Commencement of the Panel of Psychiatrists and Rules Relating to Expert Evidence and Reports in Criminal Proceedings
1 December 2025 Posted in Press releases
1. The Criminal Procedure (Expert Opinion) Rules 20251 and related legislative amendments2 will come into effect on 31 December 2025. These amendments will:
a) require psychiatrists to be a member of the Panel of Psychiatrists (Panel) before they can give psychiatric expert evidence in criminal proceedings; and
b) provide for Rules in relation to expert evidence and reports in criminal proceedings.
Panel of Psychiatrists
2. Expert evidence from psychiatrists plays a critical role in the criminal process, especially with the rise in the use of psychiatric expert evidence in criminal cases. It is crucial to ensure that the standards of objectivity and competence expected of expert witnesses are met consistently.
3. The establishment of the Panel will better safeguard the objectivity and quality of such evidence.
4. The key features of the Panel are as follows:
a) A Selection Committee comprising a Judge of the Supreme Court, District Judge and an officer from the Ministry of Health will decide on the appointment of psychiatrists to the Panel. The full list of eligibility criteria is available in the Annex below.
b) Psychiatrists must be admitted to the Panel before they can give psychiatric expert evidence in criminal proceedings.
c) There will be an avenue of appeal for psychiatrists whose applications are rejected.
5. The Panel’s website will also provide a central and public directory of all the appointed members. This will allow increased visibility for the listed psychiatrists, and greater choice for lawyers looking to engage a psychiatrist.
6. We strongly encourage all qualified psychiatrists who may be required to give psychiatric expert evidence in criminal proceedings to apply for appointment between 31 December 2025 and 28 February 20263.
Rules relating to expert reports and evidence
7. The Criminal Procedure (Expert Opinion) Rules 2025 will also provide for the following:
a) Duties of an expert to the Court, including that the expert’s duty to the Court will override any obligation an expert would have towards a party4.
b) Requirements relating to expert reports, such as codifying the basic requirements for expert reports5.
c) The Court’s power to order concurrent expert evidence or “hot-tubbing” with the consent of the parties, which will allow more than one expert witness to testify before the Court at the same time, even if they are engaged by different parties. This will assist the Court to assess expert evidence more effectively and focus on areas of disagreement, especially in cases involving complex technical issues.
8. More details on the Panel and the Criminal Procedure (Expert Opinion) Rules 2025 can be found at www.psychpanel.gov.sg and go.gov.sg/criminal-procedure-expert-opinion-rules.
MINISTRY OF LAW
1 DECEMBER 2025
| Annex: Eligibility Criteria |
|---|
An applicant is eligible to be appointed if he or she meets both criteria (i) and (ii) below: i. The applicant must fall within one of the three categories below: a) The applicant is registered as a psychiatrist in the Register of Specialists in Singapore; b) The applicant has completed 3 years of psychiatry residency training in Singapore and is receiving formal training and ongoing supervision by a medical practitioner who is registered as a psychiatrist in the Register of Specialists; or c) The applicant is a foreign-registered psychiatrist with a certificate of good standing issued by the foreign licensing authority. ii. The Selection Committee must be satisfied that there are no reasonable grounds to believe that the applicant has displayed, or is likely to display, a clear lack of objectivity or competence as an expert witness. |
1. The Criminal Procedure (Expert Opinion) Rules 2025 were made by the Criminal Procedure Rules Committee, which comprises members from the Judiciary, the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Singapore Police Force and the Defence Bar.↩
2. This includes amendments under the Criminal Justice Reform Act 2018 and the Criminal Procedure (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2024.↩
3. There will be no quota on the number of applicants and members of the Panel.↩
4. For example, the Rules prescribe an expert’s duty to assist the Court on matters within his expertise, which overrides any obligation that the expert has to a party who instructed him or paid for his services.↩
5. For example, an expert will have to state the issues that the Court has asked the expert to consider, provide details of his qualifications and the literature or materials that the expert relied on in making the expert’s report.↩
Last updated on 1 December 2025