Secretary of the Synod
of the Diocese of Singapore
Ordinance 1959
2020 REVISED EDITION
This revised edition incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 December 2021 and comes into operation on 31 December 2021
An Ordinance to incorporate the Secretary of the Synod of the Diocese of Singapore.
[26 March 1959]
Whereas there was constituted and established in the Colony of Singapore on 15 January 1949 a Synod in the Diocese of Singapore under the Metropolitan jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Canterbury:
And whereas the Synod of the Diocese of Singapore is possessed of or otherwise well entitled to certain lands in the Colony of Singapore described in the Schedule to this Ordinance which are at present vested in the Bishop of Singapore a corporation sole incorporated by the Bishop of Singapore Ordinance 1911:
And whereas the said lands and premises are managed by the said Synod of the Diocese of Singapore the present Secretary thereof being Lieutenant-Commander Roland Keith Hudson, Companion of the Distinguished Service Order, Distinguished Service Cross, Royal Navy, Retired:
And whereas it is expedient for conveyancing purposes to incorporate the Secretary for the time being of the Synod of the Diocese of Singapore and to vest the said lands and premises in such Secretary for the time being as aforesaid as trustee for the Synod of the Diocese of Singapore:
It is hereby enacted by the Governor of the Colony of Singapore with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly thereof as follows:
Short title
1.  This Ordinance may be cited as the Secretary of the Synod of the Diocese of Singapore Ordinance 1959.
Secretary of the Synod of the Diocese of Singapore to be a body corporate
2.—(1)  The said Roland Keith Hudson and his successors from time to time in the office of the Secretary of the Synod of the Diocese of Singapore duly qualified as hereinafter provided shall be a body corporate (hereinafter called “the Corporation”) and shall have perpetual succession under the name of the Secretary of the Synod of the Diocese of Singapore and shall and may have and use a corporate seal.
(2)  The said seal may from time to time be broken, changed, altered and made anew as the Corporation thinks fit.
(3)  The Corporation may acquire, purchase, take, hold and enjoy movable and immovable property of every description and may sell, convey, assign, surrender and yield up, mortgage, demise, re‑assign, transfer or otherwise dispose of any movable and immovable property vested in the Corporation upon such terms as to the Standing Committee of the Synod of the Diocese of Singapore seem fit, and the minutes of the Standing Committee shall be sufficient evidence of such terms.
(4)  The Corporation may sue or be sued in respect of its property and otherwise in all courts of justice.
Use of corporate seal
3.—(1)  The seal of the Corporation shall not be fixed to any deed, document or other instrument except by the authority of a Resolution of the Standing Committee of the Synod of the Diocese of Singapore, and in the presence of a member of the Standing Committee duly authorised as witness in that resolution.
(2)  All deeds, documents and other instruments requiring the seal of the Corporation shall be sealed with the seal of the Corporation in the presence of the said Roland Keith Hudson or his attorney, duly authorised by a power of attorney deposited under section 48 of the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act 1886 or in the presence of his successor for the time being in the office of Secretary of the Synod of the Diocese of Singapore or his attorney duly authorised as aforesaid and shall also be signed by the said Roland Keith Hudson or his attorney or his said successor or his said attorney and the member of the Standing Committee duly authorised as witness.
(3)  Such signing shall be sufficient evidence that the said seal was duly and properly affixed and the said seal is the lawful seal of the Corporation.
Qualification of Secretary
4.—(1)  No successor of the said Roland Keith Hudson in the office of Secretary shall be deemed to be duly qualified as aforesaid unless and until he has caused an extract from the Minutes of the Synod appointing him such Secretary certified as correct by the Bishop of Singapore or in his absence a Commissary appointed by the Bishop or the Archbishop of Canterbury during a vacancy in the See of Singapore to be published in the Gazette.
(2)  Such publication shall be sufficient evidence of the appointment, and that the person named therein is duly qualified as by this Ordinance is required.
Vesting of property in the Corporation
5.—(1)  The Bishop of Singapore incorporated in whom are vested the lands hereditaments and premises specified in the Schedule to this Ordinance and all estates rights and interests therein is hereby divested of such lands hereditaments and premises and all estates rights and interests therein.
(2)  All lands hereditaments and premises specified in the Schedule to this Ordinance and all estates rights and interests therein are hereby vested in the Corporation as trustee for the Synod of the Diocese of Singapore for the respective estates, rights and interests for which the same are held, and the Corporation shall have full powers as such trustee to deal with the said property as provided in section 2 of this Ordinance.
Saving of Government and other rights
6.  Nothing in this Ordinance shall affect the rights of the Government, all bodies politic and corporate, and all others except such as are mentioned in this Ordinance and those claiming by, from or under them.
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