Speech by Senior Minister of State for Law, Indranee Rajah, during the Committee of Supply Debate 2018

02 MAR 2018

2 Mar 2018 Posted in Parliamentary speeches and responses

Mr Chairman,

  1. I thank the Members who spoke.
  1. I will cover three main areas in my speech:
    1. First, enhancing access to justice.
    2. Second, building the legal services sector.
    3. Third, extradition.
  1. Enhancing access to justice
  1. Advancing access to justice is one of my Ministry’s core missions. We regularly monitor the civil and criminal legal aid schemes and will enhance them where necessary, to ensure access to justice for those less able to fend for themselves.

Civil Legal Aid

  1. Singapore was the first in Southeast Asia to enact a legal aid scheme in 1958. Over the past 60 years, the Legal Aid Bureau has assisted many low-income Singaporeans in civil legal proceedings.
  1. Many improvements have been over the years.
  1. First, we have enhanced LAB’s systems and processes to better serve applicants.
    1. LAB has gone completely paperless with a new case management system, increasing efficiency by allowing different officers to work on a single file simultaneously.
    2. The new system also saves applicants’ time, by allowing them to correspond with LAB and submit relevant documents online.
    3. Those who are less IT-savvy, such as the elderly, can continue to correspond with LAB by post or in person. Staff at the MinLaw Services Centre also assist the applicants to complete, submit, and print online documents and forms if they require help.
  1. Second, LAB has established a referral protocol to refer applicants who require non-legal assistance to social agencies and to PAVE, a family violence specialist agency. Likewise, these agencies will refer their clients to LAB for legal assistance where necessary. Such cross-referrals provide better support to the vulnerable, and also increases awareness of the aid channels:
    1. In one case, a young lady who had been sexually abused by her father sought help from PAVE. PAVE helped her to find shelter, and then referred her to LAB to seek a personal protection order (“PPO”) against her father.
    2. While LAB handled the legal matters, PAVE provided counselling and emotional support.
    3. The young lady succeeded in obtaining the personal protection order, with the help of PAVE and LAB.
  1. Dr Tan Wu Meng and Mr Louis Ng asked if we will review our means test, so more Singaporeans can be helped. We are doing so, and will announce details when ready, later this year.
  1. Even as we seek to help more, our guiding principle is that our system should assist those with meritorious cases but who really cannot afford a lawyer.
  1. Mr Chen Show Mao asked if legal aid can be provided for arbitration. Legal aid is provided in respect of matters which may be litigated in court, including related alternative dispute resolution (ADR) proceedings. However, we do not provide legal aid for arbitration, as it is a private, consensual dispute resolution process. Typically, arbitration is used for high value commercial dispute resolution, and involves much higher costs compared to court litigation.
  1. We must therefore be careful about extending legal aid to such cases. Nevertheless, there are various existing avenues for individuals to seek assistance and redress.
    1. LAB can provide legal advice to an applicant on an arbitration clause in his contract and, if there are legal merits to do so, represent the applicant to challenge the arbitration clause or the arbitration award in the Courts.
    2. Additionally, parties who wish to resolve their dispute by arbitration in a quick and cost-effective manner can consider the Law Society’s arbitration schemes, including its Pro Bono Arbitration Scheme which adopts streamlined procedures and waives the fees of the sole arbitrator.
  1. I thank Mr Murali Pillai for his suggestions to simplify the process for estate administration. In 2017 and this year, we have been working on reforms to the civil justice system. When completed, we will be able to review the estate administration system in the context of the civil justice reforms.
  1. Mr Lim Biow Chuan asked about neighbourly disputes involving parties with mental disorders.
    1. As a starting point, neighbourly disputes are best resolved amicably between parties, or via community mediation.
    2. As a last resort, affected residents may consider filing a claim at the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals (“Tribunals”). The Tribunals provide a simplified and low cost avenue for resolving all types of neighbourly disputes.
    3. They are equipped to handle cases involving parties with suspected mental health issues. Where appropriate, in-house psychologists and court counsellors will first conduct a preliminary assessment on the individual, and may, with the person’s consent, refer him to the on-site psychiatrist for a preliminary diagnosis and follow up plan.
    4. In the usual case, a successful applicant will in the first instance obtain an Order from the Tribunal. In the event of non-compliance with the Tribunal’s order, the affected party can apply for a “special direction" directing the respondent to comply with the disobeyed order.
      1. During the application for a special direction, the Tribunal may order any person (e.g. a family member of the respondent) to enter into a bond. In making this order, the Tribunal may impose conditions or give directions to that person. One such direction or condition could be to order a person suspected of mental illness for assessment and/or treatment.
      2. If this special direction is further breached without reasonable excuse, the respondent is guilty of an offence, and the criminal court convicting the respondent may make a community order against him. A community order includes a Mandatory Treatment Order.
    5. Not all mental health cases need to be dealt with through the courts. Persons with concerns about neighbours with mental health issues who may require assistance can contact the Agency for Integrated Care and its community partners for assistance. If a person is a danger to himself or others by reason of his or her mental disorder, the Police can bring the person to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for mental health treatment. The person will be warded if assessed to require management in an in-patient setting.

