Our Divisions
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Mission
To provide quality legal advice and representation for the good governance of Singapore.
Our Work
Civil Division comprises only 17 officers but renders legal services
to 15 Government ministries, the Cabinet and Organs of State. The Division
provides legal advice, drafts and vets contracts and other legal documents,
and represents the Government in all civil proceedings by or against the
Government. The Division also represents the Government in mediation,
arbitration and negotiation.
Civil Division performs the various statutory functions of the Attorney-General. These include acting as Protector of Charities and reviewing applications for admission of advocates and solicitors.
The Civil Division advises various Government departments on a wide spectrum of legal issues, carries out the statutory functions of the Attorney-General, and represents the Government in court proceedings, negotiations, arbitration, mediation sessions and disciplinary inquiries against public officers.
The scope of work undertaken by the Division has expanded significantly in recent years. One important new area is in respect of the Government’s move towards outsourcing its non-core functions to the private sector, which includes advising Government departments on the Government’s Public-Private Partnership initiatives. Other new areas include issues relating to the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, competition law issues, and issues pertaining to the development of Singapore as a legal hub.
Officers from the Civil Division actively participate in the efforts
of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)
in harmonizing cross-border trade laws. Extensive contributions have been
made to the Working Groups on Electronic Commerce, Transport Law and Procurement.
In addition, the Civil Division has put in place an extensive legal awareness programme for public officers on the legal rules and issues relating to their duties. The Division organizes regular seminars on topics such as constitutional and administrative law and government procurement. A new initiative is an online Legal Update newsletter to keep the public sector informed of legal developments relevant to their work.
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