Committee of Supply 2023 debate, Day 2: Edwin Tong on management of community disputes

Changes are being made to the way disputes between neighbours are handled. Community mediation will be encouraged as much as possible, although for intransigent cases, the powers and processes of the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals (CDRT) will be strengthened to provide faster and more effective relief. Mediation will be mandated for certain types of community disputes with penalties imposed for not attending. The Community Mediation Centre (CMC) can mandate re-mediation for cases that were previously settled but which have resurfaced. Disputing neighbours will generally be required to undergo mediation before they can file a claim to the CDRT. This will prevent disputes from escalating to court unnecessarily. To give mediation more standing and teeth, a mechanism will be created for settlement agreements mediated by the CMC to be registered and enforced as a CDRT Order, provided certain conditions are met. The CMC has also begun offering mediation services at six satellite locations in ServiceSG Centres and community clubs and online mediation will be available for suitable cases in two GRCs. All these details were given by Second Minister for Law Edwin Tong in Parliament on Monday (Feb 27). He also spoke about his ministry’s plans to boost Singapore’s economy by strengthening its position as a leading legal services and intellectual property hub. While digitalisation efforts are proceeding in the legal sector, development of human talent is not being overlooked. An industry-wide secondment programme will be launched to deepen the capabilities of lawyers in important markets and new or high-growth areas such as sustainability, technology and mergers and acquisitions.