by Zakir Hussain

SINGAPORE was fortunate to have a Cambridge-educated lawyer as its first prime minister, for Mr Lee Kuan Yew knew what the rule of law entailed and was instrumental in shaping it here, Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong said yesterday.

And although legal principles in Singapore are based on English law, the laws today reflect the political, social and cultural values of its people, a point that critics of its courts take issue with, he noted.

'If you study the Singapore statute book today, you will find MM Lee's precepts and values reflected in all the laws,' he said.

'But pervading all of the laws is the rule of law: the idea that political authority must be exercised subject to and in accordance with the law.'

CJ on judicial independence and judicial review

THE Constitution confers judicial power with the judiciary and entrenches it as an independent arm of Government, Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong said yesterday.

Every Supreme Court judge takes an oath to protect and defend the Constitution before assuming office, he said.

Addressing an often-raised accusation of executive interference in the judiciary here, he told his audience of lawyers: 'It is not an oath to protect and defend the President, the legislature or the executive; it is an oath to protect and defend the Constitution.'

For more The Straits Times stories, click here.