1.8.13 In order to increase public confidence in the law and the legal profession, the judiciary has stressed the need for lawyers to behave ethically and socially responsibly. They are aware that the misconduct of some members of the Bar Association, if left unchecked, can undermine professional values and ethics, as well as public confidence in the legal profession. 1.8.15 Recognising the social responsibility of the legal profession to make legal services available to the public, the Law Society`s Pro Bono Services Office, established on 1 August 2007, coordinates and manages all its pro bono initiatives such as the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (CLAS), Project Law Help, Community Organisation Clinics (for non-profit organisations such as a charitable organisation, B. , voluntary charities and social enterprises), community legal clinics of community development boards, and initiatives to raise public awareness of the law. Singaporean qualified lawyers are required to declare the number of hours they devote each year to their pro bono work. This was recommended by the Community Legal Services Initiatives Inquiry Committee in November 2013. Measures to restrict appeals to the Privy Council were first taken in 1989. This year, the Act was amended[74] so that appeals to the Privy Council in a civil case are admissible only if all parties have agreed to such an appeal before the Court of Appeal hears the case. In criminal matters, an appeal to the Privy Council can only be lodged in the case of the death penalty and if the judges of the Court of Appeal for criminal matters do not decide unanimously.

These changes came shortly after the Privy Council reinstated a prominent opposition MP, Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam, on the roster of lawyers and advocates of the Supreme Court of Singapore after he was removed from an affidavit for a criminal conviction for making false statements; The court called the conviction a “grave injustice.” [75] In 1993, the previous establishment of a separate Court of Appeal and a Criminal Court of Appeal was abolished and replaced by a single Court of Appeal for civil and criminal appeals. [76] Appellate judges appointed to the Court of Appeal were no longer required to deal with the work of the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice sat as President of the Court of Appeal. The creation of the Permanent Court of Appeal paved the way for the abolition of all appeals to the Privy Council effective April 8, 1994. [77] Subsequently, the Court of Appeal issued a practice notice dated July 11, 1994 indicating that, while the Court would consider its own previous decisions and those of the Privy Council to be normally binding: however, it would consider itself free if it appeared that the enforcement of such decisions would “cause injustice in a particular case or impede the development of the law in accordance with Singapore`s situation”, It would consider itself free to depart from those decisions. This power is exercised sparingly, taking into account the risk of subsequent disruption of contractual, property and other legal rights. [78] Today, Singapore`s Court of Appeal is the highest court in the country. The legislature, known as the Parliament, enacts the Singapore Act. The executive branch, headed by the president and his cabinet, enforces laws enacted by parliament. As part of its implementation, the executive branch prepares detailed regulations.

Regulations are subsidiary statutes that specify the laws drafted by Parliament to ensure that Parliament`s law achieves its objectives. Many of the laws that govern business in Singapore originate from the legislative and executive branches, such as the Singapore Companies Act or the Limited Liability Companies Act, and the regulations implementing these laws. Finally, when two parties bring a dispute before one of their courts, the judiciary interprets the law and resolves the conflict. Interpretations of the judiciary become jurisprudence that is embedded in the Singaporean legal system. 1.8.10 In recent years, there have been concerns that a significant proportion of Singaporean lawyers may leave the law firm to take up in-house legal and other non-legal positions. A limited measure to stem the tide of these lawyers leaving the practice is the Locum Practis` Scheme, which allows substitute lawyers to be hired by law firms and companies for projects on a temporary or independent basis. 1.2.9 November 27, 1826: The Second Charter of Justice is issued by the British Parliament at the request of the East India Company. It provided for the establishment of the Court of Justice of Prince of Wales Island (Penang), Singapore and Malacca, with civil and criminal courts equivalent to those of similar courts in England.

Singapore, along with Malacca and Penang, the other two British colonies on the Malay Peninsula, became the Straits settlements under the control of British India in 1826. The Charter did not explicitly state that English law was applicable to Singapore, but it was supposed to be the legal basis for the general reception of English law in Singapore. Local jurisdiction since the nineteenth century, following the landmark case of R. v. Willans (1858) in Penang, had taken the legal position that English law (both common law and justice as it existed in 1826 as well as English law before 1826) had been introduced by the Second Charter of Justice in Singapore. On the other hand, when interpreting the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (1985 Rev. Ed., 1999 Reprint), courts are reluctant to consider foreign legal documents on the basis that a constitution should be interpreted primarily within its four walls and not in the light of analogies from other legal systems; And because economic, political, social and other conditions abroad are perceived as different. According to the Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC), Singapore was the 2nd least risky country in Asia in 2010. Singapore`s efficient, transparent and very strong legal system has been a key factor in the country`s tremendous growth in recent years. That same year, Raffles appointed John Crawfurd a resident of Singapore.

Crawfurd questioned the legitimacy of the judicial system created by Raffles and overturned cases in which judges had ordered the flogging of players and the confiscation of their property. He eventually abolished the magistrate, replacing him with a Court of Petitions, overseen by an assistant resident in charge of minor civil matters, and a residents` court, which heard all the other cases over which he himself presided. Since Crawfurd had no authoritative guide on the applicable law, he decided cases according to the “general principles of English law” and took into account, as far as possible, the “character and manners of the different classes” of the local population. Unfortunately, Crawfurd`s courts also had no legal basis and he had no legal power over Europeans in Singapore.[2] Serious cases involving British subjects were to be transferred to Calcutta; Otherwise, he could only banish her from the island. [3] 1.2.3 Early 19th century: Singapore was under the rule of the Sultan of Johor, who resided in the Riau Lingga archipelago. A mixture of Malay customary laws and adat laws (traditional laws and customs located in Indonesia and Malaysia) formed the basis of a rudimentary legal system. The Attorney General`s Chambers support both the executive (as legal advisers to the government) and the legislature (as parliamentary authors). The Attorney General is also the Attorney General and is responsible for setting up all prosecution offices in Singapore, independently and without influence from any of the 3 branches of government.

1.2.13 1868: The Supreme Court of Straits Settlements is created after the abolition of the Court of Justice. In 1873, there was another reorganization, with the Supreme Court having jurisdiction to sit as a court of appeal. Previously, appeals were addressed to the King in the Council. In 1878, following changes in the judicial system in England, the local courts were restructured to match those of the English High Court. 1.9.5 Singapore has used its efficient and effective legal system and alternative dispute resolution framework and has sought to use these attributes to attract foreign partners to Singapore. For example, the American Arbitration Association entered into a joint venture agreement with SIAC to establish an arbitration institution in Singapore. In September 2007, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) established its first Asian centre in Singapore to respond to the growing demand and importance of arbitration in the settlement of international disputes where at least one party is a State, governmental entity or intergovernmental organization.