Access to Justice: The financial obstacles to civil litigation in Singapore
Publication Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
9-2025
Abstract
Access to justice is a vital concern of all legal systems and the truism holds with no less force in Singapore. Although not explicitly enshrined in the Singapore Constitution, it is nevertheless an implicit part of the Constitution and its importance as a matter of social and legal policy is evident from pronouncements of the government and the judiciary. This article examines a particular aspect of access to justice - the financial obstacles in the pursuit of civil litigation in the areas of commercial and consumer disputes, especially for the median income earner in Singapore.In this regard, the wide-ranging initiatives taken or driven by the Singapore government, judiciary and private phlianthropic organisations were considered, an informal survey of the rough estimates of civil litigation charges of 9-10 law practices of different sizes was conducted and compared with the estimated disposable income of a median income earner in Singapore. The study concluded that civil litigation costs in Singapore for claims outside the jurisdiction of the Small Claims Tribunal were high and would not be an insignificant burden for a median income civil litigant. However, the author noted the Singapore judiciary's determination to employ holistic and concerted multi-prong efforts to address this problem, including seeking to aid the increasing number of litigants in person as they navigate the legal and judicial process without representation.
Keywords
access to justice; civil litigation; financial obstacles; survey of costs, improve access, small claims, class action, technology, alternative dispute resolution, legal aid, pro bono, public-private initiatives
Discipline
Asian Studies | Banking and Finance Law | Civil Procedure
Publication
Civil procedure: Access to commercial justice
Editor
BUTLER, Petra
First Page
325
Last Page
362
ISBN
9789004721494
Identifier
10.1163/9789004721494_014
Publisher
Brill
City or Country
Leiden, Nederlands
Citation
LOO, Wee Ling.
Access to Justice: The financial obstacles to civil litigation in Singapore. (2025). Civil procedure: Access to commercial justice. 325-362.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/4692
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004721494_014