International Affairs Division

The mission of the International Affairs Division (“IAD”) is to advance and protect Singapore’s interests through international law. It advises the Government on all aspects of international law and represents Singapore at international negotiations and dispute settlement matters. It is also the Central Authority of Singapore for handling requests for mutual legal assistance (“MLA”) and extradition.

HIGHLIGHTS OF WORK DONE IN 2015

(1) Negotiations and Participation at the International Fora

1. Economic and related international agreements
1. Engagements at the World Trade Organization (“WTO”)

AGC led the negotiations for the WTO Government Procurement Agreement arbitration procedures and played a critical role in the substantive conclusion of the negotiations.

AGC officers participated in the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding review negotiations, and advised on the legal aspects of the updated Information Technology Agreement, which was a landmark US$1.3 trillion IT trade deal. AGC officers were also involved in the trade negotiations at the WTO which resulted in a Nairobi Package on agriculture, cotton and issues related to least-developed countries.

AGC also represented Singapore in third-party proceedings at the WTO regarding Australia’s tobacco plain packaging legislation. Singapore’s written and oral submissions were prepared by AGC officers in consultation with policy agencies, and the oral arguments to the WTO panel were presented by an AGC officer.

2. Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (“TPP”)

AGC was actively involved in the TPP negotiations and took charge of the legal vetting of the 8,000-plus page treaty. AGC officers were also members of a small group of lawyers charged with the final vetting of the agreement and took the lead for this on a number of chapters and annexes of the TPP.

(above) TPP, hot off the press

3. Turkey-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (“TSFTA”)

AGC advised on and participated in the negotiations on the TSFTA, which were concluded in a record time of about 21 months. The TSFTA is Turkey’s first comprehensive FTA and includes Turkey’s first treaty commitments in government procurement.

4. Other trade agreements

Support continued to be provided for on-going negotiations for other treaties, such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the ASEAN-Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement as well as reviews of the Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement which entered into force in 2003 and the China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement which entered into force in 2009.

2. Human rights
1. International Convention on Eliminating Racial Discrimination (“ICERD”)
AGC advised government agencies on their obligations under the ICERD, which was signed by Singapore in October 2015. The ICERD is a United Nations (“UN”) Convention that condemns racial discrimination based on race, colour, descent, nationality or ethnic origin, and calls upon states to pursue a policy of eliminating racial discrimination in all its forms. (ii) Universal Periodic Review (“UPR”) and reporting under international human rights instruments

AGC was closely involved in the preparation for Singapore’s second UPR before the UN Human Rights Council, and the fifth periodic report on the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

(above) Team helming Singapore’s Universal Periodic Review session in Geneva

2. Other human rights work

AGC also supported the Government in its engagements with international and regional human rights bodies, including the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights and the UN special rapporteurs, and advised on the resolutions issued by such bodies.

3. Environmental law

AGC provided advice and participated in the negotiations on the Paris Agreement, a universal, legally binding agreement under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Paris Agreement which seeks to limit the global temperature increase to below 1.5°C was adopted at the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties.

(above) Singapore delegation at the UN Climate Change Conference

4. Criminal justice
1. Review of the Implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (“UNCAC”)

A review of Singapore’s implementation of the UNCAC was completed in January 2016. In the course of the review, AGC officers from both FTCD and IAD collaborated with agencies such as the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, Ministry of Law, Ministry of Home Affairs, Public Service Division and the Commercial Affairs Division, as well as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (“UNODC”), to prepare a full Country Review Report and Executive Summary (currently published on the UNODC’s website). In 2015, reviewing state parties and UNODC representatives visited Singapore for an on-site assessment.

2. Mutual evaluation conducted by the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) and the Asia/PacificGroup (“APG”) on Money Laundering

AGC was the lead agency coordinating Singapore’s responses for the international cooperation component of Singapore’s mutual evaluation. Its officers drafted and provided inputs on Singapore’s report.

IAD and FTCD officers were also extensively involved in the on-site evaluation held in Singapore in November 2015, spanning two and a half weeks, and attended the FATF and APG meetings held in Paris, Brisbane and Auckland.

(above) FATF inter-agency team with our assessors

3. Country engagements

AGC attended the 2nd Law Enforcement Homeland Security and Safety Cooperation Dialogue with the USA.

AGC also engaged its international counterparts to improve coordination and cooperation on mutual legal assistance matters. In particular, counterparts from France, the Netherlands, Indonesia, China, Bangladesh, and the UK were invited for case discussions in Singapore.

AGC attended various workshops on international cooperation in Thailand, Malysia and South Korea, and presented on Singapore’s mutual legal assistance and extradition regimes.

5. Other Areas of Participation in the UN
1. UN General Assembly (“UNGA”)

Two AGC officers attended the 70th Session of the UNGA. The Director-General also participated in the International Law Week held during UNGA, and held a series of engagements with various experts and luminaries.

2. Arms Trade Treaty

AGC attended the inaugural Conference of States Parties held in Cancun in August 2015. AGC advised on the draft reporting templates for member countries as well as compliance with the obligations imposed by the treaty.

6. Negotiations at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ("ASEAN")
1. ASEAN Senior Law Officials Meeting (“ASLOM”) and ASEAN Law Ministers Meeting (“ALAWMM”)

AGC supported the negotiations at the ASLOM and ALAWMM which covered a wide range of topics including international cooperation, trans-boundary haze, conservation of the coastal and marine environment, the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements and the harmonisation of ASEAN trade laws.

2. ASEAN Convention on Trafficking in Persons (“ACTIP”)

AGC was involved in negotiations for the ACTIP which was signed in November 2015. The ACTIP is a legally binding instrument that seeks to prevent and suppress trafficking in persons, protect victims and promote cooperation among ASEAN Member States.

(above) An IAD officer speaking at the UN General Assembly

(2) Bilateral matters

AGC advised agencies on Singapore’s bilateral negotiations with Malaysia over the development of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail and the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System.

(3) Developing International Law Expertise (“DILE”) initiatives

1. International Law Speakers Series (“ILSS”)

The International Law Speakers Series for the year saw AGC playing host to Judge Tomas Heidar, a Judge at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. Judge Heidar gave a lecture focusing on two recent cases of the Tribunal: (i) the Advisory Opinion requested by the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission in relation to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities; and (ii) the Enrica Lexie Incident case (Italy v. India, provisional measures), and also conducted two workshops on Law of the Sea issues.

2. Establishment of the Singapore Branch of the International Law Association (“ILA”)

AGC assisted in the establishment of the Singapore Branch of the ILA in July 2015.

3. Asset Recovery Guide

AGC prepared an asset recovery guide, which is likely to be published in 2016. It is a compendium of information on Singapore’s asset recovery regime and provides guidance to requesting states on the drafting of MLA requests for asset recovery to Singapore.

Key Figures of 2015