof.
• 此时仍然有一个庭院结算。
• Once a ruling is made it is enforceable.
• If the parties refuse to comply, the Court can issue a writ of seizure and sale. This allows the claiming party to seize the assets and sell them to recover his compensation.
• The Court’s judgment can be contested by making an appeal to the High Court.