Remarks by Senior Minister of State for Law and Education, Indranee Rajah, at the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Law and Myanmar's Union Attorney General's Office

10 OCT 2014

10 Oct 2014 Posted in Speeches

Your Execellency Union Attorney General Dr Tun Shin
Deputy Attorney General
Director General
Distinguished guests
Ladies and Gentlemen

INTRODUCTION

  1. Allow me once again to extend our deepest appreciation for the warm hospitality that has been shown to us, the Singapore delegation, over the past few days.

  2. Singapore’s and Myanmar’s shared legal heritage in the common law tradition makes it only natural for us to build upon this common foundation and to enhance our cooperation in this area. And we heard the Attorney General speak, a short while ago, of the very long relationship that goes back. It extends way beyond my time in office, but you can see from what he has said that he has very close links with the Singapore legal fraternity and we are delighted to be able to build on this. So I am therefore very happy today that the Union Attorney General’s Office and our Ministry of Law will be signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the Singapore-Myanmar Integrated Legal Exchange because as the Attorney General has noted, this signing marks a new chapter of legal exchange and cooperation between our countries. Indeed, I think we have much to learn from each other.

  3. Under the MOU, our agencies will collaborate to organise a series of law workshops and seminars, in both Singapore and Myanmar, on a variety of subject areas, including commercial, investment, and criminal laws. For instance, over the past two days, the Union Attorney General’s Office, the Ministry of Law, and the Law Society of Singapore, jointly organised this Commercial Law Workshop for Myanmar officials from the UAGO and other economic ministries to share our experience on the private-public partnerships and infrastructure development. Such forums are useful platforms to exchange legal knowledge and develop specialised legal expertise. Further, under the MOU, customised attachments will also be designed to augment the interactions between the legal fraternities of both countries so as to develop legal capabilities, administration and governance. And lastly, the Singapore Ministry of Law will establish a scholarship for outstanding Myanmar officers who wish to pursue a Masters of Laws at either the National University of Singapore or the Singapore Management University.

  4. And it is our hope that this MOU on the Singapore-Myanmar Integrated Legal Exchange will bolster our shared commitment to the Rule of Law. A strong Rule of Law is essential for sustainable economic, social, and human development. Amongst others, the Rule of Law fosters economic development by creating a market-friendly environment that robustly protects and enforces property rights. A strong Rule of Law contributes to a stable and orderly society by strengthening law and order and the MOU is a signal of our commitment to the Rule of Law in our region.

BOOK CONTRIBUTION – HALSBURY’S LAWS OF SINGAPORE

  1. And I should also say that it gives me great pleasure to announce that the Singapore Ministry of Law will be contributing a set of Halsbury’s Laws of Singapore to the Union Attorney General’s Office.
  1. The Halsbury’s Laws of Singapore covers a variety of subjects, including commercial, criminal, and land law. These books add to the Singapore Law Collection, which was donated earlier this year, and we hope that the UAGO will find the contribution useful.
  1. And we very much look forward to further collaborations between the Ministry of Law and the Union Attorney General’s Office.
  1. Thank you very much.

Attachment: Factsheet on MOU with UAGO(0.2MB)

Last updated on 13 Oct 2014