In their remarks, Justice Faizal and Deputy Attorney-General Goh also stressed that it is for the elected government to decide on policy, not the courts or the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).
“Our courts do not decide social policy in the abstract, but when real disputes with real consequences come before the courts, the courts must still give those answers – carefully, fairly and according to law,” said Justice Faizal.
While AGC is the government’s legal adviser and drafts government legislation, its role is not to dictate policy, said Mr Goh.
“What we do is to make sure that whatever policy that the government advances, it is clearly presented in the law in a consistent way that doesn’t contradict existing laws,” he said.
ACCESS TO JUSTICE AND “GLASS CEILING”
The panelists also spoke about access to justice, with Justice Faizal highlighting efforts like rewriting court correspondence in simpler language and allowing smaller claims to be filed and managed entirely online.
Mr Tong reiterated that Singapore’s first-rate judiciary and legal system will not mean much if the most vulnerable people in Singapore do not feel they can access it.
Commenting on how AGC protects vulnerable victims, Mr Goh said its fundamental role is not just to secure convictions but to ensure that justice is done.
“Justice is sometimes done when we don’t pursue the most serious charge, but the most appropriate charge, bearing in mind the available facts and evidence of the case,” he said.
Towards the end, an audience member asked whether minority representation in the senior ranks of the judiciary and legal system, specifically for members of the Malay-Muslim community, is a realistic aspiration.
Justice Faizal said that when he was asked in the past about the possibility of more Malay-Muslim senior counsel in the next decade, his answer was: “I don’t see why not.”
He said he had been given advice that there are two ways to live.
“Either we can decide to live life by believing that there is a glass ceiling, and therefore always cap my aspirations. And no matter whether there is or is not a glass ceiling, that will happen, because you will live your life on that basis,” he said.
“Or you can decide, even if there is a glass ceiling, it really doesn’t matter … because to the extent there is, I … have enough talent and individual ability to push against the glass ceiling – not for myself, but to shatter it so that the next person can stand on my shoulders and go even further than I can.”