MINISTRY OF LAW

PROF S JAYAKUMAR Minister for Law

1. The Ministry of Law (MINLAW) will improve our legal infrastructure and land policies to support the economic and social development of Singapore. We will, working with the Attorney-General's Chambers and the legal fraternity, improve our legal framework, promote law reform, upgrade our legal expertise and update our laws and regulations.

Legal Branch

2. We will keep our laws and legal system consistent with national policies, and the aspirations and expectations of an increasingly sophisticated and educated people.

3. We will adopt a multi-disciplinary approach to ensure that law reform keeps pace with rapid changes in science and technology, economic development, international relations and the social environment.

4. We will reform our business, commercial and technology laws to promote individual enterprise and technopreneurship, and encourage initiative in creating and applying intellectual capital as a national resource. We will also enhance the legal and supervisory framework to promote Intellectual Property Rights and build Singapore as a Centre for Research and Development activities in Intellectual Property.

5. We will promote the use of Singapore law as the governing law for business transactions in the region, and develop Singapore as a centre for resolution of disputes through mediation and arbitration. We will also promote other forms of dispute resolution to meet the needs of our economy and the community.

6. We will intensify legal education of public officers to increase their sensitivity to the legal parameters of administrative actions and decisions, and increase efforts to enhance public understanding of legal issues and concepts.

7. We will, with the Attorney-General's Chambers and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, review widely-accepted international treaties and conventions to determine whether Singapore should be a party to these instruments, so as to safeguard our interests in the international arena.

8. We will work with the legal profession to ensure continuous upgrading of legal expertise and maintenance of highest standards. We will encourage training and acquisition of new legal skills and enhance the professional accountability of lawyers. We will implement the recommendations in the Report of the Legal Services Review Committee to ensure that the legal profession is strengthened and enriched through various mechanisms, including joint-ventures and formal alliances with foreign law firms.

9. We will expand the services of the Public Trustee to include the introduction of the office of the Public Guardian to meet the needs of an ageing population, in managing their financial affairs.

Land Branch

10. We will work closely with planning agencies to maximise land use in Singapore and improve our service to the public. We will review and reorganise the functions of land departments under MINLAW to achieve this aim. The various activities relating to land titles and land administration, and the legal, survey and Information Technology support including the Land Data Hub will be integrated. We will also complete the conversion of all common law lands to the land titles system, fully computerise the titles registration system including that relating to HDB apartments, and introduce electronic lodgement.

11. We will review land policies, including policies on lease renewal and upgrading and on Differential Premium, to intensify land use and promote orderly renewal of Singapore's physical landscape. We will review land legislation including the Land Titles Act, the Land Titles (Strata) Act, the Registration of Deeds Act and the Residential Property Act so as to meet new needs and improve the management of strata developments in Singapore. We will introduce more competition and the market mechanism to better manage state lands and properties.