Speech by Senior Minister of State for Law, Indranee Rajah, at the Launch of Law Awareness Week @ CDC

22 JUL 2015

22 Jul 2015 Posted in Speeches

Ms Denise Phua, Host Mayor, Central CDC;
Dr Teo Ho Pin, Chairman of the Mayors’ Committee and Mayor, North West District;
Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman, Mayor, South East District;
Ms Low Yen Ling, Mayor, South West District;
Grassroots Advisers;
Mr Thio Shen Yi, Senior Counsel, President of the Law Society of Singapore;
Mr Ang Hak Seng, BBM, Chief Executive Director, People’s Association;
Lawyers, students and friends,

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you all to the Launch of Law Awareness Week @ CDC.

Enhancing Access to Justice through Community Legal Clinics

Eight years ago, the Ministry of Law supported the Law Society in establishing the first Community Legal Clinics at the North West District and the South East District.
The clinics were set up really to meet a need. It was found at that time that there were a lot of people who needed sound, basic legal advice. They didn’t need to do high-flying international arbitration, or cross-border litigation.
They needed the sort of stuff like the day-to-day basic things – how to deal with their neighbour, how to deal with domestic violence, how to deal with all the issues that crop up and, in some cases obviously, how to deal with family disputes.
These clinics were set up to provide free basic legal guidance to those in the community who needed it. These two clinics paved the way – they were very successful, and the other CDCs saw the benefit in having such legal clinics in their own districts as well.
So I was extremely heartened to see the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Law Society and the Mayor’s Committee for the Community Legal Pro Bono Services Network initiative last September.
Some 10 months have since passed and the partnership between the Law Society and the five CDCs has grown from strength to strength. There are now legal clinics in every CDC in Singapore, held almost every day of the week. Since September last year, more than 60 law firms and 280 volunteer lawyers have come on board to provide free legal advice at the various community legal clinics.
With their help, we are progressively serving more residents – an increase from an average of 600 applicants per quarter before the MOU, to more than 630 applicants in the first quarter of 2015. The Network expansion has brought much needed information and services to the residents.
This year’s Law Awareness Week stands testament to this spirit of collaboration and to the joint commitment of the five CDCs and the Law Society in promoting access to justice in Singapore.

Promoting Law Awareness
But having access to basic legal advice is while beneficial, not enough. It is just as important for the man on the street to have a basic awareness of the law as this helps to strengthen access to justice.
Knowing what the law is, how and why it matters to people, and what to do when faced with a legal issue or problem – that gives an individual greater confidence in handling legal issues that may arise. I am confident that this Law Awareness Week will help people to build such an understanding of the law in our community.
While previous Law Awareness events were held only in one location, the events planned for this year’s Law Awareness Week are unprecedented in their scope and in their reach. The talks scheduled to take place over the coming week will cover a variety of topics that are relevant to the individual. Some cover new areas, such as protection from harassment.
Another area that lawyers should look at, that is not in force yet is the recently passed Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals Bill. That will be of particular interest because one of the bugbears, especially when people live closely packed together, is neighbourhood disputes. So the volunteer lawyers and students might want to make themselves familiar with the Bill as and when it becomes operational. I imagine there would be quite a lot of advice needed, in relation to that.
These talks will be hosted at multiple convenient locations within the CDCs – at the Community Centres and other such venues. This is a very deliberate move, because it is aimed at allowing members of the public to attend the Law Awareness talks on weekdays after work or after dinner, and at times convenient during the weekend.
Some 3,000 residents are expected to attend and benefit from the various events in terms of their level of understanding and awareness of legal issues. I understand that due to overwhelming interest, many follow up events and talks will take place in the CDCs in the subsequent weeks.
I want to thank the legal fraternity for your enthusiastic participation, which has made the events this week possible. To whom much is given, much is also expected and to lawyers, I think much is given in terms of education received, abilities and opportunities.
This is a way of giving back which is worthwhile and meaningful and really makes a difference. So I’m particularly appreciative of all the lawyers who have given some of their time – practicing lawyers as well as law students, basically everybody who has chipped in to contribute to this.
I think that Law Awareness Week will be just the beginning, and the Law Society will continue working with the CDCs and the community partners to expand the Community Legal Clinic network through partnerships with the community organisations. I hope this ecosystem of pro bono legal services will continue to grow stronger and wider, and on the Government’s part, we will do our best to support and encourage this growth.

Conclusion
In closing, let me once again thank all the volunteers who have given their time and expertise to improve legal knowledge in the community. Thank you for your commitment and your belief in access to justice. This Law Awareness Week is just one milestone in what will hopefully be a long and fruitful relationship, bringing pro bono legal assistance and legal awareness island-wide.
Thank you very much.

Last updated on 23 Jul 2015