IT IS perhaps the single most important document for a witness in a court case, known in legal jargon as the 'affidavits of evidence in chief'.

But too often it sounds like the lawyer talking rather than the witness himself and this is one area of legal procedure that needs to be worked on said Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong on Friday.

He was speaking at the launch of the 'Singapore Civil Procedure 2007' at the Supreme Court, a book embodying the rules of court procedures for civil cases.

The book is edited by retired judge G P Selvam and a team of volunteer-writers from amongst lawyers, judicial and legal officers.

CJ Chan noted the concept of the evidence-in-chief was introduced to enable the witness to tell his story in written submissions ahead of the case so that trial time can be better utilised cross-examining and dealing 'directly' with the issues in dispute.

But when a witness testifies in the dock, a gap may show up.

'..more work is needed in this area so that parties can speak in their own words, and not those of their lawyers,' he added.

In his speech, CJ Chan also said the court was also studying the suitability of the current time limit to throw out a case after a defence has been filed.

He said a case heard by the Court of Appeal at its last sitting 'caused some concern' about the effectiveness of the current rule.

CJ Chan raised the points as he called for court procedures to evolve and keep pace with the legal system, 'and meet public expectations for efficiency and fairness.'

Read the full report in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.