ACCESS TO COURT RECORDS: THE SECRET TO OPEN JUSTICE

This paper concerns the legal framework governing non-party access to court records in Singapore. It provides a brief comparative study of the access frameworks in Australia and the UK. From this comparative analysis, guiding principles and procedures are distilled to facilitate suggestions on how S...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Singapore journal of legal studies 2011-12 (December 2011), p.510-532
Main Author: Yeo, Vanessa
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE
Affidavits
Appellate courts
Comparative analysis
Court orders
Court records
Court rules
COURT RULES AND PROCEDURE
Document access
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
Jurisdiction
Justice
Public hearings
Studies
Trial in public court
Trials
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Summary:This paper concerns the legal framework governing non-party access to court records in Singapore. It provides a brief comparative study of the access frameworks in Australia and the UK. From this comparative analysis, guiding principles and procedures are distilled to facilitate suggestions on how Singapore's current access regime may be reformed. Open justice and the freedom of information and expression may be fundamental principles, but they do not mandate an unquestioned right of access to judicial records as the interests of justice may be served by both disclosure and non-disclosure. Both principles must be balanced against competing considerations, such as confidentiality and the right to a fair trial. An access regime is not built on open justice alone. It must adeptly reconcile all the competing factors in a manner which best secures the proper administration of justice.
ISSN:0218-2173