Singapore Law Blog

The Ministry of Information, Communications & the Arts (MICA) is embarking on a public consultation to seek feedback from the industry and members of the public on the draft Postal Services (Amendment) Bill, which will effect amendments to the existing Postal Services Act.

In the Opening Address By Ms Grace Fu, Minister Of State For National Development, At The BCA Green Mark Seminar "Greening The Built Environment" 2007 At Shangri-La Hotel, 20 March 2007, she spoke about the updates on Green Building Masterplan that included legislation to impose minimum requirements on environmental sustainability.

Singapore and Japan have amended the Japan-Singapore Economic Partnership Agreement (JSEPA) to bring about greater liberalisation in trade of goods and services.

The new Solicitors Code of Conduct will come into effect from 1 July, 2007, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) announced on 19 March 2007.

The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) has published a draft Copyright (Excluded Works) Order 2007 for public consultation as of 15 March 2007. Public will have from 15 March to 14 April 2007 to review and comment on the draft 2007 Order.

National University of Singapore’s Faculty of Law partners leading law school from the United States to offer students opportunity to get both a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Law with no additional time added to their normal period of study.

The Malaysian Bar is considering the potential to further liberalise the legal sector where currently foreign players are limited to Labuan, said the International Trade and Industry Minister, Rafidah Aziz during the opening of Zaid Ibrahim & Co's overseas office in Bangkok on 8 March 2007.

Senior Minister of State for Law Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee tabled the Legal Profession (Amendment) Bill in Parliament on 9 March 2007. The main aim of the Bill is to implement the recommendations made by the Review Committee formed to evaluate the Joint Law Venture (JLV) and Formal Law Alliance (FLA) schemes, and the recommendations of the Third Committee of Supply of Lawyers. Both committees were chaired by former Attorney-General Chan Sek Keong. These recommendations were earlier publicised.

In a Statement by the Senior Minister Of State For Information, Communications And The Arts, Dr Balaji Sadasivan on The New Media in Parliament during COS Debate (MICA) on 3 March 2007, he addressed the three-pronged approach MICA will be taking in managing the new media: first, a light-touch regulatory framework, two, industry self-regulation and thirdly, public education.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is proposing several changes to legislation to strengthen workforce practices in Singapore. These energed during the Committee of Supplies Debate (ie Budget Debate) in Parliament on 7 and 8 March 2007 concerning MOM.

The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) is looking into whether to put in place a Mental Capacity Act. The proposed legislation will provide a legal framework to allow a person to voluntarily make advance plans for his own financial and personal welfare should he lose his mental capacity in the future. Under the proposed legislation, an individual can voluntarily make advance plans under a new statutory form of power of attorney to appoint a person (known as a donee) to decide or act on his behalf should he become mentally incapacitated.

The Building and Construction Authority invites comments on the proposed Building Control (Amendment) Bill 2007 which addresses amendments to the Building Control Act arising from recommendations of the Report of the Joint MND-MOM Review Committee on Construction Safety (which was published in May 2005).

The Competition Commission of Singapore (“CCS”) has today (5 March 2007) released its final notice of decision on the Qantas-Orangestar Cooperation Agreement (“Agreement”), following a two-week public consultation which commenced on 13 February 2007. During the public consultation, the CCS received a submission from a member of the public.

Time Magazine's Person Of The Year for 2006 is out. It is You!. By surfing the World Wide Web and leaving our footprints in cyberspace, we are all "Time's Person of the Year 2006".

Minister of State for Finance Lim Hwee Hua announced in Parliament on Friday, 2 March 2007, that non-public sector entities - including companies, charities, societies and cooperatives - will soon have to comply with accounting standards issued by a new Accounting Standards Board (ASB).

It was announced in Parliament on Friday, 2 March 2007, that the qualifying income level for legal aid will be raised from nearly S$2,000 now to S$2,600 in the second half of 2007.

The Singapore Management University (SMU) has formed its first advisory board for its soon-to-be-launched Law School with its chairman as the former Chief Justice Yong Pung How.

The government is relaxing the HDB's sub-letting policy which will see some 645,000 flats immediately eligible for sub-letting. The changes were announced by Minister for National Development, Mah Bow Tan, in Parliament on Saturday, 3 March 2007.

The Minister, in his speech touched on three matters: (1) legal aid for the needy; (b) changes to the practice of en-bloc sales; and (c) whether Singapore needs a single age of majority.

The Minister, in his speech touched on two matters: (1) the bankruptcy regime; and (2) criminal procedures.

The office of the Commissioner of Charities has launched in February 2007 the Charity Portal, to provide a convenient one-stop 'paper-less' process for application for charity status and IPC status. The web address is www.charities.gov.sg .

In a press release dated 22 February 2007, the Law Faculty of NUS has appointed a new Advisory Board charied by Professor Tommy Koh. Other prominent members of the board include President of the Law Society, Senior Counsel Mr Philip Jeyaretnam, Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Senior Counsel Ms Indranee Rajah and Member of Parliament, Senior Counsel Mr K Shanmugam.

While on board a flight from Nowhere-In-Particular to Nowhere-Else, a lawyer heard the following.

The UK Statute Law Database (SLD) is the official revised edition of the primary legislation of the United Kingdom made available online. The SLD was released to the public on 20 December 2006.

The Official Press Release on Singapore Budget 2007 by the Ministry of Finance can be found below.