The Supreme Court of Brunei Darussalam is the

highest court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Brunei Darussalam Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by the ...

, though its decisions are subject to appeal in civil cases to the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 Augus ...

. The Chief Justice and other Judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the

Sultan of Brunei The sultan of Brunei is the monarchical head of state of Brunei and head of government in his capacity as prime minister of Brunei. Since independence from the British in 1984, only one sultan has reigned, though the royal institution dates bac ...

to sit in judgment of the most acrimonious contentions in the country.

Supreme Court Building

The Supreme Court of Sarawak, North Borneo, and Brunei was replaced by the Supreme Court of Brunei Darussalam in 1963. The High Court and Court of Appeal that make up the new Supreme Court have the same authority as the previous Supreme Court. The Supreme Court Building has had several locations since it was founded, including

Kuala Belait Kuala Belait (KB; Jawi: ) is the administrative town of Belait District, Brunei. The population of the town proper was 4,259 in 2016. Kuala Belait is officially a municipal area (), as well as a village under the mukim of the same name. The t ...

. Both the former Secretariat Building and the old Lapau Building were partially occupied by it. The new Supreme Court Building was the subject of an architectural competition that the government held in 1978.

Sungai Kedayan Kedayan River () is a tributary of the Brunei River which flows through the capital of Brunei, Bandar Seri Begawan. History On 22 October 2017, the Taman Mahkota Jubli Emas public park was officially opened. It was part of the Sungai Kedayan E ...

to the east and Jalan Tutong to the north border the building's chosen location. The building's construction started in February 1981 and was finished in 1983. The structure cost B$20 million to construct and has a 96,500

square foot The square foot (plural square feet; abbreviated sq. ft, sf, or ft2; also denoted by '2) is an imperial unit and U.S. customary unit (non- SI, non-metric) of area, used mainly in the United States and partially in Canada, the United Kingdom, Bang ...

floor space. The Supreme Court Building's

ribbon-cutting An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

event took place on 15 March 1984.

Judges

Judges of the

Supreme Court of Hong Kong The Supreme Court of Hong Kong was the highest court in Hong Kong prior to the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China in 1997 and heard cases of first instance and appeals from the Di ...

were granted permission by the

government of Hong Kong The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the executive authorities of Hong Kong SAR. It was formed on 1 July 1997 in accordance with the Sino-Br ...

to serve as Judges of the Supreme Court of Brunei Darussalam. It was standard procedure to appoint Supreme Court of Hong Kong judges as Judicial Commissioners of the Supreme Court of Brunei Darussalam for a three-year term. In 1993, this long-standing legal agreement with

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

came to an end. When it comes to filling vacancies on the Brunei Supreme Court, Brunei have still continued to use the services of former Hong Kong justices. The Chief Justice of Hong Kong would frequently be named as the Chief Justice of Brunei Darussalam. Although

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

Denys Tudor Emil Roberts Sir Denys Tudor Emil Roberts (Traditional Chinese: 羅弼時爵士; 19 January 1923 – 20 May 2013) was a British colonial official and judge. Joining the colonial civil service as a Crown Counsel in Nyasaland (now Malawi) in 1953, he became ...

, the previous Chief Justice of Hong Kong, retired from his position as Chief Justice of Hong Kong with effect from 15 March 1988, he continued to serve as Chief Justice of Brunei Darussalam. On 24 May 1988,

Yang Ti-liang Sir Ti-liang Yang, (; born 30 June 1929) is a retired senior Hong Kong judge. He was the Chief Justice of Hong Kong from 1988–1996, the only ethnic Chinese person to hold this office during British colonial rule. He was a candidate in the ...

, the Chief Justice of Hong Kong, was chosen to lead the

Court of Appeals A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

. Until May 16th, 1993, he served as the Court of Appeals' President. Kutlu Tekin Fuad, a retired judge from the Hong Kong Court of Appeal, was chosen to lead the Court of Appeal on 17 May.

Chief justices

References

Government buildings in Brunei {{Brunei-stub