Part II - Commencement of Proceedings
3. Documents to be filed at the Registry of the Family Justice Courts
4. Contact information to be provided in cause papers and documents filed in the Family Courts Registry
5. Identification numbers to be stated in cause papers
Parties named in the title of the documents
Parties not named in the title of the documents
Documents filed by two or more parties
Identification numbers for non-parties
Special cases
Identification numbers
Guidelines for the selection of identification numbers
Inability to furnish identification number at the time of filing a document
Meaning of document
Non-compliance
3. Documents to be filed at the Registry of the Family Justice Courts
(1) Subject to paragraph (4), all documents filed on or after 1st October 2014 relating to the proceedings pursuant to the following legislation are to be filed in the Family Justice Courts Registry:
(a) section 53 of Administration of Muslim Law Act (Cap. 3);
(b) the Adoption of Children Act (Cap. 4);
(c) the Children and Young Persons Act (Cap. 38);
(d) the Guardianship of Infants Act (Cap. 122);
(e) the Inheritance (Family Provision) Act (Cap. 138);
(f) International Child Abduction Act (Cap. 143C);
(g) Intestate Succession Act (Cap. 146);
(h) the Legitimacy Act (Cap. 162);
(i) section 10 of Maintenance of Parents Act (Cap. 167B);
(j) the Maintenance Orders (Facilities for Enforcement) Act (Cap. 168);
(k) the Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act (Cap. 169);
(l) the Mental Capacity Act (Cap. 177A);
(m) the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act (Cap. 178A);
(n) the Probate and Administration Act (Cap. 251)
(o) the Status of Children (Assisted Reproduction Technology) Act 2013
(p) section 17A(2) of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Cap. 322)
(q) the Voluntary Sterilization Act (Cap. 347)
(r) sections 13, 17, 20, 59, Parts VII, VIII, IX and X of Women’s Charter (Cap. 353).
(2) Subject to paragraph (4) and (5), all proceedings filed after 1 January 2015 under the Probate and Administration Act will be filed in the Family Justice Courts.
(3) All documents shall have the title “In the Family Justice Courts of the Republic of Singapore”.
(4) Documents relating to the following proceedings which are to be heard and determined by the General Division of the High Court shall continue to be filed at the Legal Registry of the Supreme Court. These include:
(a) all proceedings in paragraph (1) commenced in the High Court before 1st October 2014;
(b) all contested ancillary applications under Part X of the Women’s Charter transferred to be heard in the High Court pursuant to the Supreme Court of Judicature (Transfer of Matrimonial, Divorce and Guardianship of Infants Proceedings to District Court) Order 2007 prior to 1st October 2014;
(c) all appeals filed in the High Court before 1st October 2014 relating to any proceedings referred to in paragraph (1) above;
(d) all applications and documents relating to proceedings under the Mental Disorders and Treatment Act or the Mental Capacity Act filed in the High Court before 1st October 2014;and
(e) all applications and documents relating to contentious proceedings under Probate and Administration Act filed in the High Court before 1 January 2015.
(5) Documents relating to contested proceedings filed under Probate and Administration Act filed before 1 January 2015 shall continue to be filed in the State Courts. Documents relating to uncontested proceedings filed under Probate and Administration Act filed before 1 January 2015 shall be filed in the Family Justice Courts.
4. Contact information to be provided in cause papers and documents filed in the Family Justice Courts Registry
(1) This Paragraph shall apply to all cause papers and documents that are not filed using the Electronic Filing Service (EFS).
(2) Occasionally when members of the staff of the Family Justice Courts have to contact lawyers having conduct of an action or charge of a matter, they have sometimes encountered difficulties for reasons such as changes to the constitution of the law firm, changes to the telephone numbers and telephone receptionists in law firms being unable to identify the lawyer concerned.
(3) To facilitate the contacting of lawyers having conduct of an action or charge of a matter by members of the staff of the Family Justice Courts, the following information shall be inserted on backing sheets of all cause papers and documents filed in the Registry in the format set out:
(4) The information is to be inserted as a block near the bottom right hand corner of the backing sheets.
5. Identification numbers to be stated in cause papers
Parties named in the title of the documents
(1) Where a party to any proceedings in the Family Justice Courts first files a document in such proceedings, he shall state his identification number (in brackets), in the title of the document immediately below or after his name. Thereafter, all documents subsequently filed in the proceedings by any party shall include this identification number in the title of the documents.
Parties not named in the title of the documents
(2) Where a party to any proceedings in the Family Justice Courts first files a document in such proceedings, and the name of the party does not appear in the title of the document but does appear in the body of the document, then the identification number of the party should be stated (in brackets), below or after the first appearance of his name in the document. Thereafter, all documents subsequently filed in the proceedings by any party shall include this identification number in parentheses immediately below or after the first appearance of the name of the party to which it applies in the subsequent document.
