The Community Disputes Resolution (Amendment) Bill Further Strengthens Community and Builds a More Gracious and...

09 September 2024 Posted in Press releases

1. The Community Disputes Resolution (Amendment) Bill was introduced for First Reading in Parliament on 9 September 2024. The proposed enhancements aim to facilitate effective resolution of neighbour disputes, leading to a stronger, and more gracious and harmonious community for all.

2. The inter-agency committee, comprising the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, the Ministry of Law and the Ministry of National Development, has carefully considered and taken in feedback from public and stakeholder consultations conducted in 2023 and 2024.

3. These enhancements will strengthen, not replace, the ability of the community to come together early and resolve their differences as good neighbours:

a. Encouraging the increased use of community mediation to resolve neighbour disputes at an early stage: Authorised agencies may direct parties to attend mediation at the Community Mediation Centre (CMC) to resolve neighbour disputes.

b. Piloting a new Community Relations Unit (CRU) to address a small minority of severe neighbour noise disputes and hoarding cases: This unit will have calibrated powers to investigate and take action for severe cases of neighbour disputes involving noise and hoarding.

c. Enhancing the processes and powers of the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals (CDRT): The CDRT remains an avenue of last resort for cases where earlier intervention by community mediation and the CRU have not resolved the neighbour dispute. The CDRT will be able to consider all relevant evidence that CRU officers have gathered and will also be empowered to make new orders such as interim orders. This will facilitate quicker and more effective resolution of cases that are brought before the tribunal.

Concerted effort and commitment on the part of every individual

4. Neighbours should take time and effort to communicate frequently, with empathy and consideration for each other. Such ties go a long way towards building social capital that can weather everyday friction. For the minority of cases that cannot be resolved via community self-help, the enhanced CDMF will provide a wider range of options to facilitate effective resolution of neighbour disputes.

5. Together, we can make a difference in building a more gracious and harmonious living environment for all..

6. A more detailed brief of the enhancements was published on 12 August 2024 and can be found at https://go.gov.sg/proposed-cdmf-enhancements.

AnnexInfographic

MINISTRY OF LAW
MINISTRY OF CULTURE, COMMUNITY AND YOUTH
MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
09 SEPTEMBER 2024

Last updated on 09 September 2024

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