CLAS

  1. I will now touch on to criminal legal aid. The Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (“CLAS”) is administered by the Law Society, with support from the Government. CLAS assigns a lawyer to accused persons who have been charged with a crime and who cannot afford to hire a lawyer.
  1. Since 2015, the Government has provided close to $6 million to the Law Society Pro Bono Services (LSPBS), enabling CLAS to help almost four times as many applicants in 2017, compared to pre-2015.
  1. CLAS has also worked to improve its process.
    1. The application processing time has been significantly shortened after a direct phone-link between CLAS and Prisons was installed in March 2017.
    2. Further improvements include the installation of a direct video-link between the CLAS office in State Courts and Prisons.
    3. My Ministry will continue to support and work with the Law Society to improve CLAS, just as we have done with LAB.
  1. The continued success of CLAS is only possible with the strong support from the legal fraternity.
    1. The CLAS Fellowship, which is generously sponsored by 5 law firms since 2015, has enabled lawyers to join the LSPBS to exclusively handle criminal legal aid cases.
    2. In the past 3 years, over 20 firms have signed MOUs and taken on over 600 CLAS cases in total.
  1. I would like to thank the legal fraternity for their pro bono spirit and strong support for CLAS.
  1. Preparing for the future economy
  1. Let me now touch on another important area of MinLaw’s work: getting the legal services sector ready for the future economy.
  1. The Working Group on Legal and Accounting Services under the Committee on the Future Economy (“CFE”) made several recommendations in this area, which we are in the process of implementing.
  1. Minister Shanmugam has addressed dispute resolution. I will outline our plans to capture opportunities in:
    1. Restructuring;
    2. Corporations;
    3. Intellectual Property; and
    4. Projects and infrastructure.
  1. First: restructuring. We have moved to strengthen Singapore’s position as an international debt restructuring centre for Asia. We have amended the Companies Act, to provide more flexibility and options for corporate restructuring. Since May 2017, more than 15 restructuring cases have been filed with the Singapore courts. We hope to encourage greater use of our legal frameworks and professional services, to facilitate more successful local and international restructurings.
  1. Second: Corporations. MOF and ACRA, together with my Ministry, have been working on enhancing the legal regime for corporations.
    1. In 2017, MOF introduced a new re-domiciliation framework to allow foreign companies to transfer their registration to Singapore. This enables them to pursue substantive economic activities here as Singapore companies, while retaining their corporate history.
    2. ACRA has also set up the Institute of Corporate Law Panel, with industry stakeholders, to provide feedback on corporate law reforms. With such feedback, ACRA publishes interpretations of specific legislative provisions, which reduces commercial ambiguity.
  1. Third: intellectual property (“IP”). We have built a robust infrastructure and a good reputation in IP protection, as Mr Christopher de Souza noted.
    1. Our patent office is one of only 20-odd offices in the world that can examine international patent applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty.
    2. We have also established partnerships with more than 30 foreign IP offices to accelerate patent applications filed in their jurisdictions.
    3. Last year, we amended the Registered Designs Act and Patents Act, to keep pace with technology changes, and improve IP protection.
  1. The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (“IPOS”) has also taken steps to help businesses realise the full value of their IP.
    1. IPOS with its partners have designed programmes to train professionals for high value roles in IP management, strategy and valuation. These include the Masters of IP and Innovation Management at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, and the Professional Conversion Programme for IP Professionals. IPOS’s IP Academy has also trained more than 4,000 individuals in areas such as IP management and commercialisation. In January, IPOS launched the Skills Future Study Award for candidates of IP courses.
