OVERVIEW
The Attorney-General’s Chambers is led by the Attorney-General, The Honourable Mr V K Rajah, SC who was appointed to the office of the Attorney-General on 25 June 2014. He works closely with the Deputy Attorney-General, Mr Tan Siong Thye, SC who was appointed on 2 February 2015, Solicitor-General, Mr Lionel Yee Woon Chin, SC who was appointed on 1 February 2014, and Second Solicitor-General Mr Kwek Mean Luck who was appointed on 1 July 2015.
As principal legal adviser to the Government, the Attorney-General plays an important role in upholding the rule of law in Singapore, and thus contributes to one of the key aspirations of her people: to build a democratic society based on the fundamental ideals of justice and equality.
The Attorney-General performs the following key functions:
Legal adviser to the Government: the Attorney-General renders his advice to the Government on legal matters, and performs other legal duties referred or assigned to him by the President or the Cabinet.
Public Prosecutor: the Attorney-General is vested with the power to institute, conduct or discontinue proceedings for any offence. The Attorney-General is independent in this role, and not subject to the control of the Government.
Drafter of laws: the Attorney-General is responsible for drafting Singapore’s laws and producing revised editions of legislation.
Singapore’s legal representative: all actions by or against the Government are made in the name of the Attorney-General. The Attorney-General also represents Singapore, and advances and protects her interests, in the international arena and in international disputes.
Regulator of foreign lawyers: the Attorney-General is responsible for regulating foreign lawyers and foreign law practices in Singapore, thus playing a part in the development of Singapore's legal services sector.
Protector of charities: under common law, the Attorney-General is the guardian of charities.
Central authority for mutual legal assistance in criminal matters and extradition: officers of the Attorney-General’s Chambers process and handle all formal requests for assistance in accordance with the provisions of the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act and any applicable Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty.
By virtue of his office, the Attorney-General is not able to render legal advice to anyone other than the Government and its constituent Ministries and Departments. Therefore, any person or body corporate requiring legal advice should instruct an advocate and solicitor.
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
The Attorney-General discharges his responsibilities and duties through 5 legal divisions (Civil, Criminal Justice, Financial and Technology Crime, International Affairs, and Legislation), with the support of the Corporate Services Division, Computer Information Systems Department, Knowledge Management Unit and the Library.
FUNCTIONS
Civil Division
The Civil Division is responsible for:
Providing legal advice to the Ministries and Organs of State on a wide spectrum of issues such as:
•constitutional and administrative law;
•public finance;
•disciplinary inquiries of public officers;
• land acquisition; protection of young persons;
•contract;
• tort;
•competition law;
•public-private partnerships;
•intellectual property law;
•appeals to Ministers under legislation such as the Electricity Act, Broadcasting Act and Competition Act.
Drafting and vetting contracts and legal documents such as:
•tender documents for Government procurement of goods and/or services;
•lease agreements and licences;
•loan agreements;
•investment agreements;
•IT contracts;
•scholarship agreements.
Representing the Government in international initiatives which have an impact on domestic law, such as:
•the UNCITRAL (United Nations Commission on International Trade Law) Working Groups on Procurement and Transport Law;
•ASEAN Single Window Working Group Meetings.
Representing the Singapore Government in court proceedings instituted by or against the Government, and in negotiations and dispute resolution hearings relating to:
•public law litigation matters such as constitutional challenges
o judicial review
o exercise of regulatory powers;
•private law civil litigation matters such as:
o tort
o contract
o land
o recovery of public moneys
Representing the Singapore Government in disciplinary inquiries against public officers.
Acting as the Protector of Charities.
Reviewing applications for the admission of foreign advocates and solicitors to the Singapore Bar.
Representing the Attorney-General under the Legal Profession Act in respect of the Singapore legal profession, in matters such as:
•admissions of advocates and solicitors to the Singapore Bar
•applications for ad hoc admission of Queen’s Counsel
•applications to reinstate an advocate and solicitor who was previously struck off the rolls to the Singapore Bar
•applications to employ or remunerate a solicitors’ clerk in a Singapore law practice; and applications for a practising certificate to practise in a Singapore law practice
Crime Cluster
The Crime Cluster is the organisational extension of the Attorney-General’s role as the Public Prosecutor: Under Article 35(8) of the Constitution, the Attorney-General has powers to institute, conduct or discontinue any proceedings for any offence.Section 11 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 provides that the Attorney-General shall be the Public Prosecutor, with control and direction of all criminal prosecutions and proceedings.
