Justice gaps undermine stability and breed cynicism: President Tharman

The world is seeing a greater violation of international law and international humanitarian law, particularly with regard to occupation, annexation and the failure to protect citizens in conflict zones, said President Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Sept 7.

The rule of law has also weakened for nearly three-quarters of the world’s population, Mr Tharman noted, citing statistics from the non-profit World Justice Project.

Such “justice gaps” of this scale undermine stability and breed cynicism and will only accentuate the broader corrosion of trust in public institutions seen globally, he said.

He was speaking at the opening of the 30th Annual Conference and General Meeting of the International Association of Prosecutors (IAP), an industry gathering of prosecutors from around the world.

Mr Tharman said that when institutions lose legitimacy and citizens lose faith in the fairness of the system, societies become more polarised and could even fracture.

Yet, despite the importance of prosecutors in advancing the rule of law, many of them are facing new challenges in confronting the business of crime.

“Chief among them is the rise of cybercrime, transnational crime and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to power both,” Mr Tharman said.

He urged the community to share intelligence and cooperate in efforts to master new technologies. 

Prosecutors can fight this battle only with their own capabilities enhanced, and with proactive cooperation across borders, Mr Tharman said. “It is the only way we will succeed in bringing these criminals to justice.” 

Despite geopolitical turbulence and a loss of faith in multilateralism, international rules and organisations have endured and kept the global system functioning in the areas of civil aviation, maritime navigation, telecommunications and postal services. 

“When enough nations commit to a common set of rules, the rules bring benefits to all involved, while those who stand aside eventually risk losing out,” Mr Tharman said in his speech at Shangri-La Singapore hotel to an audience of about 450 prosecutors from about 90 countries.

Mr Tharman said the association’s role has gained importance in a world that is seeing the ebbing of a rules-based order.

The IAP is a non-governmental global network of prosecutors that sets common standards of prosecutorial practice, including how they should behave and perform their duties in various settings. 

It also promotes international cooperation by linking different bodies of national prosecutorial agencies, providing a platform for regular regional and international forums.

No nation can tackle transnational crime and money laundering on its own, Mr Tharman noted.

Cybercrime will cost the world trillions of dollars annually, he said.

Its reach is vast, from massive theft and ransomware attacks crippling hospitals and infrastructure to scams that wipe out ordinary citizens’ life savings.

“We know the consequences, ruined lives, weakened economies, eroded trust in law enforcement. With criminals exploiting artificial intelligence to perpetrate scams en masse and using cryptocurrencies to launder their illicit gains, the problem is only set to grow in both complexity and scale,” Mr Tharman said. 

The IAP has played a role in advancing the cooperation and skills needed to tackle such issues.

Through specialist networks, it has pooled expertise on these emerging challenges and technologies, Mr Tharman said. 

It has, over 30 years, built platforms for learning and active cooperation between prosecutors, he noted. 

“Your regional and international conferences will also provide platforms to advance best practices, and to learn how agencies elsewhere have sought to build and maintain public trust.”

Speaking after Mr Tharman, Attorney-General Lucien Wong said the theme for 2025’s conference is “the versatile prosecutor and the administration of criminal justice”.

This is a recognition that as criminals continue to make use of technology, innovation and efficient organisation to commit and conceal crimes, prosecutors need to be resourceful, versatile and forward-thinking to bring them to justice, he said. 

Singapore last hosted the IAP conference in 2008. 

The theme for that year’s conference was new technologies in crime and prosecution, challenges and opportunities, the Attorney-General said.

“Seventeen years later, many of these topics are as relevant as ever, with online fraud and scams, in particular, becoming an increasingly prolific scourge on our society.”

The conference in 2025 will run from Sept 7 to 10, and is hosted by the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

Over the next three days, over 80 speakers will deliver presentations on topics including tackling new forms of crime such as cyber and AI-facilitated crime, sharing techniques on more effective collection and use of digital evidence, and cross-border cooperation on asset tracing and seizure.

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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