Sunday, May 14, 2006

Singapore's legal system is an utterly politicized component of executive rule?

A court case in Canada between a Canadian oil and gas company and a Singaporean company will be damaging for Singapore according to analysts because it is highlighting a lot of apparent or perceived problems in the Singapore legal system. From International Herald Tribune:
A court of appeal in Canada is being asked for the first time to determine whether legal decisions made in Singapore are sufficiently fair and impartial to meet the standards of justice of other developed countries.

In documents tendered to the appeals court in the province of Ontario, Singapore's judicial reputation has been subject to scathing attack. Lawyers have alleged in court documents that the Singapore legal system is an "utterly politicized component of executive rule" in which there is no guarantee of fairness even in commercial cases. The Singaporean Ministry of Law rejects these claims.

The case, now before the Ontario Court of Appeal, has also become a forum for some critics of Singapore's political and justice system and served to resurrect grievances about old legal cases brought against opponents of the People's Action Party, which has been in power since 1959.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Don't think the Singapore courts will give a damn about what other countries legal system think of them.

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