Salary and Allowance Data for Supreme Court Judges

Mr Leong Mun Wai asked the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) whether the Chief Justice and the Minister for Law have a role under the framework of the Judges’ Remuneration Act 1994 to determine the fixed and variable components of salaries paid to the Chief Justice, Judges of Appeal and other Judges of the Supreme Court; and (b) if so, what is the extent of the role played by the Chief Justice and the Minister for Law respectively.

Mr Leong Mun Wai asked the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance for each year since 2010, what is the average and median of (i) total salary package and (ii) each of the following six components: gross annual salary, annual variable component, non-pensionable annual allowance, performance bonus, national bonus and judiciary allowance, paid to the Chief Justice, Judges of Appeal and other Judges of the Supreme Court respectively.

The Judges Remuneration Act 1994 falls under the responsibility of the Minister-in-charge of the Public Service and not the Minister for Law. It sets out the framework for the salaries, allowances and privileges accorded to Supreme Court Judges as a class. The Chief Justice determines the salary and bonuses to be paid to each Supreme Court Judge within this framework. Neither the Minister-in-charge of the Public Service nor any Minister determines the payment to be made to specific judges.

The salaries of Judicial Appointment Holders take reference from a number of salary data sources, including market surveys by compensation specialists. This is similar to how the salaries of other public officers are determined, based on the size of the job and benchmarking with relevant talent pools in the private sector, to ensure that the Public Service is able to attract and retain our fair share of talent.