Officers of the Crime Cluster act as Deputy Public Prosecutors (DPPs) and Assistant Public Prosecutors (APPs) under the authority of the Public Prosecutor. The Crime Cluster consists of 2 Divisions: Criminal Justice Division and Financial and Technology Crime Division.
Crime Cluster -Criminal Justice Division:
The Criminal Justice Division (“CJD”) is responsible for all prosecutions except those relating to financial and technology offences, which come under the purview of the Financial and Technology Crime Division.
CJD comprises 3 Litigation Groups and a Policy, Advisory, Research and Training Group.
The 3 Litigation Groups are responsible for the following:
• Prosecutions of capital, non-capital and specialised crimes cases in the High Court and offences under various Statutes, including the Penal Code in the State Courts;
• Criminal Appeals and Magistrates’ Appeals in the Court of Appeal and the High Court for cases arising from the offences prosecuted in the High Court, Magistrates’ Courts and District Courts;
• Other ancillary hearings such as Criminal Revisions, Criminal Motions, Criminal References and Originating Summonses in the Court of Appeal and the High Court;
• Advice on clemency petitions made to the President;
• Supervision of prosecutions conducted by other Government departments and agencies;
• Disposal Inquiries; and
• Coroners’ Inquiries.
Additionally, CJD officers make prosecutorial decisions; evaluate evidence disclosed during the course of investigations and direct further investigations to be carried out, where necessary. The Litigation Groups also oversee all prosecutions conducted by Police Prosecutors and Prosecuting Officers within public bodies.
The Policy, Advisory, Research and Training Group is responsible for:
• rendering legal advice to Ministries, Governmental departments and agencies on criminal matters;
• dealing with matters under the Criminal Law Temporary Provisions Act and Visiting Forces Act;
• advising the Police on Police disciplinary proceedings;
• evaluating requests for fiats for private prosecutions, including those involving trade mark and copyright offences;
• liaising with the International Affairs Division on international criminal matters;
• providing inputs on the drafting of legislation in areas involving criminal legal procedure;
• maintaining a repository of statistical information and conducting research on specific criminal justice issues;
• identifying crime trends and undertaking quantitative research on those crime trends;
• formulating policies and collaborating with ministries on legal reforms.
The CJD is supported by a common registry, which plays an important role in the efficient administration of cases. It consists of:
• the Counter Services Unit which schedules and manages appointments for investigation officers who require urgent advice to consult with the Duty Public Prosecutor;
• the Representations Unit which processes representations from defence counsel and defendants;
• the Advice Files Unit which deals with all incoming investigation papers from various enforcement agencies requesting legal advice and prosecutorial directions.
Crime Cluster- Financial and Technology Crime Division
The Financial and Technology Crime Division (“FTCD”) of AGC is responsible for prosecutions and all related appeals in respect of white-collar and other general commercial crimes, as well as corruption cases and cybercrime. Officers of the FTCD also advise on regulatory matters affecting the financial services sector and conduct civil penalty proceedings under the Securities and Futures Act.
The work of prosecutors of the FTCD includes:
• evaluating evidence disclosed during the course of investigations carried out by enforcement agencies, such as the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD), the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) and the Technology Crime Division of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID);
• rendering legal advice to these enforcement agencies;
• where necessary, directing further investigations to be carried out.
The FTCD is internally organised into 4 specialised teams:
• The Financial and Securities Offences Directorate is concerned with a wide range of matters pertaining to financial crimes and regulatory matters, with the aim of ensuring that complex white-collar crimes are thoroughly investigated and prosecuted in order to protect Singapore’s reputation as a world class financial and commercial centre. The Directorate deals with:
o cases investigated by the CAD;
o offences under the Securities and Futures Act, Corruption Act, Companies Act, Business Registration Act, Bankruptcy Act, Banking Act, Financial Advisers Act and Insurance Act;
o serious offences involving fraud and embezzlement under the Penal Code.
