Book contents
- The Role of Lawyers in Access to Justice
- The Role of Lawyers in Access to Justice
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Appendices
- Contributors
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- 1 Understanding and Comparing Access to Justice
- Part I Access to Justice in Asia
- 2 Pro Bono, Legal Aid, and the Struggle for Justice in China
- 3 Access to Justice in India: Managing Multiple Mechanisms in a Restrictive Practice Environment
- 4 Access to Justice in Indonesia: Searching for Meaning
- 5 Access to Justice and Lawyer Independence in Japan
- 6 Improving Access to Justice in Malaysia: Introspection, Purpose, and Dynamism
- 7 Political Lawyers and the Legal Occupation in Myanmar
- 8 Alternative Lawyering versus Pro Bono in the Philippines: From Challenging an Authoritarian Government to Working with the State
- 9 Access to Justice in Singapore: A Government and Lawyer Dynamic
- 10 Public Interest Lawyering in South Korea: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
- 11 A Hub, a Knot, and a Powerhouse: The Legal Aid Foundation and Access to Justice in Taiwan
- 12 Lawyers and Democratic Centralism in Vietnam
- Part II Comparative Perspectives on Access to Justice
- Index
9 - Access to Justice in Singapore: A Government and Lawyer Dynamic
from Part I - Access to Justice in Asia
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 September 2022
- The Role of Lawyers in Access to Justice
- The Role of Lawyers in Access to Justice
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Appendices
- Contributors
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- 1 Understanding and Comparing Access to Justice
- Part I Access to Justice in Asia
- 2 Pro Bono, Legal Aid, and the Struggle for Justice in China
- 3 Access to Justice in India: Managing Multiple Mechanisms in a Restrictive Practice Environment
- 4 Access to Justice in Indonesia: Searching for Meaning
- 5 Access to Justice and Lawyer Independence in Japan
- 6 Improving Access to Justice in Malaysia: Introspection, Purpose, and Dynamism
- 7 Political Lawyers and the Legal Occupation in Myanmar
- 8 Alternative Lawyering versus Pro Bono in the Philippines: From Challenging an Authoritarian Government to Working with the State
- 9 Access to Justice in Singapore: A Government and Lawyer Dynamic
- 10 Public Interest Lawyering in South Korea: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
- 11 A Hub, a Knot, and a Powerhouse: The Legal Aid Foundation and Access to Justice in Taiwan
- 12 Lawyers and Democratic Centralism in Vietnam
- Part II Comparative Perspectives on Access to Justice
- Index
Summary
The government in Singapore is highly centralized and powerful. In this environment, access to justice would seemingly be determined by the government. But while the government does play a major role in access to justice, e.g. by funding legal aid and supporting pro bono schemes, other actors impact access to justice. The chapter examines how access to justice developed between lawyers and the government, starting from the initial government position of implementing civil but not criminal legal aid, to the Law Society’s creation of the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme in 1985 and its 2006 Legal Aid Review Report that prompted many improvements, to the government’s 2013 decision to fund broad-based criminal legal aid. The chapter argues that access to justice in Singapore should be viewed primarily as a government and lawyer dynamic, and that although the government exercises more power over a variety of decisions, these two actors have negotiated a changing relationship over the years that continues to offer new possibilities.
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- The Role of Lawyers in Access to JusticeAsian and Comparative Perspectives, pp. 162 - 177Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022