Singapore, France ink treaty on mutual legal aid to fight crime

Singapore and France have secured cooperation in the prevention and suppression of crime, with both parties signing a mutual legal assistance treaty at a virtual ceremony last Wednesday.

The Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters provides a framework for both countries to make requests for legal assistance in each other's criminal matters, and is Singapore's first mutual legal assistance treaty since 2005.

It is also Singapore's first bilateral mutual legal assistance treaty with a country with a civil law system.

Civil legal systems are used commonly in European countries, while English-speaking countries, including the United States and Singapore, use the English-based common law system.

Before the virtual ceremony, Singapore's Minister for Law and Home Affairs K. Shanmugam and France's Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti also exchanged views on several topics. These include strengthening bilateral legal cooperation and the promotion of Singapore and Paris as investment, arbitration and legal innovation hubs.

Mr Shanmugam said the treaty will be an invaluable instrument in the fight against transnational crime, noting that Singapore and France already cooperate closely on mutual legal assistance.

"Our law enforcement agencies have regular exchanges on issues relating to counter-terrorism, cybercrime, homeland security amongst many others, and this agreement will further cement the already strong mutual legal assistance relationship between our countries," he said.

Mr Shanmugam and Mr Dupond-Moretti also reaffirmed the agreement's role in enhancing the strong relationship between Singapore and France, and said that they looked forward to deeper legal cooperation, the Ministry of Law said in a press statement.