In a bid to provide a more effective and efficient technical and administrative support, the government has recently released two Presidential Regulations. Presidential Regulation No. 13 defines the roles, functions and responsibility of the Supreme Court’s Secretariat (“PR-13) while Presidential Regulation No. 14 enumerates the scope of duty of the Registrar Office (“PR-14”).

PR-13 clarifies that the Secretariat Office of the Supreme Court directly responsible to the Supreme Court’s Chief. Its duty is to provide administrative, organizational, technical and financial support of the Chief. The Secretariat contained three directorates, general courts, religious courts, military and administrative law courts, each led by a Directorate General. A supervisory body is also established under the regulation, along with an R&D and educational body. The regulation also establishes an administrative body. Each directorate will consist of several sub directorates which is divided into several sections.

According to PR-14, the registrar office is directly responsible to the chairman of the Supreme Court. Its duty is to provide technical support to the Supreme Court Judges in adjudicating, trying and deciding a case and completing the administration of each merit. A senior registrar will be assisted by a junior registrar and a co-registrar.

With the issuance of the regulation, it is expected that the Supreme Court will be more effective and efficient in handling cases to ensure a speedy and low-cost access to justice for the community.