Ministry of Law

The Minister for Law (Mr K Shanmugam): Amidst intensifying geopolitical tensions and increased economic uncertainty, Singapore must maintain a high level of trust in our Rule of Law and our legal institutions. The Ministry of Law (MinLaw) will work closely with our partners, stakeholders and the public to strengthen our legal system, enhance access to justice, optimise the use of our limited land resources and support Singapore’s economic development.

A strong Rule of Law is a fundamental pillar of a trusted government. We will press on with efforts to enhance trust and relevance, and improve accessibility of our legal system. We will proactively steward legal reforms to meet evolving societal needs, while ensuring that our processes are up-to-date, efficient, and effective, such as by becoming a Party to the Hague Service Convention, which can help Singapore litigants with the effective service abroad of judicial and extrajudicial documents in civil and commercial matters. We will also uphold multilateralism and a rules-based international order by deepening engagements with international organisations. Singapore recently joined the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law, a leading intergovernmental organisation that develops international treaties and standards in commercial law.

We passed the Courts (Civil and Criminal Justice) Reform Act 2021, which empowered the Courts to conduct remote, asynchronous and paper hearings in a flexible manner. This reduced the costs of litigation and improved convenience for Court users.

In the area of family justice, we are working with key partners, such as the Ministry of Social and Family Development and the Family Justice Courts, to make family legal proceedings simpler and more efficient. These efforts aim to reduce acrimony in family proceedings, promote healing in family relationships, and safeguard the welfare of children.

The establishment of the Public Defender’s Office (PDO) in end-2022, together with the expansion of coverage for criminal defence aid to the bottom 35% of households and covering most offences, was a significant milestone in our legal landscape. More Singaporeans and Permanent Residents can now have access to criminal defence aid. The decision to establish the PDO, which institutionalises public defence within the criminal justice system, was done after extensive consultations with the Law Society of Singapore and the Criminal Bar.

We will continue to improve access to justice and legal services for all Singaporeans. We are working with the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and the Ministry of National Development to enhance the Community Dispute Management Framework. We will be mandating mediation for certain types of disputes between neighbours and enhancing the effectiveness of proceedings in the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals. We will also continue to partner key stakeholders like Pro Bono SG on initiatives to improve access to justice, such as the set-up of a one-stop portal, for the public to access legal information.

Singapore must continue to remain open to the world and find new ways to stay relevant and maintain trust.

We are working with the Law Society of Singapore to explore industry-wide secondment and exchange programmes to provide our law practices and lawyers with opportunities to gain experience and expertise in growth domains and in key markets. To prepare our legal workforce for the future, the Steering Committee on the Reform of Legal Education and Training is reviewing the legal education and training required to develop our legal manpower. This will ensure that law students and lawyers continue to be well-equipped with the knowledge and skills they need for practice in the future economy.

We will continue to strengthen Singapore’s position as a hub for legal and dispute resolution services, and harness the growth of the legal services sector across the world. We will build on our dispute resolution ecosystem and encourage foreign dispute resolution institutions to broaden and deepen their presence in Singapore. We will continue to establish and deepen relations with markets of interest, to capture opportunities for our Singapore institutions, law practices and lawyers. We will also build on the Singapore Convention Week and United Nations Commission on International Trade Law Academy to increase our mindshare and build connections to Singapore.

We will also continue to build a forward-looking IP hub that creates value for the economy and provides good jobs for Singaporeans. To ensure that our IP regime remains relevant and continues to support innovative and creative enterprises, we have updated relevant IP legislation, such as the Copyright Act 2021 and the IP (Amendment) Act 2022. To support the development and use of Intangible Assets (IA) to create economic and business value, we will introduce the Intangibles Disclosure Framework to provide a consistent basis for businesses to disclose and communicate details of their intangibles and set up an enterprise-centric online platform to provide companies with better access to professional IA/IP services.

We will continue to support law firms and lawyers’ efforts to leverage technology to improve the delivery of their services and better meet their stakeholders’ needs. We will further enhance the Legal Technology Platform to integrate it with public systems like eLitigation, LawNet, ACRA, and Sign with Singpass, and bring greater seamlessness to a lawyer’s day-to-day workflow.

We will continue to maximise the potential and unlock the value of state properties, to meet Singapore’s social and economic objectives. We will pursue partnerships with stakeholders, experts and the public, such as the rejuvenation of Gillman Barracks, Yarrow Gardens, and Dempsey, to harness innovative ideas and business models and realise the potential value of our limited land and space.

The Singapore Land Authority is developing the Digital Conveyancing Portal (DCP), following engagements with multiple stakeholders, including the Housing and Development Board, Urban Redevelopment Authority and other stakeholders involved in the conveyancing process, like real estate developers, conveyancing lawyers and law clerks. It aims to transform the current paper-based conveyancing process into a fully integrated and paperless one. We will continue engaging stakeholders and taking in feedback across the development phases to co-deliver a DCP that best meets the needs of the public and industry.

MinLaw has been strengthening our legal system, developing our legal industry and improving access to justice. We will continue to engage our key stakeholders, strengthen the partnerships and trust built up over the years, and ensure that our policies remain relevant, to better realise our vision of "A Trusted Legal System; A Trusted Singapore".