Singapore Legislation Conducted by: Carol Wee & Bissy Ithack Content by: Lee Su-Lin 14 th August 2013 © C J Koh Law Library Journal articles

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, without the written permission of the copyright holder, application for which should be addressed to the author. Such written permission must also be obtained before any part of this publication is stored in a retrieval system of any nature.author No copyright is claimed in the text of statutes, regulations and court decisions quoted within this work. © C J Koh Law Library

This tutorial is specifically designed for the Legal Analysis, Writing and Research course for first year law students (AY2013/2014). The purpose of this tutorial is to teach students how to find Singapore legislation & articles in local law journals.

© C J Koh Law Library Contents 1.Primary sources of law p.5 p.5 2.Singapore legislation p.6 p.6 3.Secondary sources of law p.19 p.19 4.Law journals and reviews p.21 p.21 5.Articles on Singapore law p.23 p.23

Primary Sources of Law Primary sources of law are authoritative records of law made by the law-making bodies of Singapore. The 2 main sources of law are: 1.Legislation o Statutes o Subsidiary legislation o Quasi-legislation. 2. Case Law Decisions of the Singapore courts. Lets Re-cap 5

The 2 main sources of legislation in Singapore today: I. Statutes of the Republic of Singapore (primary legislation) Ref: K II. Subsidiary Legislation of the Republic of Singapore (secondary legislation) Ref: K Singapore Legislation Introduction 6

Singapore Legislation Legislative Process The Legislature, the law-making body in Singapore, comprises o the President o the Parliament of Singapore. Statutes begin life as Bills which are drafted by legal officers in the Attorney-General's Chambers. A Bill becomes law when it is o passed by Parliament and o assented to by the President. An Act comes into force on a date determined by the Minister and notified by a Commencement Notification in the Government Gazette. 7

Attorney-Generals Chambers Bill is drafted Parliament Bill will be debated or referred to a Select Committee Bill is passed by Parliament and assented to by the President Government Printer Act is published in the Government Gazette Act comes into force on date determined by the Minister and notified by Commencement Notification in the Gazette Singapore Legislation Legislative Process becomes law 8 For more details, see The Legislative Process (by AGC)The Legislative Process

9 The ActAmendments to Act Substantial amendments to Act Revised edition of Act (authoritative version) Ref: K Act Supplement E.g. 36 of 2000 Ref: K7399 SA Subsidiary Legislation Supplement E.g. S 262/2004 Ref: K7449 SLS Consolidation of amendments Consolidated version of Act Online: Bill Parliamentary debate/ Select committee report Rules made pursuant to Act Singapore Subsidiary Legislation Ref: K Singapore Legislation Amendments to Acts

10 Acts Supplement Singapore Legislation Amendments to Acts Examples: No.1 of 2004 and No.3 of 2004 Ref: K7399 SA

11 Earlier Revised Editions of the Singapore Statutes 1970 Rev. Ed.1955 Rev. Ed.1985 Rev. Ed. Singapore Legislation Amendments to Acts

I. Latest Revised Edition heavily amended Acts are revised by the Law Revision Commission, AGC these are the authoritative versions of Singapore Acts available at the Law Library RBR. Singapore Acts are updated regularly by the Attorney Generals Chambers available on Singapore Statutes Online: II. Consolidated Version Singapore Legislation Current Versions of Acts 12

Title of Act Chapter No. Original Act Current Rev. Ed. Previous Rev. Eds. Previous Rev. Eds. amended by Acts Supplements Date current Rev. Ed. came into effect I. Latest Revised Edition (at Law Library RBR) e.g. Computer Misuse Act Singapore Legislation Current Versions of Acts 13

Original Act Previous Rev. Eds. Acts Supplements amending the revised editions I. Latest Revised Edition (at Law Library RBR) e.g. Computer Misuse Act Singapore Legislation Current Versions of Acts 14 The legislative history of the Act can also be found towards the back of the Act:

II. Consolidated Version ( e.g. Computer Misuse Act Singapore Legislation Current Versions of Acts 15

II. Consolidated Version ( e.g. Computer Misuse Act Singapore Legislation Current Versions of Acts 16 If you browse the list of Current Acts: Note: Title of the Computer Misuse Act was amended in 2013

II. Consolidated Version ( e.g. Computer Misuse Act Singapore Legislation Current Versions of Acts 17 Amendments after 2007 Click on slider to see legislative history

Need latest Rev. Ed. or Consolidated version? Rev. Ed. Find out Cap no. of Act using Alphabetical List of Public Acts at Loans Desk. Then ask librarian for printed Act by Cap no. Consolidated version Search or browse Singapore Statutes Online / / Getting the Statutes Singapore Legislation Current Versions of Acts 18

Secondary Sources of Law Secondary sources are publications which refer and relate to the law, but are not themselves sources of law. These include: 1.Textbooks, casebooks, etc. 2.Legal encyclopaedias 3.Law journals & reviews 4.Research literature. E.g. Theses 5.Reference works. E.g. Dictionaries, directories, bibliographies, digests, citators, indexes, etc. Secondary sources o assist in locating relevant primary sources of law o assist in the interpretation of relevant primary sources. 19

