Singapore's legal AI guidance: courts, ministry, and Law Society

Singapore built one of the most complete state frameworks for generative AI in legal practice, across three layers: the courts, the Ministry of Law, and the Law Society. This is the dated record of each. None prohibits AI; all place responsibility on the user to verify.

Supreme Court — Registrar’s Circular No. 1 of 2024

The courts’ guide was issued on 23 September 2024 and took effect on 1 October 2024, through Registrar’s Circular No. 1 of 2024, with companion circulars for the State Courts (RC No. 9 of 2024) and Family Justice Courts (RC No. 1 of 2024).

Its position: generative AI is not prohibited; the court user bears full responsibility for the output and must verify all AI content — case law and legislation against authoritative sources, and one AI tool may not be used to verify another; evidence may not be fabricated or tampered with; and pre-emptive declaration of AI use is not required unless the court specifically asks. Non-compliance can bring costs, including personal costs on lawyers, reduced evidentiary weight, or disciplinary and contempt action — the framework applied in Tan Hai Peng.

Ministry of Law — Guide for Using Generative AI in the Legal Sector

The Ministry of Law’s sector guide has a two-stage history: a public consultation draft (open 1–30 September 2025), then the final version published on 6 March 2026.

The final guide is a non-binding reference built on three principles: professional ethics (legal professionals remain ultimately responsible for their work product), confidentiality (safeguard client data and understand how models process it), and transparency. It complements the courts’ guide and includes a five-step adoption framework covering lawyers, in-house counsel, allied legal professionals, and tool providers.

Law Society of Singapore — Advisory

The Law Society issued its “Advisory on the Use of Publicly Available AI Tools” on 2 April 2026 — an interim document, with its Generative AI Committee preparing more detailed guidance.

Its recommendations: publicly available or free AI tools risk breaching rule 6 (client confidentiality) of the Legal Profession (Professional Conduct) Rules 2015; prefer paid or enterprise versions after reviewing terms of use; do not upload privileged, proprietary, confidential, or personal data; anonymise and redact prompts and documents; and opt out of model-training retention.

Version summary

Body	Document	Date	Status
Supreme Court	Registrar’s Circular No. 1 of 2024 (Guide for Court Users)	issued 23 Sep 2024, eff. 1 Oct 2024	Current
Ministry of Law	Guide for Using GenAI in the Legal Sector (consultation draft)	Sep 2025	Superseded
Ministry of Law	Guide for Using GenAI in the Legal Sector (final)	6 Mar 2026	Current
Law Society of Singapore	Advisory on Publicly Available AI Tools	2 Apr 2026	Current (interim)

Sources

• Supreme Court — Guide on the Use of Generative AI Tools by Court Users (PDF)
• Ministry of Law — Guide for Using Generative AI in the Legal Sector (6 Mar 2026 PDF) · launch page
• Law Society of Singapore — Advisory on Publicly Available AI Tools (2 Apr 2026 PDF)