Number of Applications Made under Guardianship of Infants Acts in Last Five Years
Ministry of LawSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the number of applications under the Guardianship of Infants Act (GIA) and the criteria for appointing non-biologically related guardians, as raised by Assoc Prof Walter Theseira. Minister for Law K Shanmugam provided the 2015–2019 application statistics but noted that cases involving non-biologically related guardians are not specifically tracked. He clarified that court appointments are made under sections 6, 7, or 10 of the GIA, typically when parents are deceased or through replacement and testamentary appointments. Minister for Law K Shanmugam highlighted that the welfare of the infant remains the first and paramount consideration for all such judicial decisions. There is no legal requirement for a guardian to share a biological relationship with the child, provided the appointment is in the infant's best interest.
Transcript
3 Assoc Prof Walter Theseira asked the Minister for Law in the last five years (a) how many applications have been made under the Guardianship of Infants Act; (b) how many applications have been made to assign guardianship to a person not biologically related to the child; and (c) under what circumstances are applications to assign guardianship to a person not biologically related generally approved.
Mr K Shanmugam: The number of applications made under the Guardianship of Infants Act (Cap 122) ("GIA") from 2015 to 2019 is as follows:
These applications include those for guardianship and other types of applications relating to infants such as maintenance, custody, care, and control under the GIA.
We do not track the cases where the guardian appointed under the GIA is not biologically related to the infant.
Applications to appoint a guardian under the GIA must first fall within one of the applicable provisions of the GIA.
Under section 6 of the GIA, the court may appoint a guardian where:
(a) Either the infant's father or mother has passed on and no guardian had been appointed by that father or mother. The court may appoint a guardian to act jointly with the surviving parent.
(b) The infant has no parent, no guardian, and no person having parental rights with respect to him.
Under section 10, the court may remove and replace an infant's guardian. Testamentary guardians may be appointed by parents by deed or will under section 7.
The appointment of the proposed guardian must also be in the best interest of the infant, as the welfare of the infant is the first and paramount consideration in such applications.
There is no requirement for the proposed guardian to share a biological relationship with the infant.