Legal Aid and Advice Act 1995

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 Act to make provision for the grant of legal aid and advice to persons of limited means.

[1 October 1995]

PART 1

PRELIMINARY

Short title

1. This Act is the Legal Aid and Advice Act 1995.

Interpretation

2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“aided person” means a person who is issued a Grant of Aid and, where such a person is a minor, includes the minor’s guardian;

“court” means any court, tribunal or adjudicator before which or before whom any proceedings mentioned in section 5(1) or (2) are heard;

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

“goods and services tax” means the goods and services tax levied under the Goods and Services Tax Act 1993;

“Grant of Aid” means a document issued under section 8 stating that legal aid is granted to a person (whether on a provisional basis or otherwise);

“guardian”, in relation to a minor, includes any person whom the Director considers might properly be appointed to be the litigation representative of the minor;

“judge”, in relation to any proceedings, means the person (however described) who decided those proceedings;

“legal advice” has the meaning given by section 20;

“legal aid” means legal aid granted under this Act;

“solicitor” means an advocate and solicitor of the Supreme Court.

[6/2013; 27/2014; 50/2018]

Director, Deputy Directors and Assistant Directors of Legal Aid, etc.

3.—(1) The Minister may appoint a person to be the Director of Legal Aid and may also appoint such number of Deputy Directors and Assistant Directors of Legal Aid as the Minister may consider necessary for the proper carrying out of this Act.

[50/2018]

(2) No person may be appointed to be or to act temporarily as the Director, a Deputy Director or an Assistant Director of Legal Aid unless the person is a qualified person as defined in section 2 of the Legal Profession Act 1966 or is a solicitor.

(3) The Director of Legal Aid may —

(a)	appoint such number of public officers of such qualifications and experience as the Director of Legal Aid considers appropriate, for the purpose of assisting the Director of Legal Aid, and the Deputy Directors and Assistant Directors of Legal Aid in carrying out any of their duties under this Act; and
(b)	assign to those appointed public officers duties that the Director of Legal Aid considers appropriate for the purpose mentioned in paragraph (a). [50/2018]

(4) Despite any other written law, for the purposes of this Act, the following persons have the right to appear and plead in all courts of justice in Singapore according to the law in force in those courts:

(a)	the Director and every Deputy Director or Assistant Director of Legal Aid;
(b)	a public officer who is appointed under subsection (3), and is assigned under that subsection any duty that requires the public officer to appear and plead in those courts. [50/2018]

Panels of solicitors

4.—(1) The Director must prepare and maintain panels of solicitors willing —

(a)	to investigate, report and give an opinion upon applications for the grant of legal aid under this Act or Part 4 of the International Child Abduction Act 2010;
(b)	to act for persons receiving legal aid under this Act or Part 4 of the International Child Abduction Act 2010; and
(c)	to give legal advice under the provisions of this Act or Part 4 of the International Child Abduction Act 2010,

and there may be separate panels for different purposes and for different courts.

[27/2010]

(2) The Director may appoint a solicitor to a panel mentioned in subsection (1) for a term of 3 years, or such longer or shorter period as the Director may specify in any particular case, beginning on such date as the Director may specify in the solicitor’s letter of appointment.

[50/2018]

(3) Any solicitor is entitled to have his or her name on the panels or any of them unless there is good reason for excluding or removing him or her on any of the grounds under subsection (4).

[6/2013]

(4) The Director may, at any time, exclude or remove any solicitor from any panel —

(a)

if the solicitor has ceased to be a practising solicitor for any reason;

(b)

if the solicitor has requested that the Director remove the solicitor from the panel;

(c)

if the solicitor has shown from his or her conduct when assigned to act for persons receiving legal aid or from his or her professional conduct generally that the solicitor is not a suitable person to remain on the panel; or

(d)

if, in the opinion of the Director —

(i)	the solicitor is not a suitable person to be or to remain on the panel for any other reason; or
(ii)	it is necessary or expedient to exclude or remove the solicitor’s name from the panel for any other reason. [6/2013]

(5) Where a solicitor is aggrieved by any decision excluding or removing the solicitor (whether permanently or temporarily) from the panels or any of them, the solicitor may appeal against the decision to the General Division of the High Court and the General Division of the High Court (whose decision is final) may confirm or quash the decision appealed against or may substitute such decision as the General Division of the High Court thinks fit.

[6/2013; 40/2019]

(6) A solicitor has the duty to disclose to the Director any information or give any opinion which may enable the Director to perform the Director’s functions under this Act, including such information or opinion which may reasonably be taken into account by the Director or the board referred to in section 8 in determining whether to refuse or cancel legal aid to a person or an aided person, and the solicitor is not precluded from so doing by reason of any privilege arising out of the relationship between solicitor and client.

[6/2013]

(7) Subject to any regulations made under this Act, the Director must 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 or Part 4 of the International Child Abduction Act 2010 such fees as may be agreed between the Director and the solicitor.

[27/2010]

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