Singapore Academy of Law

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Singapore Academy of Law
Agency overview
Formed1 November 1988;36 years ago (1988-11-01)
Headquarters1 Supreme Court Lane, Singapore 178879
Agency executives
Website sal.org.sg
Agency IDT09GB0002H

The Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) is a promotion and development agency for Singapore's legal industry. SAL also undertakes statutory functions such as stakeholding services and the appointment of Senior Counsel, Commissioners for Oaths and Notaries Public. It also organises the annual TechLaw.Fest with the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) and MP International. The conference is a global gathering of legal and tech professionals and has featured speakers like Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Law Minister K. Shanmugam.

Contents

SAL has 3 sub-brands: Singapore Law Watch, Academy Publishing, and LawNet (known as Legal Workbench in Malaysia).

SAL also has 3 subsidiaries: Singapore Mediation Centre, Asian Business Law Institute, and LawNet Technology Services.

SAL has designated the Yellow Ribbon Fund as the sole beneficiary of its charity efforts since 2011.

History

The Singapore Academy of Law Act was created by an Act of Parliament on 1 November 1988, and had its City Hall premises officially opened by former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. With the Singapore Academy of Law (Amendment) Act passed in 1995, SAL's functions were expanded to include development of legal infrastructure and services.

Management

Senate

SAL is led by a Senate headed by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, and comprising the Attorney-General, the Supreme Court Bench and key leaders of the various branches of the legal profession. It has more than 12,000 members, including the Bench, all persons who are called as advocates and solicitors of the Supreme Court (i.e. the Bar) or appointed as Legal Service Officers, corporate counsel, faculty members of the three local law schools (i.e. National University of Singapore, Singapore Management University and Singapore University of Social Sciences) and foreign lawyers in Singapore.

Executive committee

SAL's Executive Board oversees major decision making and provides strategic direction for the development of SAL's role in the Singapore legal industry. The Executive Board comprises 12 members from both the judiciary and the private sector.

Work of the Academy

The scope of SAL's work as a promotion and development agency covers four "Cs":

  1. Creating knowledge and know-how
  2. Catalysing ideas, insights and innovation
  3. Capability building with tools and technology
  4. Connecting the legal community

This work is carried out by 5 clusters:

Management

Chief Executive
DateNameRemarks
1997 - 7 February 2021Serene WeeDirector since at least 1997 [1] [2]
8 February 2021 - 7 February 2023Rama Tiwari [3]
8 February 2023 - 28 February 2023Serene WeeInterim Chief Executive
1 April 2023 - presentYeong Zee Kin [4]

Timeline

Controversies

On 1 February 2023, the SAL published a commentary by Harpreet Singh Nehal questioning the decision by the Singapore authorities not to prosecute former senior management of Keppel Offshore & Marine for bribery. [11] The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau had issued stern warning to the former senior management in lieu of prosecution for corruption-related offences. However, the commentary was no longer available on the SAL's website by the afternoon of 2 February 2023.

SAL stated in response to media queries that the article "was not within the editorial parameters of Singapore Law Watch which are focused on commentaries on the latest Singapore Supreme Court judgments and articles on recent legislative changes". [12]

On 6 February 2023, SAL announced that its then-Chief Executive, Rama Tiwari, would be stepping down "on the expiry of his current contract". [3] In response to media queries, the SAL clarified that Tiwari's decision to step down had been finalised in December 2022 and was not linked to commentary which had been taken down several days earlier. SAL also explained that "Mr Tiwari was not involved in either the decision to publish the commentary or in the subsequent decision to take it down." [13]

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References

  1. ↑ Curator, Litigation Edge (27 August 2020). "Singapore Academy Of Law Appoints Mr. Rama Tiwari As Deputy Chief Executive". litigationedge.asia. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  2. ↑ Tan, Colin (26 October 1997). "SAL windfall up to $3 m". The Straits Times . p. 5.
  3. 1 2 "Rama Tiwari ends his term as SAL Chief Executive". www.sal.org.sg. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  4. ↑ "Yeong Zee Kin appointed SAL Chief Executive". www.sal.org.sg. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  5. ↑ "Singapore Academy of Law > About Us > Milestones > 1988 – 1993". sal.org.sg. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  6. ↑ "S'pore Academy of Law moving to Adelphi". The Straits Times. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  7. ↑ "Singapore Academy of Law > Resources & Tools > Legal Education > LIFTED > Overview". sal.org.sg. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  8. ↑ "Singapore Academy of Law > Services > Appointments > Specialist Accreditation > Overview". sal.org.sg. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  9. ↑ "Singapore Academy of Law > Resources & Tools > Legal Technology Vision". sal.org.sg. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  10. ↑ "Welcome to the Future Law Innovation Programme by SAL – Singapore". Welcome to the Future Law Innovation Programme by SAL – Singapore. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  11. ↑ Singh Nehal, Harpreet (1 February 2023). "THE KEPPEL BRIBERY SCANDAL TESTS SINGAPORE'S ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY TOWARDS CORRUPTION" (PDF). Singapore Law Watch. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 February 2023.
  12. ↑ Lam, Lydia (2 February 2023). "Senior counsel questions handling of Keppel bribery case as other lawyers weigh in; Indranee to address matter in Parliament". CNA. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  13. ↑ "Singapore Academy of Law says chief executive's departure not linked to commentary on Keppel bribery case". CNA. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
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