As a matter of comity, though, a Court will generally not depart from a previous decision unless there is a good reason to do so.

In 1826, Singapore was united with Malacca and Prince of Wales' Island (present-day Penang) to form the Straits Settlements, which were granted a Court of Judicature by the Second Charter of Justice dated 27 November 1826.

The judges of the Court were the Governor, the Resident Counsellor, and the Recorder of Prince of Wales' Island, Singapore and Malacca.

This issue was not resolved by the Third Charter of Justice[5] granted to the Straits Settlements on 12 August 1855, though there were now to be two Recorders, one for Penang and the other for Singapore and Malacca.

As a result of legislation passed in 1885,[10] the Supreme Court consisted of the Chief Justice and three puisne judges.

[22] The Chief Justice and Judges of the High Court are appointed by the President of Singapore if he, acting in his discretion, concurs with the advice of the Prime Minister.

Where the appointment of Judges is concerned, the Prime Minister is required to consult the Chief Justice before tendering advice to the President.

Judicial Commissioners exercise the same powers and perform the same functions as Judges of the High Court.

[24] However, unlike Judges who generally hold office until the age of 65 years,[25] Judicial Commissioners do not have security of tenure.

[28] The Chief Justice may give directions of a general or particular nature to distribute the business of the Court among his fellow Judges.

[33] The High Court sits on every day of the year except Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, although a Judge may lawfully sit on such days if directed to do so by the Chief Justice or if the Judge is of the opinion that the business to be dispatched is extremely urgent.

In theory, the Court has unlimited original jurisdiction – it can hear any type of civil or criminal case, no matter how trivial or serious.

[39] Generally, except in probate matters, a civil case must be commenced in the High Court if the value of the claim exceeds S$250,000.

Provided that certain conditions are satisfied, the High Court has jurisdiction to hear and try any civil proceedings within the jurisdiction of the Syariah Court relating to maintenance for any wife or child, the custody of any child, and the disposition or division of property on divorce.

[46] The Chief Justice may direct that the District Court to hear and determine certain types of proceedings when he thinks it is necessary or expedient to improve efficiency in the administration of justice and to provide for the speedier disposal of proceedings started in the High Court.

[50] However, contested applications for the division of matrimonial assets where the net value asserted by any party to the proceedings is of or above $1.5 million are transferred back to the High Court.

The High Court has jurisdiction to try all offences committed:[58] Before an accused person is committed to trial in the High Court, a committal hearing must be held before an examining magistrate to determine if there is sufficient evidence for the accused to be put on trial.

[62] In other cases, the examining magistrate must consider the evidence tendered by the prosecution and decide if there are sufficient grounds for committing the accused for trial.

[64] Otherwise, if the examining magistrate feels that the accused should be committed for trial in the High Court based on the prosecution's evidence, the charge tendered by the prosecution must be read and explained to the accused, and the magistrate must recite the following words or words to similar effect:[65] Having heard the evidence do you wish to say anything in answer to the charge?

You have nothing to hope from any promise of favour and nothing to fear from any threat which may have been held out to you to induce you to make any confession of your guilt.

[68] For certain sexual offences, no committal hearing is required if the Public Prosecutor is of the opinion that there is sufficient evidence providing a foundation for a full and proper criminal trial.

On receiving a fiat, a magistrate must arrange for the charge against the accused person to be read and explained to him or her, and then transmit the case to the appropriate court for trial.

[71] Counsel for the Public Prosecutor opens the case by stating shortly the nature of the offence charged and the evidence by which the accused's guilt is proposed to be proved.

[73] The Court must decide whether there is evidence against the accused which is not inherently incredible and which satisfies every element of the charge against him or her.

[83] This means that if the prosecution is able to obtain additional evidence to bolster its case, it may bring criminal proceedings against the accused again at a later stage.

Alternatively, a party to the civil proceedings can start a separate action in the High Court for the constitutional issue to be determined.

Instead, the Court refers to the notes taken by the judge who presided at the trial at first instance, or the full transcript of the proceedings if this is available.

In theory, when exercising judicial review of administrative action, the Court's task is only to ensure that the decision in question was made according to the law.

[117] Having called for the records, the Court may give orders, including directing that a new trial be held, as seem necessary to secure that substantial justice is done.

[120] On calling for and examining the records of criminal proceedings or otherwise, the Court may direct a magistrate to make further inquiries into any complaints of offences that have been dismissed, or into the case of any accused person who has been discharged.