The Singapore Legal System and Legislative Process 1

The Singapore Legal System and Legislative Process 1 st ASIAN FORUM OF LEGISLATIVE INFORMATION AFFAIRS SOH Kee Bun, Senior State Counsel, Singapore http: //www. agc. gov. sg

Singapore Legal System • • Constitution of the Republic of Singapore Historically based on the Westminister Model Common law Separation of powers into three main branches: • Executive • Legislature • Judiciary SINGAPORE LEGAL SYSTEM 2

The President • Head of State; directly elected by citizens • Generally acts on the advice of the Cabinet • Acts in his discretion on several important matters as a custodian, e. g. the use of Singapore’s reserves and key public service appointments • Council of Presidential Advisers SINGAPORE LEGAL SYSTEM 3

The Executive • The President • The Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister • General direction and control of the Government and responsible to Parliament • Ministers assigned specific responsibilities by the Prime Minister SINGAPORE LEGAL SYSTEM 4

The Legislature — Parliament • President and Parliament • Main function is law making • Single legislative chamber based on the English House of Commons • No upper house or equivalent to the House of Lords SINGAPORE LEGAL SYSTEM 5

The Judiciary Court Structure • Supreme Court of Appeal (appellate jurisdiction only) High Court (original and appellate jurisdiction) • Subordinate Courts District Court, Magistrate’s Court, Juvenile Court, Family Court, Coroner’s Court SINGAPORE LEGAL SYSTEM 6

The Attorney-General • Legal adviser to the Government • Not a Cabinet appointment • Drafting of Government Bills • Public Prosecutor SINGAPORE LEGAL SYSTEM 7

The Legislative Process in Singapore • Laws are made when Bills are passed by Parliament and assented to by the President • Votes on Bills are generally decided on a simple majority of the votes of members present and voting; two-thirds of elected members for a Constitutional amendment SINGAPORE LEGAL SYSTEM 8

The Legislative Process in Singapore • Procedure is regulated by the Standing Orders of Parliament • Debate can be in any of four languages: Malay, English, Mandarin or Tamil • Legislation in English • Delegated or subsidiary legislation SINGAPORE LEGAL SYSTEM 9

Presidential Council for Minority Rights • Bills passed by Parliament must (with exceptions) be sent to the Presidential Council for Minority Rights before they can be presented to the President for assent • Identify any legislative measure that is likely to be disadvantageous to persons or any racial or religious community and are not equally disadvantageous to persons of other communities (differentiating measure) SINGAPORE LEGAL SYSTEM 10

Presidential Council for Minority Rights • Report to the Speaker of Parliament: whether or not a Bill, if enacted, would be a differentiating measure • If there is an adverse report, Parliament can vote to send the Bill to the President for assent with two-thirds of the total membership of Parliament SINGAPORE LEGAL SYSTEM 11

Protection of Reserves: Presidential Veto • President may, in his discretion, veto or withhold assent to supply Bills that are likely to draw on reserves that are not accumulated by the Government during its current term of office • In the event of a veto against the advice of the Council of Presidential Advisers, Parliament can override with two-thirds of the total number of elected members SINGAPORE LEGAL SYSTEM 12

ONLINE RESOURCES FOR REFERENCE • Singapore Law http: //www. singaporelaw. sg • Singapore Government http: //www. gov. sg • Government Public Consultation and Feedback Portal http: //www. reach. gov. sg • Parliament of Singapore http: //www. parliament. gov. sg • Singapore Statutes Online http: //statutes. agc. gov. sg • LAWNET Legal Portal http: //www. lawnet. com. sg • Law Reform work of the Singapore Academy of Law and Attorney. General’s Chambers http: //www. sal. org. sg/content/LK_law_reform. aspx http: //www. agc. gov. sg/publications/index. html SINGAPORE LEGAL SYSTEM 13