STATUTE LAW REVISION BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

3.25 p.m.

The Minister for Law and National Development (Mr E. W. Barker): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

The Bill now before this House seeks to make a number of minor amendments to various laws and to repeal entirely twenty other laws in accordance with the recommendations of the Law Revision Commissioners who were appointed to prepare a revised edition of our Acts.

The object of the amendments is to remedy gaps, remove inconsistencies and obsolete provisions, and to improve the form and arrangement of the statute laws, but without changing their original purpose. The Bill is not intended to affect any existing rights, duties or liabilities of any person or body of persons, public or private. The enactment of the amendments will enable them to be incorporated in the revised edition of our Acts.

Members will observe that the amendments which appear in the First Schedule to the Bill are generally of a formal kind and self-explanatory. I shall therefore now elucidate the more important amendments only as they appear in this Schedule.

Amendments are made in section 5 of the Arbitration Ordinance to conform to the provisions of the Bankruptcy Ordinance; and in section 33, subsection (3) is taken out and inserted in the Merchant Shipping Ordinance and the other subsections, except subsection (6), are repealed to avoid duplication with the Limitation Ordinance, 1959.

[Mr Deputy Speaker in the Chair]

3.27 p.m.

The Minister for Law and National Development (Mr E. W. Barker): In the Bankruptcy Ordinance, the provision now in the Workmen's Compensation Ordinance is incorporated in section 43 and an obsolete provision removed; in keeping with modern practice, the Official Assignee's accounts are to be audited once instead of twice a year under section 77; and section 109 is reworded so that the penal provisions in Part VII will distinguish between a trial court and the Bankruptcy court.

In the Registration of Criminals Ordinance, offences under the Corrosive and Explosive Substances and Offensive Weapons Ordinance, 1958, are added to the list of registrable crimes because offences under the law which it replaced, namely, the Corrosive Substances Ordinance, 1955, were registered. For the same reason, the 1958 Ordinance is added to the laws specified in the Third Schedule to the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Ordinance, 1955, which by section 49c increases the penalties for certain offenders.

The Revised Edition of the Law (Annual Supplements) Ordinance, 1956, authorises the publication of annual supplements to the 1955 revised edition of Ordinances. The present amendments will enable the Attorney-General to go on issuing annual supplements after the publication of the revised edition of Acts which is now being prepared.

In the Women's Charter, 1961, the word "Part" is defined so as to simplify the wording of the Ordinance; the omission of some words in section 21 is corrected; in section 28 the correction already made in the 1961 Supplement to the Laws is confirmed; the definition of "maintenance order" in section 70, in describing orders made in other Commonwealth countries, mentions those that are confirmed in Singapore but omits reference to orders that are registered in Singapore and this is rectified so as to conform to the Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders Ordinance; and in Part X concerning women and girls, some obsolete references and verbal mistakes are corrected.

Amendments to the Interpretation Act, 1965, will ensure that its provisions cover Malaysian laws enforced in Singapore, and that section 57 effectively repeals the Delegation of Powers Ordinance, 1956, as was intended.

Amendments to the Evidence Ordinance will correct mistakes in sections 57 and 82 and remove a provision in section 118 concerning bills of exchange; there is now a different provision on the subject in the Bills of Exchange Ordinance, 1949, which is a complete code for bills of exchange, and the amendment will allow the latter to operate in its entirety.

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

3.32 p.m.

The Minister for Law and National Development (Mr E. W. Barker): In the Criminal Procedure Code, section 18 is amended to give District Judges jurisdiction in all extradition cases, not just those concerning Commonwealth countries; a correction is made to section 310, and section 442 is amended so that affidavits may be sworn before Singapore and Malaysian consuls and vice-consuls; and an additional form of charge is inserted in Schedule B.

The laws to be repealed by clause 3 and the Second Schedule to the Bill have, for one reason or another, ceased to have any useful operation or purpose. The Bill is intended only to remove these laws from the statute book and not to affect the operation of any other laws.

The Customs (Exemption and Remission of Charges) Act, 1965, which was enacted whilst Singapore was in Malaysia, is unnecessary because the Customs authorities have adequate powers of exemption and remission under the Customs Ordinance, 1960. The turnover tax which was provided for by the Turnover Tax Act, 1965, has never been levied in Singapore and its repeal is made retrospective to the date of Singapore's separation from Malaysia.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill.-[Mr Barker].

Bill considered in Committee.

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

3.35 p.m.

Clauses 1 to 3 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill.

First Schedule -

Mr Barker: Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move,

In page 9, line 7, to leave out "the" where it first occurs and insert "this".

This is to rectify a typographical error.

Amendment agreed to.

First Schedule, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Second Schedule -

Mr Barker: Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move,

In page 9, to leave out line 41.

This is again to rectify a drafting error.

Amendment agreed to.

Second Schedule, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Bill reported with amendments; read a Third time and passed.