Attorney‑General to give notice to Minister
41.—(1) Unless the Minister otherwise directs, the Attorney‑General must cause a notice to be given to the Minister of every Singapore request and foreign request.
(2) A notice under subsection (1) must —(a)
in the case of a Singapore request — be given before the request is made;
(b)
in the case of a foreign request — be given as soon as reasonably practicable after receipt of the request and before the request is processed; and
(c)
be accompanied by —(i)
a copy of the request;
(ii)
copies of all relevant documents;
(iii)
a summary of the material facts supporting the request; and
(iv)
any other matters and information that the Minister may require.
(3) Upon receipt of a notice under subsection (1), the Minister may, if he or she thinks that —(a)
the taking of any action in relation to a Singapore request or foreign request is in the interests of the sovereignty, security or public order of Singapore — instruct the Attorney‑General to take such action, and the Attorney‑General must, unless prohibited by any provision of this Act, comply with the instruction; or[Act 42 of 2024 wef 28/03/2025]
(b)
the taking of any action in relation to a Singapore request or foreign request is against the interests of the sovereignty, security or public order of Singapore — instruct the Attorney‑General not to take such action, and the Attorney‑General must, despite the provisions of this Act, comply with the instruction.
(4) Where a foreign request has been complied with, the Attorney‑General must, if the Minister so requires, provide the Minister with particulars of any evidence, documents or other assistance provided pursuant to the request.
(5) In this section —“foreign request” means a request from a foreign country to Singapore under Part 3 for assistance in a criminal matter;
“Minister” includes a public officer authorised by the Minister for the purposes of this section;[Act 31 of 2022 wef 01/11/2022]
“Singapore request” means a request by Singapore to a foreign country under Part 2 for assistance in a criminal matter.
Authentication of documents
42.—(1) Subject to sections 13, 31 and 32 and the rules of law relating to the admissibility of evidence, any document that is obtained, provided, or produced pursuant to a request made under this Act and that is duly authenticated is admissible in evidence in any criminal proceedings.
(2) A document is duly authenticated for the purposes of subsection (1) if —(a)
it purports to be signed or certified by a judge, magistrate, or official in or of a foreign country; and
(b)
either —(i)
it is verified by the oath of a witness, or of an official of the government of that country; or
(ii)
it purports to be sealed with an official seal or public seal, or stamped with an official stamp, of that country, or of a Minister, a department or an official of the government, of that country.[Act 42 of 2024 wef 28/03/2025]
(3) Nothing in this section prevents the proof of any matter, or the admission in evidence of any document, in accordance with any other provision of this Act or any other law of Singapore.
Delegation
43. The Attorney‑General may delegate to a public officer any of his or her powers under this Act.
Regulations
44.—(1) The Minister may make any regulations that are necessary or expedient to give full effect to or for carrying out the provisions of this Act.
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), regulations may be made —(a)
to prescribe anything that is required or permitted to be prescribed under this Act; and
(b)
to provide that any person who contravenes the regulations shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.
Regulations for provision of assistance to certain bodies
45.—(1) The Minister may make regulations for the provision by Singapore of assistance in criminal matters to any prescribed international criminal tribunal in order to discharge or facilitate the discharge of any obligation binding on Singapore by virtue of its being a member of an international organisation or a party to an international agreement.
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), regulations may —(a)
provide for the application of the provisions of Part 3 to the international criminal tribunal subject to any modifications that may be specified in the regulations, including the provision of different or additional grounds for refusing assistance, providing assistance in respect of different offences, and a different manner of providing any form of assistance;
(b)
despite the provisions of the Act, provide for forms of assistance other than those set out in Part 3, including assistance by way of arresting any accused person, keeping him or her in custody and surrendering him or her to the international criminal tribunal;
(c)
confer and impose on authorised officers powers and duties which may be necessary or expedient for the purpose of providing any assistance; and
(d)
provide that any person who contravenes the regulations shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.
Rules of Court
46. Rules of Court may provide for the practice and procedure in relation to proceedings under this Act and the Third Schedule, including the summoning of witnesses, the production of documents, the taking of evidence on oath, the administering of oaths, the payment of expenses and allowances of witnesses.[23/2014]
Amendment of Schedules
47. The Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, amend all or any of the First, Second and Third Schedules.[23/2014]
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
The Singapore legislation on this platform is subject to copyright of the Singapore Government and is used/reproduced for the purposes of this platform with the permission of the Attorney-General's Chambers. Users of this platform may check Singapore Statutes Online for the latest version of the Singapore legislation.