    2. IPOS also helps businesses develop their IP commercialisation know-how. IPOS’s IP ValueLab provides consultancy services on IP audit, due diligence and strategy, to help business secure investments for growth. To date, IP ValueLab has engaged more than 300 local businesses.
  1. Fourth: projects and infrastructure.
    1. The Finance Minister announced the setting up of an Infrastructure Office during the Budget. Let me explain the purpose and thinking behind the Infrastructure Office.
    2. Projections estimate that US$26 trillion may be spent over the next 15 years on infrastructure projects in Asia. Many of such projects are looking for financing, and financers are looking for projects to fund. But the projects are unable to obtain financing due to lack of bankability, usually occasioned by the lack of proper project preparation, project structuring, and technical issues.
    3. Singapore is uniquely placed to address these problems. We are a leading financial centre, and Singapore-based banks have provided loans or financial advisory services for an estimated 60% of infrastructure projects in ASEAN.
    4. Commercial banks with project finance teams and project structuring expertise are located in Singapore. Multilateral development banks, such as the World Bank and its sister agencies, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), have also a significant presence in Singapore and offer a critical source of infrastructure finance and project structuring expertise.
    5. We also have:
      1. accountancy firms with project advisory teams;
      2. engineering consultancies;
      3. local and international law firms with project financing and infrastructure dispute resolution expertise; and
      4. other professional services companies in architecture, engineering and project management.
    6. The Infrastructure Office is intended to be a platform to connect infrastructure stakeholders, enable information exchange on infrastructure opportunities in Asia, facilitate infrastructure investments and financing, and help infrastructure players including professional services providers access these opportunities.
    7. My Ministry, through the Professional Services Programme Office (“PSPO”), will be working with the Infrastructure Office and other agencies such as Enterprise Singapore (ESG), MAS and EDB, in this endeavour.
  1. Supporting the growth and development of Singapore law practices
  1. To access these new opportunities, Singapore lawyers and law firms must embrace the disruptive changes, reinvent themselves and move up the value chain.
    1. During a CFE engagement session, I was asked by a Singapore practitioner whether we could protect the wills practice for lawyers.
    2. I suggested in reply that rather than focusing purely on wills preparation (an area that can easily be templated and commoditized), he could instead expand his practice and offer a comprehensive suite of services related to wealth management to clients, such as estate planning, and trust and asset management (the legal aspects of it). Going into high value-added services would gain him access to a bigger market and higher fees. Of course, he can continue to do wills as well as that is part of wealth management.
  1. My Ministry has been implementing the various strategies from the Professional Services Industry Transformation Map, including: (i) technology adoption; (ii) internationalisation; and (iii) capability development.
    1. On technology adoption, raised by Mr Patrick Tay and Ms Rahayu Mahzam, we launched “Tech Start for Law” last year, to help small and medium-sized Singapore law practices, adopt basic technology to increase productivity. The programme covers technology products for practice management, online legal research and online marketing. About 100 Singapore law practices have benefitted and adopted over 100 technology solutions.
    2. The “Lawyers Go Global” program was launched in February, together with the Law Society and IE Singapore. This will help Singapore law practices internationalise through overseas mission trips to fast-growing regional countries, and workshops. The Law Society will also initiate a marketing campaign later this year, to raise the profile of Singapore lawyers abroad. The program will be especially useful to small and medium-sized law practices.