Officers in the Directorate also render legal advice to the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and handle matters pertaining to asset recovery.
• The General Commercial Crimes Directorate deals with commercial offences investigated by investigating officers from the Land Divisions of the Singapore Police Force. These include offences such as cheating, forgery and criminal breach of trust under the Penal Code and other statutes, such as the Computer Misuse Act.
• The Corruption Directorate is responsible for the prosecution of offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act and any written law arising from investigations carried out by the CPIB.
• The Technology Crime Unit specialises in cybercrime and other technology-related crime. The unit also develops prosecution policies and engages in policy and legislative review in technology crime.
International Affairs Division
The International Affairs Division (IAD) is responsible for:
• providing legal advice to all Government departments, Ministries and statutory boards on international law issues
• representing Singapore at bilateral and multilateral negotiations, and in international disputes, trade-related proceedings and at other international forums
• negotiating and drafting multilateral and bilateral legal instruments
• assisting in the translation of Singapore’s international obligations into domestic legislation
• advising on the domestic implementation of Singapore’s international obligations
• handling and processing all formal requests for mutual legal assistance and extradition.
The IAD’s work covers a diverse range of matters including:
• international dispute settlement
• international trade law
• international investment law
• civil aviation law
• international criminal law
• diplomatic privileges and immunities
• international human rights law
• law of the sea
• international environment law
• law relating to the United Nations.
In 2009, the IAD’s role was expanded to include the development of international law expertise for Singapore and the establishment of Singapore as an international law hub. To support this initiative, the Developing International Law Expertise in Singapore Secretariat (DILES) was set up within IAD to, amongst other things, oversee efforts to develop the international law expertise of Government officers who are involved in the practice of international law.
Legislation Division
The Legislation Division is Singapore’s central law drafting office. The Division is responsible for translating the policies of the Government and all public sector agencies into clear and effective legislation. The Division supports the Rule of Law by providing 24/7 online public access to Singapore legislation.
The work of the Legislation Division consists of the following:
• providing the Government and public sector agencies a range of advisory services with respect to the development of proposals for legislation, and the enactment and initial implementation of legislation;
• preparing drafts of Government Bills and accompanying explanatory statements for introduction to Parliament;
• preparing drafts of Subsidiary Legislation for the Government and other public sector agencies so that the Acts they administer can be fully implemented;
• participating in inter-ministry and public-private sector committees driving emerging policies and law reform;
• ensuring ready online access by the public to accurate and updated legislation on the Singapore Statutes Online (this comprises both Acts passed by Parliament and Subsidiary Legislation delegated to Ministers and other authorised bodies to enact);
• producing revised editions of legislation under the direction of the Law Revision Commissioners;
• enhancing the link between good policy and good laws by conducting courses on effective law making and legislative drafting in partnership with the Civil Service College.
The Legislation Division has embarked on a nation-wide project (PLUS – Plain Laws Understandable by Singaporeans) to modernise and make our written laws more accessible to businesses, members of the public and public officials.
The Legislation Division has 4 functional groups: the Law Drafting Group, the Legislative Editorial and Revision Group, the e-Publication Group and the Business Services Group.
The Law Drafting Group comprises lawyers who draft Bills and Subsidiary Legislation, and advise the Government and other public sector agencies on the development and translation of public policies into legislation and on the initial implementation of legislation. This Group handles matters from all agencies in the public sector, comprising -
• Constitutional and Election matters
• Community and Social
• Economic and Fiscal
• Infrastructure and Regulatory and
• Justice, Security and Defence.
The Legislative Editorial and Revision Group is responsible for reviewing, editing and proof-reading draft legislation prepared by law drafters to ensure that they are accurate, inherently consistent and error-free, and for the timely production of hard-copies of legislation for introduction to Parliament and for publication in the Gazette. This Group also staffs the Law Revision Commission in revising heavily amended laws.
The e-Publication Group is responsible for maintaining the Legislation Editing and Authentic Publishing System Versioned Legislation Database (LEAP-VLDB) and the Singapore Statutes Online website to ensure 24/7 online public access to Singapore’s written laws.
The Business Services Group provides the administrative and secretarial support for the other Groups.
