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More clarity needed on type of cases to be handled by new public defender’s office, say lawyers

SINGAPORE — With a new public defenders' office set to begin operations by the end of the year, some lawyers are saying that there may be potential confusion or clash with the existing Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (Clas) if the types of cases attended by both outfits are not clearly defined or demarcated.

The Criminal Legal Aid Scheme was set up in 1985 and is run by the Law Society of Singapore with support from the Ministry of Law.

The Criminal Legal Aid Scheme was set up in 1985 and is run by the Law Society of Singapore with support from the Ministry of Law.

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  • The Ministry of Law is planning to set up a new fully government-funded public defender’s office to offer criminal legal aid to vulnerable people
  • This seems to clash with the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme run by the Law Society of Singapore
  • One lawyer said it may potentially confuse people seeking help
  • A former deputy public prosecutor wondered if there will be enough lawyers to work for the new office

SINGAPORE — With a new public defenders' office set to begin operations by the end of the year, some lawyers are saying that there may be potential confusion or clash with the existing Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (Clas) if the types of cases attended by both outfits are not clearly defined or demarcated.

The new office is said to provide criminal legal aid to more vulnerable people facing non-capital charges that do not involve the death penalty, but Clas is already doing the same for the poor and needy who are unable to afford a lawyer.

Criminal lawyers and legal experts approached by TODAY suggested various ways around this, such as splitting the cases taken up by each office based on the offences covered by the law or on how complicated the case is.

Lawyer Josephus Tan, managing director of Invictus Law Corporation, said that any initiative for lawyers to attend to a pro bono case without charging a fee is good as long as the intended recipient knows where to get help.

“My biggest fear about this initiative is the potential confusion it may cause to the public.”

This is, of course, provided that they are not also confused by the work of the Legal Aid Bureau, which is government-run and provides legal aid and advice on civil, not criminal, cases. 

Details about which cases Clas and the new public defender’s office will handle are still being worked out.

Lawyer Gino Hardial Singh said that it may be beneficial for the public defender’s office to take on more complicated cases whereas Clas takes on more straightforward ones. 

This is because the new office will be hiring full-time lawyers taking on criminal legal aid cases, whereas Clas relies on both its own lawyers as well as volunteer lawyers from other firms who also take on paid work.

Mr Singh is the founder of Abbot Chambers law firm, which has taken on Clas cases for many years.

On Monday (April 4), the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) announced that it will table a Bill in Parliament to establish a new fully government-funded public defender’s office that will work alongside Clas.

Clas is run by the Law Society of Singapore (LawSoc) but funded in large part by the Government. 

Lawyers Chua Hock Lu and Ashvin Hariharan from Kalidass Law Corporation said that the two criminal legal aid schemes could distinguish themselves by having the public defender’s office take up the bulk of the cases and Clas takes on cases not picked by the office.

Together with the new office, MinLaw will also seek to offer criminal legal aid to cover all types of offences — an expansion from the 17 offences covered under Clas for now.

The exceptions are regulatory ones such as departmental charges and traffic summons as well as offences under nine laws that involve gambling and betting, organised and syndicated crime, and terrorism.

I do hope that there would be, ultimately, some level of discretion allowed in terms of taking up cases that may not fall within the scope of offences set out.
Ms Diana Ngiam, associate director of law firm Quahe Woo and Palmer’s

Law firm Quahe Woo and Palmer’s associate director Diana Ngiam said that the widening of scope for criminal legal aid could potentially include serious traffic offences that carry potential jail terms.

She said that she has been seeing more of these cases in recent years after penalties under the Road Traffic Act were increased for some offences.

“I do hope that there would be, ultimately, some level of discretion allowed in terms of taking up cases that may not fall within the scope of offences set out,” she said. 

Such discretion could be exercised, for example, based on the merits of the case or vulnerable accused persons, she added.

However, some overlap in the nature of cases covered by Clas and the public defender’s office may not be necessarily bad, a law lecturer pointed out.

Associate Professor Eugene Tan from the Singapore Management University said that as enhancements to legal aid here become better known, demand for pro bono work is likely to increase.

Furthermore, it is unlikely that there will be a shortage of work for those in the criminal law profession, he added.

My big question is, where are the staff members of the public defender’s office going to come from?
Law lecturer Alexander Woon from the Singapore University of Social Sciences

Commenting on the new development, law lecturer Alexander Woon from the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) noted the shortage of skilled criminal lawyers in Singapore, which he said was why a focus of SUSS' law school is on producing practitioners in criminal law.

“My big question is, where are the staff members of the public defender’s office going to come from?” he asked.

Formerly a deputy public prosecutor with the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC), Mr Woon added: “AGC is constantly recruiting and, currently, several law firms are also looking to expand their criminal practices, but face a shortage of talent.

“Criminal law is not, traditionally, viewed as attractive to lawyers — it is sometimes looked down upon as simplistic, financially unrewarding and lacking in prestige.” 

The public service element of the public defender’s office may attract more altruistic recruits, but it is uncertain whether it can attract enough new talent to avoid cannibalising other parts of the existing criminal law profession.

In the meantime, the lawyers interviewed by TODAY agreed that the setting up of a public defender’s office with full-time lawyers working there will not dampen the motivation of the legal professionals in private practice to pick up pro bono cases.

After all, the motivation for lawyers to volunteer to work for more needy individuals does not change with the introduction of public defenders. 

Mr Tan from Invictus Law Corporation, who was awarded the pro bono ambassador of the year by LawSoc in 2013, said that the number of volunteer lawyers has been increasing since the founding of Clas in 1985. 

“Volunteer lawyers often stepped up to do pro bono work not because there is a lack of volunteers but rather, it’s because it gives them meaning to their otherwise mundane practice.

“Be that as it may, it may take a while for some members of the public to warm up to the public defender’s office because of the misconceived distrust that this is, after all, a government-led initiative as compared to Clas, which is led by an independent organisation.”

Related topics

lawyers Criminal Legal Aid Scheme public defender’s office Law Society of Singapore minlaw manpower

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