Singapore legislation
Regulation 44
of Allied Health Professions (Professional Conduct and Discipline) Regulations 2013
Regulation 44
Duty of legal assessor
Subregulation 1
Where a legal assessor has been invited to be present at any proceedings before, or during any deliberations of, the Council, a Complaints Committee, a Disciplinary Tribunal, a Health Committee or an Interim Orders Committee (collectively or individually called in this regulation the Committee), he or she must —
attend those proceedings or deliberations as an observer;
advise the Committee on any question of law arising in those proceedings or deliberations; and
assist the Committee with the drafting, but not participate in or influence the making by the Committee, of any decision of the Committee.
Subregulation 2
Without limiting paragraph (1), the legal assessor must, in any proceedings before, or during any deliberations of, the Committee —
advise the Committee on any question of law that is referred to him or her by the Committee;
intervene to advise the Committee on an issue of law where it appears to him or her that, without his or her intervention, there is the possibility of a mistake of law being made; and
intervene to advise the Committee of any irregularity in the conduct of the proceedings or in the deliberations which comes to his or her knowledge.
Subregulation 3
Subject to paragraph (4), where a legal assessor tenders any advice to the Committee in any proceedings before the Committee, the advice must be tendered in the presence of every party or representative of a party who is present at the proceedings.
Subregulation 4
Paragraph (3) does not apply if —
the advice is tendered during any deliberations of the Committee; or
the Committee considers that it would be prejudicial to the performance of its duty or the discharge of its functions for the advice to be tendered in the presence of the parties or their representatives.