The attorney-general of Singapore is the

public prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal trial ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, and

legal adviser Legal advice is the giving of a professional or formal opinion regarding the substance or procedure of the law in relation to a particular factual situation. The provision of legal advice will often involve analyzing a set of facts and advising a p ...

to the

Government of Singapore The Government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of Singapore to mean the executive branch of the state, which is made up of the president and the Cabinet. Although the president acts in their personal discretion in the exercise ...

. The functions of the attorney-general are carried out with the assistance of the deputy attorney-general and the solicitor-general, through the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC). The attorney-general is appointed by the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

in concurrence with the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

's advice, under Article 35 of the

Constitution of Singapore The Constitution of the Republic of Singapore is the supreme law of Singapore. A written constitution, the text which took effect on 9 August 1965 is derived from the Constitution of the State of Singapore 1963, provisions of the Federal Const ...

. Unlike some countries that follow the Westminster parliamentary model, the attorney-general is not a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP). The office of Attorney-General was established in 1867, when the British Crown appointed the attorney-general of the Straits Settlements, based in Singapore, to serve as legal adviser to the new

Crown colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Counci ...

's government.

Functions

The attorney-general has two distinct roles, as the Government's legal adviser and as the Public Prosecutor, assisted by legal officers in the AGC's four divisions.

Government legal adviser

The attorney-general's role as the Government's legal adviser is performed by the AGC's Civil Division. His functions include advising ministries and organs of state on legal matters, drafting and vetting contracts and legal documents and representing the Government in international initiatives and litigation matters, among others. He is also the Protector of Charities. The International Affairs Division advises Government agencies on international-law issues, represents Singapore in bilateral and multilateral negotiations, and negotiates and drafts multilateral and bilateral legal instruments, among other roles. The Legislation Division comprises four groups. The Law Drafting Group drafts legislation and advises Government agencies on development of legislation. The Legislative Editorial and Revision Group undertakes law revision. The Law Publication Group maintains Singapore Statutes Online, among other duties. The Business Services and Governance Group provides administrative support to the other groups.

Public Prosecutor

The attorney-general's role as the Public Prosecutor is performed by the AGC's Crime Division. Prosecutorial discretion grants him the power to institute, conduct or discontinue any prosecution at their discretion. In criminal law, it is the role of the prosecution to discharge its burden, a must to first prove its case in a court of law against the accused

beyond reasonable doubt Beyond a reasonable doubt is a legal standard of proof required to validate a criminal conviction in most adversarial legal systems. It is a higher standard of proof than the balance of probabilities standard commonly used in civil cases, bec ...

. In general, it is not for the accused to prove his innocence, since the accused is innocent until proven guilty

History

Pre-1867

Between the grant of the Second Charter of Justice in 1826 and the formation of the

crown colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Counci ...

of the

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Comp ...

in 1867, the function of legal adviser to the government in Singapore was vested in various offices. From 1826 to 1855, it was the Recorder of the Prince of Wales Island, Malacca and Singapore; from 1855 to 1864, the Recorder of Singapore; and from 1864 to 1867, the Crown Counsel, Singapore.

1867–1942: Attorney-General of the Straits Settlements

The office of attorney-general was created on 1 Apr 1867, when Sir Thomas Braddell was appointed as the first attorney-general of the Straits Settlements. He was based in Singapore while his solicitor-general, Daniel Logan, was based in Penang.

1942–1945: Japanese Occupation of Singapore

Following the

fall of Singapore The Fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore,; ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் வீழ்ச்சி; ja, シンガポールの戦い took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire o ...

on 15 Feb 1942, Japanese troops arrested the attorney-general,

Charles Gough Howell Charles Gough Howell (1894 – 12 September 1942) was a Welsh lawyer and British colonial official, who served as Attorney General of Fiji from 1931 to 1933, and as Attorney-General of Singapore from 1936 to 1942. Early life and family backg ...

, , who died in Japanese captivity. Concurrently, the civilian courts ceased to function. Subsequently, the Japanese military administration established the office of Kensatsu-kan, or Attorney-General and Public Prosecutor, presumably on 27 May 1942 when the civilian courts were re-opened by proclamation.

1945–1946: British Military Administration

Following the formal surrender of Japanese forces in Southeast Asia on 12 Sept 1945, the responsibility of rendering legal advice to the British Military Administration of Malaya lay with its Chief Legal Officer.

1946–1959: Attorney-General of the Crown Colony of Singapore

When Singapore became a crown colony on 1 Apr 1946, Sir Edward John Davies, was appointed as the first attorney-general of the

Crown Colony of Singapore Singapore was a British colony for 144 years, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1942 to 1945 during the Pacific War. When the Empire of Japan surrendered to the Allies in 1945, at the end of World War II, Singa ...

1959–1965: State Advocate-General of the State of Singapore

After the State of Singapore gained full internal self-governance in 1959, Ahmad Mohamed Ibrahim was appointed as the State Advocate-General, becoming Singapore's first non-British government legal adviser.

Post-1965: Attorney-General of the Republic of Singapore

Following the Republic of Singapore's independence on 9 Aug 1965, Ahmad Mohamed Ibrahim became the republic's first attorney-general. The appointment of the 9th Attorney-General,

Lucien Wong Lucien Wong Yuen Kuai (born 1953) is a Singaporean lawyer who has been serving as the ninth attorney-general of Singapore since 2017. A former corporate lawyer, Wong was the chairman and a senior partner of Allen & Gledhill, as well as the ch ...

, Law SC, was debated in Parliament as he was aged 63 at the time of his appointment; the retirement age is 60 and he was older than the previous Attorney-General who retired at age 60. Law Minister

K Shanmugam Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam ( ta, காசிவிஸ்வநாதன் சண்முகம்; born 26 March 1959), better known as K. Shanmugam, is a Singaporean politician and lawyer who has been serving as Minister for Law since 2008 ...

, who was a senior partner with Wong at Allen & Gledhill, argued that his appointment, being for a specified term, was “in accordance with Article 35 of the Constitution.” Wong was previously the personal lawyer of the Prime Minister,

Lee Hsien Loong Lee Hsien Loong (; born 10 February 1952) is a Singaporean politician and former brigadier-general who has been serving as Prime Minister of Singapore and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party since 2004. He has been the Member of Par ...

and also advised Lee on issues relating to

Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), born Harry Lee Kuan Yew, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean lawyer and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1990, and Secretary-General o ...

's will.

List of officeholders

Attorney-General of the Straits Settlements

Kensatsu-kan of Syonan-to

Chief Legal Officer, British Military Administration of Malaya

Attorney-General of the Crown Colony of Singapore

State Advocate-General of the State of Singapore

Attorney-General of the Republic of Singapore

Incident

Wrongful conviction

In September 2020, the Attorney-General Chamber's conducted a prosecutorial review for a

wrongful conviction A miscarriage of justice occurs when a grossly unfair outcome occurs in a criminal or civil proceeding, such as the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. Miscarriages are also known as wrongful convictions. Inno ...

case of a maid wrongfully accused of a crime.

Notes

Bibliography

External links

List of Attorneys-General of SingaporeAttorney-General's Chambers website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Attorney-General of Singapore