Documents filed by two or more parties
(3) Sub-paragraphs (1) and (2) shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to documents which are filed by more than one party.
Identification numbers for non-parties
(4) If any person (living or dead), any entity or any property is in part or in whole the subject matter of any proceedings, or is affected by any proceedings, but is not a party thereto, and the name of such person, entity or property is to appear in the title of the documents filed in the proceedings, the party filing the first document in the proceedings must state the identification number of such person, entity or property (in brackets) immediately below or after the name of the same. Thereafter, all documents subsequently filed in the proceedings by any party shall include this identification number (in brackets) immediately below or after the name of the person, entity or property to which it applies. If the party filing the first document in the proceedings is unable, after reasonable enquiry, to discover the identification number of the person, entity or property, he may state immediately below or after the name of the same “(ID No. not known)”. All documents subsequently filed by any party shall then contain these words (in brackets) below or after the name of this person, entity or property.
Special cases
(5) The following Directions shall apply in addition to the Directions contained in sub- paragraphs (1) to (4):
(a) where a party is represented by a litigation representative or guardian in adoption or deputy, sub-paragraphs (1) to (3) shall apply to the litigation representative or guardian in adoption or deputy as if he or she was a party to the proceedings, and the identification numbers of the party, the litigation representative and/or guardian in adoption and/or deputy must be stated below or after the name of each, as appropriate;
(b) where parties are involved in any proceedings as the personal representatives of the estate of a deceased person, sub-paragraphs (1) to (3) shall apply to the deceased person as if he were a party; and
(c) where more than one identification number applies to any party, person, entity or property, all the identification numbers shall be stated in any convenient order.
Identification numbers
(6) When entering the identification number in the Electronic Filing Service, the full identification number should be entered, including any letters or characters that appear in, at the beginning of, or at the end of the number. Descriptive text which is required to be entered into the actual document, such as “Japanese Identification Card No.”, should not be entered into the electronic form.
Guidelines for the selection of identification numbers
(7) The following guidelines should be followed in deciding on the appropriate identification number.
(a) Natural person with Singapore identity card
For a natural person who is a Singapore citizen or permanent resident, the identification number shall be the number of the identity card issued under the National Registration Act (Cap. 201). The 7 digit number as well as the letters at the front and end should be stated. For example: “(NRIC No. S1234567A)”.
(b) Natural person with FIN number
For a natural person, whether a Singapore citizen or permanent resident or not, who has not been issued with an identity card under the National Registration Act, but has been assigned a FIN number under the Immigration Regulations (Cap. 133, Rg 1), the identification number shall be the FIN number. The number should be preceded by the prefix “FIN No.” (c) Natural person: birth certificate or passport number
For a natural person, whether a Singapore citizen or permanent resident or not, who has not been issued with an identity card under the National Registration Act or assigned a FIN number, the identification number shall be the birth certificate or passport number. The number should be preceded by either of the following, as appropriate, “(Issuing country) BC No.” or “(Issuing country) PP No.” (d) Natural person: other numbers
For a natural person who is not a Singapore citizen or permanent resident and has not been assigned a FIN number and does not have a birth certificate or passport number, the identification number shall be the number of any identification document he may possess. Both the number as well as some descriptive words which will enable the nature of the number given and the authority issuing the identification document to be ascertained, should be stated. For example: “Japanese Identification Card No.” (e) Deceased person
For a deceased natural person, the identification number shall be as set out in sub-paragraph (7)(a) to (d) above. However, if such numbers are not available, the identification number shall be the death registration number under the Registration of Births and Deaths Rules (Cap. 267, R 1) or the equivalent foreign provisions, where the death is registered abroad. The number as well as the following words should be stated: “(Country or place of registration of death) Death Reg. No.”
(f) No identification numbers exist
Where the appropriate identification numbers referred to in sub-paragraph (7)(a) to (e) do not exist in respect of any party, person, entity or property, the following words should be stated immediately below or after the name of that party, person, entity or property concerned: “(No ID No. exists)”.
Inability to furnish identification number at the time of filing a document
(8) If a party who wishes to file a document is unable at the time of filing to furnish the necessary identification numbers required by this Paragraph, the party may indicate “(ID Not Known)” at the time of filing. However, when the necessary identification numbers have been obtained, the party must furnish the necessary identification numbers to the Registry through the Electronic Filing Service.
Meaning of document
(9) For avoidance of doubt, the words “document” and “documents” when used in this Paragraph include all originating processes filed in the Family Justice Courts.
Non-compliance
(10) Any document which does not comply with this Paragraph may be rejected for filing by the Registry.
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