Singapore legislation
Clause 36
Clause 36
Codes of practice
(1)
The Chief Licensing Officer may, from time to time —
issue one or more codes of practice applicable to all licensees or the licensees of specified classes of licences;
approve as a code of practice applicable to all licensees or the licensees of specified classes of licences any document prepared by a person other than the Chief Licensing Officer, as in force at a particular time or as amended from time to time, if the Chief Licensing Officer considers the document as suitable for this purpose; or
amend or revoke any code of practice issued under paragraph (a) or approved under paragraph (b),with respect to all or any of the matters in subsection (2).
(2)
The matters for the purposes of subsection (1) are —
the conduct of licensees;
the measures necessary for licensees to deal with any outbreak of infectious diseases, plague, epidemic, fire, flood, earthquake or disaster (natural or otherwise) or any other public emergency; and
for licensees —
the management, administration and operations of early childhood development centres;
the provision of early childhood development services; and
the quality of any aspect of early childhood development services provided at early childhood development centres.
(3)
A code of practice may, in particular, specify the duties and obligations of any licensee in relation to the operation of any early childhood development centre to which the licence relates.
(4)
If any provision in any code of practice is inconsistent with any provision of this Act, such provision, to the extent of the inconsistency —
is to have effect subject to this Act; or
having regard to this Act, is not to have effect.
(5)
Where any code of practice is issued, approved, amended or revoked by the Chief Licensing Officer under subsection (1), the Chief Licensing Officer must —
publish a notice of the issue, approval, amendment or revocation (as the case may be) of the code of practice to every licensee to whom the code of practice applies;
specify in the notice mentioned in paragraph (a), the date of issue, approval, amendment or revocation (as the case may be); and
ensure that, so long as the code of practice remains in force, copies of that code of practice are available for inspection, free of charge, by licensees to whom the code of practice applies.
(6)
No code of practice, no amendment to any issued or approved code of practice, and no revocation of any issued or approved code of practice, has any force or effect until the notice mentioned in subsection (5) is published in accordance with that subsection.
(7)
A code of practice issued or approved under this section does not have any legislative effect.
(8)
Subject to subsection (9), every licensee must comply with the relevant codes of practice applicable to the licensee.
(9)
The Chief Licensing Officer may, either generally or for such time as the Chief Licensing Officer may specify, waive the application of any code of practice or any part of a code of practice issued or approved under this section to any licensee.
(10)
Any contravention or failure to comply by a licensee with any code of practice applicable to the licensee does not of itself render the licensee liable to criminal proceedings, but any such contravention may, in any proceedings (criminal or otherwise under this Act) in connection with an offence under this Act, be relied on by any party to those proceedings as tending to establish or negate any liability which is in question in those proceedings.