Construction of provisions as to exercise of powers and duties
Open ↗27.—(1) Where a written law confers a power or imposes a duty, then, unless the contrary intention appears, the power may be exercised and the duty must be performed from time to time as occasion requires.
(2) Where a written law confers a power or imposes a duty on the holder of an office as such, then, unless the contrary intention appears, the power may be exercised and the duty must be performed by the holder of the office for the time being or by a person duly appointed to act for him or her.
(3) Where any Act confers a power to make subsidiary legislation, to issue any order or to do any act, the power is, unless the contrary intention appears, to be construed as including the power exercisable in like manner and subject to the like consent and conditions (if any) to amend, vary, rescind, revoke or suspend the subsidiary legislation made or order issued or any part thereof or to abstain from doing the act.
Power to appoint includes power to dismiss
Open ↗28.—(1) Where a written law confers upon any person or authority a power to make appointments to any office or place, the power is, unless the contrary intention appears, to be construed as including a power to dismiss or suspend any person appointed and to appoint another person temporarily in the place of any person so suspended or in place of any sick or absent holder of the office or place.
(2) Where the power of the person or authority to make appointments is only exercisable upon the recommendation or subject to the approval or consent of some other person or authority, the power of dismissal is, unless the contrary intention appears, only exercisable upon the recommendation or subject to the approval or consent of that other person or authority.
Construction of enabling words
Open ↗29.—(1) Where a written law confers powers on any person to do or enforce the doing of any act or thing, such powers are to be understood to be also conferred as are reasonably necessary to enable the person to do or enforce the doing of the act or thing.
(2) Without limiting subsection (1) —(a)
a power to prohibit or to control or to regulate any matter includes power to provide for the same by the licensing thereof and power to prohibit acts whereby the prohibitions, control or regulations affecting the matter might be evaded;
(b)
a power to grant a licence, permit, authority, approval or exemption includes power to impose reasonable conditions subject to which the licence, permit, authority, approval or exemption may be granted.
Appointment of officers by name or office
Open ↗30.—(1) Where by or under any Act, the President, a Minister or any public officer or body is empowered to appoint or name a person to have and exercise any powers or perform any duties, the President, Minister, public officer or body may either appoint a person by name or direct the person for the time being holding the office designated by the President, Minister, public officer or body to have and exercise those powers and perform those duties.
(2) Thereupon, or from the date specified by the President, Minister, public officer or body, the person appointed by name or the person holding the office as mentioned in subsection (1) has and may exercise those powers or perform those duties accordingly.
(3) Any such appointment may be made with retrospective effect to any date not being a date earlier than the commencement of the Act under which the appointment is made.
Official designation to include officer executing duties
Open ↗31. When reference is made in any written law, instrument, warrant or process of any kind made or issued by the President, a Minister, any public officer or body or person having authority under any written law to make or to issue the same to any public officer by the term designating his or her office, such public officer includes the officer for the time being executing the duties of that office or any portion of those duties.
Appointments having retrospective effect
Open ↗32. Any appointment may be declared to have effect as from the date upon which the appointee commenced to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of his or her appointment, not being a date earlier than the date of the commencement of the written law under which the appointment is made.
Power of majority, quorum, etc., of board, etc.
Open ↗32A.—(1) Where a written law confers a power or function or imposes a duty upon a statutory body consisting of 3 or more persons, the power may be exercised, or the function or duty may be performed, by a majority of those persons.
(2) Where a statutory body consists of 3 or more persons —(a)
a quorum is constituted at a meeting of the body by a number of members of the body equal to —(i)
if the written law establishing the body fixes the number of members of the body — at least half of that number of members; and
(ii)
if the number of persons is not so fixed but is within a range having a maximum or minimum — at least half of the number of members in office; and
(b)
an act or thing done by a majority of the members of the body present at the meeting, if those members constitute a quorum, is to be regarded as having been done by the body.
(3) At a meeting of a statutory body, the chairperson or other member presiding has a casting as well as a deliberative vote in all matters in which a decision is taken by vote.
(4) This section is subject to any provision to the contrary in any written law.
(5) In this section, “statutory body” means a board, commission, committee or similar body, whether corporate or unincorporate, established under a written law.
Powers of board, etc., not affected by vacancy, etc.
