Lord Justice Jackson in Singapore: Piloting Civil Justice Reforms

The best judicial advocates of proportionate electronic discovery emphasise that, however significant the costs and other implications of discovery, they are but a part of a wider duty to make justice affordable. That duty is distributed – it lies with the judges charged with managing cases and those who devise the rules and procedures; it falls on lawyers and on their clients whose justice is at stake; it is part of the duty of government. Lord Justice Jackson touched on all these in a speech in Singapore which began with Plato and Aristotle and, precisely 45 minutes later, came back to them. The occasion was the International Conference on Electronic Litigation organised jointly by the Singapore Supreme Court and the Singapore Academy of Law.

I do not usually rush out reports of speeches on the day of their delivery, preferring a more leisurely approach with reflective comment. This is a straight transposition from my notes, with little critical or or analytical thought applied.

The evidence in Aristotle’s day, Sir Rupert said, fell within a manageable compass. The instant communications now critical to business were not a boon in all respects. They remain in permanent form to be studied by those with the time and motive, subjected to a full and painstaking analysis by lawyers, and generating “prodigious and sometimes terrifying costs”.

Opening a world class agenda at Singapore Electronic Litigation Conference

The first morning of the Electronic Litigation Conference organised jointly by the Supreme Court of Singapore and the Singapore Academy of Law has yielded so much of interest and importance that I am in danger of losing it if I do not note it up straight away. Quite apart from anything else, I am due to give a summary to the judicial and other VIP delegates and guests at lunchtime tomorrow, and must stand back from it a bit to be ready for that.

We started being impressed before the first speaker had opened his mouth. A large room is packed with rows of seats, with judges and other VIP speakers and guests at the front and the rest behind. So far as I could see, every seat was taken. The organisers are courteous but firm, imposing a degree of discipline which keeps us in our place. The rules include a ban on photography, so my posts will be missing their usual illustrations.

The proceedings were opened by the Honourable Justice Lee Sieu Kin, a judge of the Singapore Supreme Court and chairman of the conference, who told us that we had over 350 guests and speakers from 36 countries. The original plan, he said, had been to focus on electronic discovery, but it had become clear that other related technology developments, including the use of social media, warranted places in the agenda. He introduced the Honourable Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong, President of the Singapore Academy of Law, to give the opening address.