Revisiting remedies and the legality-merits distinction in Singapore administrative law: CBB v Law Society of Singapore [2021] SGCA 6

• Main Authors: CHNG, Kenny, SOON, Wen Qi Andrea
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2022
• Subjects: Legality-merits distinction; mandatory order; public law remedies; judicial review; grounds of review; administrative law; Administrative Law; Asian Studies; Legal Remedies
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/3886; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/5844/viewcontent/RevisitingRemedies_sv.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

It is a general principle of administrative law that the courts will not compel a decision-maker to perform a public duty in a particular manner by way of a mandatory order. Notably, in CBB v Law Society of Singapore [2021] SGCA 6, the Singapore Court of Appeal accepted that an exception could be made to this general principle where there was only one reasonable way to perform the public duty in question. Beyond the decision’s obvious ramifications for the law relating to public law remedies in Singapore, this note argues that the Court of Appeal’s reasoning bears significant implications for administrative law in Singapore more broadly. Indeed, the Court’s ruling is indicative of a shift in attitude towards the legality-merits distinction, a foundational principle of administrative law in Singapore.