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Laws proposed to limit death row prisoners found to have abused court’s process from filing post-appeal application

SINGAPORE — Prisoners on death row, who have been previously found by the Court of Appeal to have abused the court’s process after their appeal, or to have frustrated or delayed the sentence, may soon be barred from seeking permission to file an appeal.

A file photo of the Supreme Court.
A file photo of the Supreme Court.
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  • The Ministry of Law said that there have been a number of last-minute applications by prisoners on death row, after all avenues have been exhausted 
  • The amendments to laws on this will clearly set out the process for such applications, it added
  • One key change under the proposed laws is to allow only the Court of Appeal to hear these applications and grant a stay of execution of the sentence

SINGAPORE — Prisoners on death row, who have been previously found by the Court of Appeal to have abused the court’s process after their appeal, or to have frustrated or delayed the sentence, may soon be barred from seeking permission to file an appeal.

This is unless they can prove that the application is based on new material that was not presented before, a new Bill introduced in Parliament stated on Monday (Nov 7).

The prisoners would also have to state whether there was any delay in filing the application after the material was obtained, and if so, the reasons for the delay.

The Post-Appeal Applications in Capital Cases Bill was introduced by Ms Rahayu Mahzam, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Law, on Monday's parliamentary sitting. It will be debated in another sitting later in November.

MinLaw said that there have been a number of last-minute applications by prisoners on death row, after all avenues have been exhausted. 

Examples of such post-appeal applications include an application for a stay of execution and a judicial review application challenging the President’s decision to not grant clemency.

In the last year, the Court of Appeal has dismissed last-minute pleas without basis, with the latest one made by Malaysian drug trafficker Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, who was on death row for more than a decade, and his mother.

In August, the High Court struck out a lawsuit filed by 24 death row inmates who claimed that their access to lawyers for appeals and reviews of their cases was obstructed. The Attorney-General had argued that the claim showed no reasonable course of action and was an abuse of process.

MinLaw said on Monday that in deciding whether the prisoner awaiting capital punishment had abused the court process, the Court of Appeal may take more evidence and inquire into it, as well as take into account any non-compliance with the procedure for these post-appeal applications. 

NEW PROCEDURES

The amendments will clearly set out the process for post-appeal applications, MinLaw said, adding that the Court will have the discretion to allow challenges even if they do not comply with this process.

Under the proposed laws, only the Court of Appeal may hear post-appeal applications and grant a stay of execution of the sentence.  

Currently, an application for permission to make a judicial review application must be made to the General Division of the High Court, in the first instance. 

“The amendments will require such an application to be made to the Court of Appeal instead. This will save resources,” MinLaw said.

If the Bill is passed, prisoners awaiting capital punishment who want to file an appeal will first be required to apply for permission to make a post-appeal application. This application for permission may be heard by a single judge, who may deal with it without an oral hearing.

In deciding whether to grant permission, the Court of Appeal will consider several criteria such as whether the prescribed material has been filed and if the application has a reasonable prospect of success. 

The court may then make incidental directions and interim orders, MinLaw said.

If permission is granted, the application must be filed within a specified period and a hearing before a coram of three or more judges will be fixed. 

Related topics

court of appeal death penalty appeal law

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