Secondary Sources of Law The use of LINC to search for books in the NUS Libraries was covered in the Orientation Lecture on Monday. This tutorial will focus on locating articles in law journals, particularly local ones. 20

21 Law Journals and Reviews What are they? Law journals and reviews o provide information on the latest developments in the law as well as comments and criticisms of the law o are published periodically. E.g. Criminal Law Review Harvard Law Review Journal of Equity Singapore Journal of Legal Studies

22 Law Journals and Reviews Article Citations Citations are references to where you can locate articles. Examples: 1. Dora Neo, The Sale of Goods (Amendment) Act 1996: Satisfactory Quality, an Undivided Share in a Bulk and other Amendments (1997) 9 SAcLJ David Feldman, The Nature of Legal Scholarship (1989) 52 Mod.L.Rev o Author o Title of article o Year the article was published o Volume number of the journal o Journal abbreviation o 1 st page of article

Articles on Singapore Law 23 Step 1. Search an index to legal abbreviations to find out which law journal the abbreviation stands for. Step 2. Search LINC for the title of the law journal to determine its location in the library. How to Find Print Articles

24 Law Journals and Reviews Step 1. Use an index to legal abbreviations to find out what journal the abbreviation SAcLJ stands for: o Print: Index to Legal Citations & Abbreviations by Donald Raistrick (Ref: KB280 Rai 2008) o Online: Cardiff Index to Legal AbbreviationsCardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations E.g. Dora Neo, The Sale of Goods (Amendment) Act 1996: Satisfactory Quality, an Undivided Share in a Bulk and other Amendments (1997) 9 SAcLJ 362. How to Find Print Articles

25 E.g. Use the Cardiff Index: Law Journals and Reviews How to Find Print Articles E.g. Dora Neo, The Sale of Goods (Amendment) Act 1996: Satisfactory Quality, an Undivided Share in a Bulk and other Amendments (1997) 9 SAcLJ 362.

26 Law Journals and Reviews How to Find Print Articles E.g. Dora Neo, The Sale of Goods (Amendment) Act 1996: Satisfactory Quality, an Undivided Share in a Bulk and other Amendments (1997) 9 SAcLJ 362. E.g. Use the Cardiff Index:

27 Law Journals and Reviews How to Find Print Articles Step 2. Search for the Singapore Academy of Law Journal in LINC to determine its location in the library. E.g. Dora Neo, The Sale of Goods (Amendment) Act 1996: Satisfactory Quality, an Undivided Share in a Bulk and other Amendments (1997) 9 SAcLJ 362.

28 Law Journals and Reviews How to Find Print Articles Step 2. (contd.) E.g. Dora Neo, The Sale of Goods (Amendment) Act 1996: Satisfactory Quality, an Undivided Share in a Bulk and other Amendments (1997) 9 SAcLJ 362.

29 Law Journals and Reviews How to Find Print Articles Step 2. (contd.) E.g. Dora Neo, The Sale of Goods (Amendment) Act 1996: Satisfactory Quality, an Undivided Share in a Bulk and other Amendments (1997) 9 SAcLJ 362.

30 Law Journals and Reviews How to Find Print Articles Step 2. (contd.) E.g. Dora Neo, The Sale of Goods (Amendment) Act 1996: Satisfactory Quality, an Undivided Share in a Bulk and other Amendments (1997) 9 SAcLJ 362. Copies of Volume 9 (1997) can be found in the Bound Journals and Singapore–Malaysia collections

31 Articles on Singapore Law Searching LawNet If you have the full citation of a local journal article, you can obtain a print copy of it using the method suggested in slides 22 to 28. However, if you are given a partial citation or a topic, we recommend you search online using LawNet. Access: via Faculty of Law ResourcesFaculty of Law Resources

32 Articles on Singapore Law Searching LawNet On the Faculty of Law homepage ( select LawNet from the Resources listing:

33 Articles on Singapore Law Searching LawNet Then enter your NUS userid and password on the next page and click on the Login button:

34 Articles on Singapore Law Searching LawNet E.g. Where do I find articles on Euthanasia in Singapore? 1. Legal Research 2. Reference Material 4. Click on Search button 3. Enter keywords in Simple Search box and select all of the words from drop down menu After login, select:

35 Articles on Singapore Law Searching LawNet E.g. Where do I find articles on Euthanasia in Singapore? Select the relevant article from the list for full text:

LAW LIBRARY TOUR In order to familiarise yourselves with the Law Library collection (and to be able to answer the library treasure hunt questions), please attend the library tour on Thurs, 15 th Aug TGs will be informed of time slots for tours by Sonita Jeyapathy, Deputy Director, Legal Skills Programme.

Content by: Lee Su-Lin Updated 10 th Aug 2013 © C J Koh Law Library Thank you You have reached the end of this tutorial. If you have any queries, please or speak to a librarian at the C J Koh Law Library Information Desk: