Lights, Camera, Action! On 4 December 2013, the Supreme Court’s Level 8 Viewing Gallery was converted into a glamorous Supermodel runway for “Service Runway”, the opening event of the Supreme Court’s biennial Customer Service Week 2013. Our budding models and fashion designers dug into their creative juices to design costumes out of used aluminium foil, Salvation Army hand-me-downs, recycled beer cans and even discarded bubble wrap to showcase the values of our Service Creed in unique, innovative styles.

Customer Service Week 2013

December 2013

CHIEF JUSTICE OF FIJI The Chief Justice of Fiji, the Honourable Anthony Gates, called on CJ Sundaresh Menon on 1 November 2013. CJ Gates expressed gratitude at the hospitality shown to the Fijian judiciary by the Supreme Court during the 5th Asia Pacific Judicial Reform Forum (APJRF) held from 31 October to 1 November 2013.

welcome Guok Nam Choo, Stenographer, Corporate Services Directorate “I am Elizabeth Guok and I joined the Supreme Court on 3 December 2013. Prior to this, I was a Secretary in NIBC Bank Ltd (a Dutch bank). My hobbies include reading and listening to music.”

The months of November and December were opportune times for us to wrap up a very eventful 2013. Though court vacation commenced on 2 December 2013, it has been an activity-filled year-end with staff working round the clock to prepare for Customer Service Week 2013, the WITS In-House Presentation and of course, preparations for the upcoming Opening of the Legal Year 2014.

Oh Chong Onn and Ling Chih Kang from FFPD, LMD, IA, Compliance and CISD stormed the runway as Thor and Loki, complete with Nordic-style war hammers fashioned from aluminium foil, fashioning themselves as warriors of service excellence! Muhammed and Elyse Ang from LD pole-danced and boogied in their Valentine cut-out costumes to the tune of “Too Sexy For” to show their all-encompassing love for their customers, while Jack Lim and Selina Khor from CSD modelled as “Victoria’s Secret Angels of Service Excellence” in costumes stitched from discarded bubble wrap. Leong Yu Fun and Simon Sim from PSes & Court Orderlies rocked the runway with neon biker jackets to show that their service style is cool, bright and cheery!

Yvonne Leung and Chris Teo from CPD blazed the runway in the elements of the earth – fire, water, earth, air – in costumes pieced together from recycled mineral water bottles and beer cans to represent harmony in teamwork for excellent service. Khurshed Haron and Nicole Zhan from OPA impersonated Professor Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle from My Fair Lady in their Salvation Army hand-me-downs with reference books in hand as they believe there is always room for improvement in service.

Upcoming

Opening of the legal year 2014

The Opening of the Legal Year 2014 Ceremony will take place on Friday 3 January 2014, at 10:30am in the Supreme Court Auditorium. The most important event of the legal calendar in Singapore, the Opening of the Legal Year 2014 Ceremony will be hosted by CJ Sundaresh Menon and the Supreme Court bench. The event will be attended by the Minister for Law and Foreign Affairs, the Attorney-General, the President of the Law Society of Singapore, and dignitaries from the legal fraternity (former Chief Justices, Queens’ Counsels, law academics, managing partners of top law firms). In keeping with tradition, CJ Sundaresh Menon will be hosting the Opening of the Legal Year 2014 Dinner at the Istana that same evening. His Excellency, President Tony Tan Keng Yam and Mrs Mary Tan, will be the Guests-of-Honour at the dinner.

The Supreme Court’s 2014 Executive Planners and Calendars will be ready by 23 December 2013. Do look out for OPA’s email for collection details!

CEO AND FOUNDER OF THE WORLD JUSTICE PROJECT William Neukom, the CEO and Founder of the World Justice Project, an independent, non-profit organisation dedicated to advancing community justice, called on Andrew Phang JA, on 13 October 2013.

According to the World Wildlife Foundation, the world uses 1 million tonnes of paper every day. Too much of this paper usage is wasteful and unnecessary and puts huge pressures on the environment. For this year-end festive season, let us play our part to help to preserve the world’s remaining natural forests and the people and wildlife that depend on them.

1. Think before you print: Think twice before you need to print. If you absolutely need to print, print double-sided or two to a page. 2. Print small (but legibly): If you're printing a PowerPoint presentation, put two to six slides on one page. Format Word documents to have narrow margins and single spacing. 3. Send documents electronically: Scan and send documents by e-mail in PDF format rather than printing and faxing/mailing them. 4. Send e-cards: Send personalised greeting e-cards quickly and easily by email. Save hard copy greeting cards for only really important contacts. 5. Reduce unwanted paper mail: Contact mail senders to take your name off their mailing lists. 6. Recycle and reuse paper: Use the blank sides of unneeded single-sided copies for note-taking or outdated letterheads for in-house memos. 7. Conduct “paperless” meetings: Instead of printing out meeting notes, bring your laptop to your meetings and update your notes electronically. 8. Electronic storage: Store your project meeting notes, timelines and communication materials electronically, rather than in physical files. 9. Transact electronically: Manage your transactions electronically to reduce the need for cumbersome paper invoices, transaction records and confirmation letters. 10. Edit electronically: Edit your documents electronically with “Track Changes” and “New Comment” commands, rather than printing draft after draft. Only print when finalised.

Selecting the winner was a tough decision for the judges as well as for the audience who sent in their voting slips. But after much deliberation, Chong Onn and Chih Kang’s “Thor and Loki” act as warriors of service excellence won the “Service Runway” Grand Prize!

About 60 staff attended the two workshops conducted during Customer Service Week 2013 – “The Art of Being Helpful for Service Excellence” on 5 December 2013 and “Corporate Etiquette and Professional Image” on 9 December 2013. From these workshops, as well as from our experience at “Service Runway”, we learnt that achieving service excellence is never just a singular effort – it always requires teamwork. A big thank you to all who took part and supported a very memorable Customer Service Week 2013 and we look forward to working together as a team to enhance our service skills at the Supreme Court.

Rock stars of service excellence!

Going back to the elements of great service

The “Service Runway” teams strike a pose with CE and RSC

The Supreme Court’s WITS (Work Improvement Teams) achieved 6 Gold and 4 Silver Awards at the WITS In-house Presentation held on 6 December 2013. This is a record-breaking achievement as our past records show we garnered the best results of 5 Gold, 3 Silver and 2 Bronze Awards back in 2011. Congratulations to all our WITS for a job well done! Thanks to all the WITS, we have exceeded the ISO9001:2000 Quality Objective of attaining at least two Gold Awards for WITS Projects. The Supreme Court thanks all WITS Members, Leaders, Facilitators and Advisors for making this event possible and achieving the record-breaking results for 2013.

WITS scores a new record!

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WITS Awards (2009 to 2013)

The Council of Judges is an annual event involving the Chief Justice, Judges of Appeal, Judges and Judicial Commissioners of the Supreme Court. The Council of Judges is required to be held at least once a year under section 81 of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Cap 322, 2007 Rev Ed). This year’s Council of Judges was held at the Supreme Court on 22 November 2013.

Council of Judges

The Supreme Court hosted a tea reception for lawyers on the LASCO (Legal Assistance Scheme for Capital Offences) on 29 November 2013 in recognition of their contributions to the Criminal Bar and an opportunity for LASCO lawyers to exchange learning points and views of the latest developments in Criminal Law practice in Singapore with members of the Bench and judicial officers of the Supreme Court Registry.

LASCO Tea

DELEGATION FROM COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATION The Supreme Court hosted a visit by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) on 21 November 2013 while they were in Singapore as part of the CPA’s study programme for Parliamentarians to help them gain insights into the Parliamentary and judicial systems of other Commonwealth countries. The three-member delegation from CPA comprised Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger, Leader of Delegation and UK Member of Parliament (Conservative Party), Professor Stephen Pollock, UK Member of Parliament, Viscount Hanworth (Labour Party), Mr Peter Wishart, UK Member of Parliament (Scottish National Party) and were accompanied by Mr Paul Broom, Director of Political Affairs of the British High Commission in Singapore.

Spread the Yuletide joy with the Supreme Court’s Season’s Greetings e-card for 2013! Featuring a pencil sketch of the Supreme Court building and an art deco-style snow flake design, it is a fitting Season’s Greetings e-card to wrap up 2013 and look towards a great new year ahead.