SINGAPORE: Following its recent move to increase the appeal fee 10-fold to S$50, the Subordinate Courts has disclosed that the number of criminal appeals has surged in recent years.
At the same time, the number of appeals that were withdrawn or lapsed is also on the rise.
A Subordinate Courts spokesperson said: "This contributes to much wasted work as the record of proceedings is prepared and compiled, but the appeal is not eventually heard".
However, lawyers who
spoke to Channel NewsAsia pointed out that there could be various
reasons for the withdrawal of appeals, such as defendants lacking the
wish to prolong the agony of defending, or those who feel their chances
of succeeding are not high after feeling initially aggrieved by the
decision.
As reported by Channel NewsAsia last week, the Subordinate Courts revised the appeal fee for criminal charges from January 2.
The fee, paid to obtain a copy of the record of proceedings and grounds of decision, had stood at S$5 since 1985.
The fee hike has sparked concern among some lawyers that other criminal litigation costs may also increase.
Both
the Law Society and the Association of Criminal Lawyers of Singapore
(ACLS) -- who were not consulted on the change -- are gathering feedback
from its members.
Noting some "grumbling" among members, ACLS
president Subhas Anandan said: "If feedback and feelings are strong, we
may suggest a meeting with the Subordinate Courts".
With the
exception of white-collar commercial crime, lawyers said that
anecdotally, those accused of criminal offences were mostly people
without much financial means.
Lawyer Sng Kheng Huat said: "To some people, the increase appears to be a big jump".
Mr Sng added that the appeal fee should only go towards covering administration costs.
But the Subordinate Courts said 47 per cent of accused persons who appealed in 2009 did not have to pay the fee.
Defendants
who are unrepresented and serving sentence at the time the fee is
payable, and pro bono cases, will have their fees waived.
A
normal record of appeal consists of documents such as charges, statement
of facts (if a person pleads guilty), the accused person's criminal
records, notes of evidence, and the court's grounds of decision.
The
Subordinate Courts spokesperson added: "If a matter has gone to trial …
the record of proceedings often consists of no less than 150 pages, and
may run into several volumes. In such a case, the S$5 fee is
insufficient to even cover the cost of printing the record of
proceedings".
But lawyer Tan Hee Joek said it was "strange" to speak about cost recovery in the context of criminal prosecution.
Mr Tan said he wondered if this would lead to cost recovery for all failed appeals in the future.
Pointing
out that on average, appeals form "less than one per cent of the
criminal cases heard", the Subordinate Courts reiterated that the
revised fee should not discourage genuine cases.
Concurring,
lawyer Daniel Atticus Xu pointed out that the opportunity to get a High
Court Judge to preside over a case with a fine-tooth comb is worth more
than the S$50 fee.
Lawyer Amarick Gill added: "If you feel there are merits in your case, the extra S$45 will not deter you from appealing."
-- TODAY/wk