Singapore legislation
Section 28
Section 28
Regulations
(1)
The Minister may make regulations not inconsistent with this Act prescribing all matters (other than the rules regulating the practice and procedure of any court referred to in section 24) which by this Act are required or permitted to be prescribed or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.
(2)
Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the regulations may —
regulate all matters relating to fees, charges and costs in relation to proceedings to which an aided person or a person to whom legal aid is supplied under Part II is a party;
remit or provide for the remission of any fees or charges in any such proceedings;
provide for the communication of the provisions of Part II to persons committed for trial and persons charged in District Courts;
make provision as to the cases in which a person may be refused legal aid or advice by reason of his conduct when seeking or receiving legal aid or advice (whether in the same or in a different matter);
make provision for the recovery of sums due in respect of legal aid and for making effective the charge created by this Act on property recovered or preserved for a person receiving legal aid, including provision —
for the enforcement of any order or agreement for costs made in favour of a person who has received legal aid; and
for making a solicitor’s right to payment wholly or partly dependent on his performance of any duties imposed on him by regulations made for the purposes of this paragraph;
make any provision necessary to meet the special circumstances where —
a person seeks legal aid in a matter of special urgency;
a person begins to receive legal aid after having consulted a solicitor in the ordinary way with respect to the same matter, or ceases to receive legal aid before the matter in question is finally settled; and
there is any relevant change of circumstances while a person is receiving legal aid; and
prescribe any forms to be used under this Act.
(3)
The regulations may apply generally to all legal matters, whether relating to proceedings in court or otherwise, or may apply to any specified class of matters or proceedings or to all matters or proceedings other than matters or proceedings of a specified class.
(4)
The regulations may impose a penalty not exceeding $1,000 for any breach of the regulations.
(5)
All regulations made under this Act shall be published in the Gazette and shall be presented to Parliament as soon as possible after publication and if a resolution is passed pursuant to a motion notice whereof has been given for a sitting day not later than the first available sitting day of Parliament next after the expiry of 3 months from the date when the regulations are so presented annulling the regulations or any part thereof as from a specified date, the regulations or such part thereof, as the case may be, shall thereupon become void as from that date but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder or to the making of new regulations.