Regulation 4

The following principles guide the interpretation of these Rules.Principles(a)A legal practitioner has a paramount duty to the court, which takes precedence over the legal practitioner’s duty to the legal practitioner’s client.(b)A legal practitioner’s duty to the legal practitioner’s client is subject only to the legal practitioner’s duty to the court, and must at all times be fulfilled in a manner that upholds the standing and integrity of the Singapore legal system and the legal profession in Singapore.(c)A legal practitioner has a duty to discharge honourably and with integrity all of the legal practitioner’s responsibilities to any tribunal before which the legal practitioner appears, the legal practitioner’s clients, the public and other members of the legal profession.(d)A legal practitioner must uphold the laws of Singapore in the legal practitioner’s practice.(e)A legal practitioner must facilitate the access of members of the public to justice.(f)A legal practitioner must be fair and courteous towards every person in respect of the legal practitioner’s professional conduct.(g)A legal practitioner must ensure that the legal practitioner’s professional conduct is always consistent with the values of the legal profession in each jurisdiction in which the legal practitioner is qualified to practise law and, when giving advice in any other jurisdiction, the values of the legal profession in that other jurisdiction.(h)A legal practitioner must keep up to date with all pertinent developments in the law in the legal practitioner’s area of practice.