Ministry of Foreign, Home & Law

The Ministry of Law, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Foreign Affairs are responsible ministries of the Government of Singapore responsible for ensuring that Singapore's legal infrastructure is clear, efficacious and transparent. It is currently led by K Shanmugam, and for the Foreign Affairs aside, Vivian Balakrishnan.

Earlier, Lynette Tay was one of the ministers until 2009, where it was replaced by Claudia Soo until 2011, then it was replaced by Lim Shi Pei.

History
The Ministry of Home Affairs was set up in 1959 when Singapore attained self-governance. Housed at the Empress Place Building, it remained there until 16 September 1963 when Singapore joined Malaysia and internal affairs became a federal responsibility.

After gaining independence on 9 August 1965, Home Affairs returned to its Empress Place address under the purview of the Ministry of Interior and Defence (MID). MID stayed there for several months before it was re-located to Pearl's Hill (former Lower Barracks of Police).

On 11 August 1970, the Ministry of Interior and Defence was separated into two ministries, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Defence. MHA remained at Pearl's Hill until August 1977 when it moved to Phoenix Park at Tanglin Road.

MHA, together with Police Headquarters, moved to its new premises at New Phoenix Park at 28 Irrawaddy Road on 18 August 2001.

Mission
Advancing access to justice, the rule of law, the economy and society through policy, law and services.

Organisational structure
The Ministry of Law comprises
 * Headquarters (HQ)
 * Three departments (Insolvency and Public Trustee's Office, Legal Aid Bureau and Community Mediation Unit, the last of which oversees the Community Mediation Centres located at The Treasury and at the Subordinate Courts of Singapore)
 * Three boards and tribunals (Appeals Board for Land Acquisitions, Land Surveyors Board and Copyright Tribunal)
 * Two statutory boards (Intellectual Property Office of Singapore and Singapore Land Authority)

HQ's policy divisions consist of
 * Legal Policy Division
 * International Legal Division
 * Legal Industry Division
 * Policy Advisory Division
 * Land Policy Division
 * Intellectual Property Policy Division
 * Community Legal Services Division

The Ministry of Home Affairs consists of the following seven departments:
 * Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB)
 * Home Team Academy (HTA)
 * Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA)
 * Internal Security Department (ISD)
 * Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF)
 * Singapore Police Force (SPF)
 * Singapore Prison Service (SPS)

Statutory Boards

 * Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA)
 * Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises (SCORE)

Staff divisions

 * Community Engagement Division
 * Corporate Relations Division
 * Finance and Admin Division
 * Human Resource Division
 * Infocomm Technology Division
 * International Cooperation & Partnership Division
 * Inspectorate & Review Division
 * Internal Audit Division
 * Joint Ops Division
 * Legal Division
 * Office of the Chief Science & Technology Officer
 * Planning & Organisation Division
 * Policy Development Division
 * Procurement & Logistics Division
 * Registry of Societies
 * Technology Planning Division

Committees/Councils

 * Presidential Council for Religious Harmony
 * National Crime Prevention Council
 * National Council Against Drug Abuse
 * National Fire and Civil Emergency Preparedness Council