Legal Aid and Advice Act

(CHAPTER 160)

(Original Enactment: Ordinance 19 of 1956)

REVISED EDITION 1985

(30th March 1987)

An Act to make legal aid and advice more readily available for persons of limited means, to enable the cost of legal aid or advice granted to persons to be defrayed wholly or partly out of moneys provided by Parliament and for purposes connected therewith.

[1st July 1957: Part I 1st July 1957; Parts III, IV and V: 1st July 1958^*

^*Part II has not been brought into operation.

]

PART I

PRELIMINARY

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Legal Aid and Advice Act, and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette appoint, and the Minister may appoint different dates for different Parts or provisions of this Act.

Interpretation

2. In this Act, unless the context or subject-matter otherwise indicates or requires —

“aided person” means a person who has been granted a certificate that he is entitled to legal aid under Part III and, where such a person is an infant, includes his guardian;

“Director” means the Director of Legal Aid appointed under section 3 and includes Deputy Directors and Assistant Directors of Legal Aid;

“guardian”, in relation to an infant, includes without prejudice to the generality of the expression, such person as the Director considers might properly be appointed to be the next friend or guardian ad litem of the infant;

“judge” means a judge of the Supreme Court and includes in respect of proceedings in a District Court, a District Judge, and in respect of proceedings under the Women’s Charter [Cap. 353], a Magistrate;

“solicitor” means an advocate and solicitor admitted to practise in Singapore.

Director of Legal Aid, Deputy and Assistant Directors

3.—(1) The Minister may appoint a person to be the Director of Legal Aid and may appoint one or more Deputy Directors of Legal Aid and such number of Assistant Directors of Legal Aid as to him seems fit.

(2) No person shall be appointed to be or to act temporarily as the Director or a Deputy Director of Legal Aid or an Assistant Director of Legal Aid unless he is a qualified person as defined in section 2 of the Legal Profession Act [Cap. 161], or is a solicitor practising in Singapore.

(3) Notwithstanding any provision of any written law to the-contrary, the Director and every Deputy Director of Legal Aid and every Assistant Director of Legal Aid shall, for the purposes of this Act, have the right to appear and plead in all courts of justice in Singapore according to the law in force in such courts.

(4) The Director, Deputy Directors of Legal Aid and Assistant Directors of Legal Aid shall be public servants within the meaning of the Penal Code [Cap. 224].

Panels of solicitors

4.—(1) The Director shall prepare and maintain panels of solicitors willing to investigate, report and give an opinion upon applications for the grant of legal aid, to act for persons receiving legal aid and to give legal advice under the provisions of this Act, and there may be separate panels for different purposes and for different courts.

(2) Any solicitor shall be entitled to have his name on the panels or any of them unless there is good reason for excluding him arising out of his conduct when acting or assigned to act for persons receiving legal aid or his professional conduct generally.

(3) Where a solicitor is aggrieved by any decision excluding him (whether permanently or temporarily) from the panels or any of them, he may appeal against the decision to a judge of the Supreme Court and the judge (whose decision shall be final) may confirm or quash the decision appealed against or may substitute such decision as he thinks fit.

(4) Subject to section 20(2) any solicitor may at any time request the Director to remove his name from the panels or any of them and the Director shall comply with such request.

(5) Subject to any regulations made under this Act, the Director shall pay to a solicitor investigating and reporting or giving an opinion upon applications for the grant of legal aid or acting for persons receiving legal aid or giving legal advice under the provisions of this Act such fees as may be agreed between the Director and the solicitor.

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