Open ↗33. Where by or under any Act, any board, commission, committee or similar body, whether corporate or unincorporate, is established, then, unless the contrary intention appears, the powers of such board, commission, committee or similar body are not affected by —(a)
any vacancy in the membership thereof;
(b)
the fact that it is afterwards discovered that there was some defect in the appointment or qualification of a person purporting to be a member thereof; or
(c)
the fact that there was any minor irregularity in the convening of any meeting thereof.
Standard investment power of statutory bodies
Open ↗33A. Where any written law confers on a statutory body the power to invest any moneys in accordance with the standard investment power of statutory bodies, then, subject to any general or special directions as the Minister charged with responsibility for that statutory body may issue, that statutory body may —(a)
invest those moneys in the manner it thinks fit; and
(b)
engage in any financial activity or participate in any financial arrangement for the purpose of managing or hedging against any financial risk that arises or is likely to arise from such investment.[45/2004]
Signification of orders, etc., of President
Open ↗34.—(1) Where any power is conferred upon the President to make any subsidiary legislation or appointment, give any direction, issue any order, authorise any thing or matter to be done, grant any exemption, remit any fee or penalty or exercise any other power under any written law, it is sufficient if the exercise of such power by the President is signified under the hand of any Minister or the Secretary to the Cabinet.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to the power of the President to make or issue any warrants or proclamations which may be made or issued only under the hand of the President himself or herself.
Signification of orders, etc., of Minister
Open ↗35. Where any written law confers upon a Minister power to make any subsidiary legislation or appointment, give any direction, issue any order, authorise any thing or matter to be done, grant any exemption, remit any fee or penalty or exercise any other power, it is sufficient, unless in the written law it is otherwise provided, if the exercise of such power by the Minister is signified under the hand of the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry for which the Minister is responsible or of any public officer duly authorised in writing by the Minister.
Subsidiary legislation by statutory body, etc.
Open ↗35A.—(1) Where a statutory body is permitted by any written law to delegate the performance of any of the statutory body’s functions or the exercise of any of the statutory body’s powers, that power to delegate does not extend to the power to make any subsidiary legislation.[5/2018]
(2) Where any Act confers upon a statutory body power to make subsidiary legislation, it is sufficient, unless in such Act it is otherwise provided, if the exercise of that power by the statutory body is signified under the hand of —(a)
the chairperson of the statutory body; or
(b)
a member of the statutory body duly authorised by that body to do so in place of the chairperson.[5/2018]
Delegation of functions of Minister
Open ↗36.—(1) Where an Act confers or imposes a function on a Minister (called in this section the responsible Minister), the Minister may delegate the function in accordance with this section.
(2) Unless any Act expressly provides otherwise, the function may, with the Prime Minister’s approval, be delegated to any Minister, Minister of State or Parliamentary Secretary assigned by the Prime Minister to assist the responsible Minister.
(3) Unless the contrary intention appears in any Act, the function may be delegated to a public body or a public officer.
(4) Where a function is delegated under this section —(a)
the delegate may or must (as the case may be) exercise the function; and
(b)
if the Act that created the function provides that the exercise of the function depends on the Minister’s opinion, belief or state of mind, the delegate may exercise the function based on the delegate’s opinion, belief or state of mind.
(5) A delegation under this section —(a)
must be made by order in the Gazette;
(b)
may be general or limited;
(c)
may be subject to conditions that are consistent with the nature of the delegated function;
(d)
may be to a named person or to the holder of an office;
(e)
may be to 2 or more persons at the same time; and
(f)
does not prevent the responsible Minister from personally exercising the delegated function.
(6) This section does not permit the delegation of —(a)
any power to make subsidiary legislation; and
(b)
the power of delegation in this section.
(7) A function delegated under this section may not be further delegated by the delegate.
(8) This section does not affect the operation of any rule of law by which any function conferred or imposed on a Minister may be exercised by another person on behalf of the Minister.
(9) In this section —(a)
“function” includes power and duty, and the exercise of a function includes the performance of a duty;
(b)
“public body” has the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Public Sector (Governance) Act 2018 (Act 5 of 2018), and “public officer” includes a person deemed to be a public officer by section 21(1) of that Act; and
(c)
a reference to an Act does not include any subsidiary legislation made under the Act.[Act 4 of 2021 wef 01/03/2024]
Signing of documents
Open ↗37. Where in any written law any document is required to be under the hand of or countersigned by a Minister in exercise of any powers conferred thereby, it is sufficient for the document to be under the hand of or signed or countersigned by the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry for which the Minister is responsible or by any public officer duly authorised in writing by the Minister.
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
