TERES joins Singapore Courts’ approved list for real-time transcription services

Legal technology company TERES has been included in the Singapore Courts’ list of approved providers of real-time transcription services.

The approval allows TERES to provide such services for hearings before the Supreme Court, including the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Singapore International Commercial Court, as well as the State Courts and the Family Justice Courts.

Speaking to Bar & Bench, TERES Chief Executive Officer Vikas Mahendra said the company was included on the list after a formal due diligence process carried out by the Singapore Courts.

“Representatives of the court had the opportunity to view our offering during the TechLaw.Fest in Singapore in 2024. We then wrote to the courts officially as directed on the Courts' website expressing our interest to be included in the list maintained by the courts. This was followed by a formal process of due diligence carried out by the courts after which we were included,” Mahendra said.

He added that inclusion in the list was necessary for TERES to provide real-time transcription services before the Singapore Courts.

“Only vendors included in the list of providers approved by the Singapore Courts and published on their website can provide real-time transcription services before the courts. Therefore, this approval was a necessary step,” Mahendra said.

The Singapore Judiciary has clarified that it does not make any representation regarding the services provided by vendors on the list. Court users wishing to avail themselves of such services engage the vendors directly.

TERES uses a combination of artificial intelligence and human review for transcription. Its speech-to-text system prepares a first draft as the hearing proceeds, which is manually reviewed in real time by trained correctors. The transcript is then reviewed again before being certified and issued to the parties.

According to the company, final transcripts are typically delivered within two to three hours after the hearing ends.

TERES also offers hyperlinking of document references in transcripts to the hearing bundle, besides electronic hearing bundles, electronic presentation of evidence and AI-driven live interpretation reviewed by expert translators.

The company said its staff handling court proceedings are required to comply with confidentiality undertakings under Singapore’s Official Secrets Act, 1935 and the Administration of Justice (Protection) Act, 2016.

TERES says it has transcribed more than 10,000 hours of hearings across over 500 cases in more than 60 countries. It is also listed as a transcription provider by Maxwell Chambers, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, the DIFC Courts, the ADGM Courts and the Supreme Court of India.