    3. Last but not least, we are supporting Singaporean lawyers in deepening skills and qualifications, through the Skills Future Study Awards. To date, 44 Singaporean lawyers have received the award. PSPO will continue to work with Singapore law practices on training and secondment opportunities.
  1. In relation to the in-house counsel community, which Mr Tay spoke about, my Ministry continues to work with EDB to promote Singapore as a location for companies’ regional and global headquarters, including in-house counsel teams. We encourage the in-house counsel community to continue raising their standards of practice, and are heartened by the Singapore Corporate Counsel Association’s recent ground-up efforts in this regard.
  1. Promotion of Singapore law
  1. Ultimately, the continued success and relevance of Singapore lawyers and Singapore law practices will also depend on how widely Singapore laws and standards are used in commerce and dispute resolution.
  1. My Ministry is working on the promotion of the international use of Singapore law, standards and frameworks in line with the Working Group recommendations.
    1. We strive to incorporate Singapore legal principles and standards, at the negotiating table of international platforms such as ASEAN, the Hague Conference of Private International Law and the UN Commission on International Trade Law.
    2. We also work with international organisations to promote greater understanding and use of the Singapore legal system.
    3. We will also continue to develop uniquely Singaporean legal solutions to serve the international market. One example is our restructuring regime mentioned earlier.
  1. These initiatives will strengthen Singapore’s global market position, build Singapore’s thought leadership, and prepare our legal sector for the future.
  1. However, the private sector too must do its part and get their firms and people ready to compete in this fast-changing landscape.
  1. Extradition
  1. Let me now address Ms Sylvia Lim’s queries on extradition.
  1. My Ministry is committed to facilitating greater international cooperation to combat transnational crime, in accordance with our domestic laws and international obligations.
  1. We are therefore open to concluding extradition treaties and arrangements.
  1. Within ASEAN:
    1. There is no ASEAN-wide initiative for the mutual recognition of arrest warrants. However, Singapore has special extradition arrangements with Malaysia and Brunei (given our shared common law tradition and close relationship), which allows for the swift surrender of fugitives based on the recognition of arrest warrants.
    2. All ASEAN Member States, including Singapore, are also members of the INTERPOL, which provides a platform for international law enforcement cooperation.
    3. At present, Singapore is actively engaged in negotiations for a Model ASEAN extradition treaty, as Ms Lim noted. We have achieved significant progress and, like many other ASEAN partners, are hopeful that work on this instrument will be concluded as soon as possible.
  1. As Ms Lim acknowledges, our existing extradition network extends to 43 jurisdictions across the globe, including major jurisdictions such as the US. We have also signed an extradition treaty with Indonesia, which is pending ratification by Indonesia.
  1. With regard to expanding our network, it is not just a matter of numbers alone. Negotiating an extradition treaty is not without complexities. As Ms Lim has noted, relevant considerations include:
    1. whether such an arrangement would be mutually beneficial for Singapore and the other country; and
    2. whether any divergence in legal systems and procedures can be rationalized.
  1. Furthermore:
    1. Extradition is a resource intensive process. The volume of requests can place a significant burden on our government agencies, and judicial system.
    2. More importantly, an extradition arrangement, without adequate protections, carries risks to people in Singapore, including our citizens.
  1. In summary, we are open to more extradition treaties and arrangements but would take a careful and considered approach.
  1. Thank you, Mr Chairman.

Last updated on 02 Mar 2018