Extension of Appointment of Judge of the High Court and Presiding Judge of State Courts (Apr 2025)

The President of the Republic of Singapore, in accordance with Article 95(2) of the Constitution, has extended the appointment of Justice Hoong Seng Lei Vincent (洪承利), as Judge of the High Court from 12 April 2025 to 31 December 2025. In addition, the President has extended the appointment of Justice Hoong as the Presiding Judge of the State Courts till 31 December 2025.

Justice Hoong was appointed the Presiding Judge of the State Courts on 1 April 2020 for a period of three years. In 2023, his term was extended till 11 April 2025.

Justice Hoong was appointed Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court on 10 April 2019 and elevated to Judge of the High Court on 3 January 2020. His appointment as a High Court Judge was extended for a period of three years on 12 Apr 2022 upon reaching his retirement age of 65.

In his second term as Presiding Judge, Justice Hoong put in place a revamped five-year strategic map to ensure the State Courts remain committed to provide “accessible justice through quality judgments, appropriate dispute resolution and innovative court services”. The State Courts continued to perform strongly on their caseload clearance rates and caseload disposition rates. The combined clearance rate for 2024 went up from 97 per cent to 102 per cent, compared to that recorded for the same period in 2023. The combined disposition rate in 2024 remained on par with 2023 at a robust level of 92 per cent.

Justice Hoong continued to champion the Courts’ systemic role of developing and safeguarding a justice system that is accessible to all and meets the needs of society. The State Courts partnered other stakeholders to work on initiatives which promote better processes and outcomes, such as contributing significantly to the work of the Sentencing Advisory Panel, which issued the Guidelines on Reduction in Sentences for Guilty Pleas on 1 October 2023. These guidelines seek to promote greater consistency and transparency in the sentencing process. Public communications and outreach efforts were enhanced to educate court users on what to expect when they come to court.

Justice Hoong oversaw the State Courts’ sustained post-pandemic transition to remote and asynchronous hearings. In particular, asynchronous hearings of criminal pre-trial conferences and criminal case disclosure conferences were formally adopted in June 2023. The volume of cases heard asynchronously has been increasing steadily. Some court processes have been simplified to lower the barrier to entry for court users. The simplified process in civil hearings, originally applicable in the Magistrates’ Courts, is now extended to District Court proceedings. The State Courts remained a thought leader in engaging with international counterparts with a view of studying and adopting judicial best practices. The State Courts are a founding member of the International Consortium for Court Excellence and the International Judicial Dispute Resolution Network.

As Presiding Judge of the State Courts, Justice Hoong is a strong advocate of improving access to justice for all court users, including self-represented persons, regardless of their resources or legal literacy. He placed emphasis on the professional development of judicial officers and court administrators to ensure they are continually equipped with the requisite skills and knowledge. New initiatives have been introduced to address the three dimensions of the “justice gap”: the literacy gap, the resource gap and the physical gap.

Justice Hoong Seng Lei Vincent (Photo: Singapore Courts)

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PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE
7 APRIL 2025