Esteemed Participants, Colleagues and Friends:

Thank you so much for joining us. We are deeply honoured to hold our international conference for the first time in Singapore, allowing us to celebrate the 20^th Anniversary of the International Association for Court Administration (IACA) while learning from your remarkable experiences and advancements.

“Building Trust in the Judiciary” is the main theme of our gathering. Achieving this goal necessitates coming together and learning from one another.

Trust is a fundamental value for the judiciary, as it establishes its credibility within the society it serves. Nothing is more damaging than disinformation, which undermines the foundations of the judicial system. Upholding good faith, leading by example, fostering teamwork, and ensuring accountability are essential practices we must rely on. Court Administration must embody the professional development of these practices, and IACA is dedicated to continuously improving them to fulfil its mission and, in this way, to contribute to social peace.

Singapore Conference Keynote Address

“Judicial Excellence in a Challenging World: The Centrality of Trust”

The Honourable the Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Supreme Court of Singapore

Full keynote address may be found here.

The IACA celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, and the theme that has been chosen for this year’s Conference – “Building Trust in the Judiciary” – is particularly apt for these times. For some years now, the world has witnessed declining trust in public institutions. Indeed, a few years ago, distrust was said to have become “society’s default emotion”. And this sits alongside other dramatic challenges confronting our societies, such as the transformative impact of technological advancements; the proliferation of disinformation in public discourse; and the global access to justice crisis. As these challenges sweep through our societies, it is critical that our courts continue to serve as trusted and respected institutions for delivering justice and for upholding the rule of law. This means that now – perhaps more than ever – inspiring and sustaining trust in our justice systems must be the central and overarching mission for our judiciaries.