Part XIII - General Procedure
72. Originating Summonses
(1) This paragraph applies to originating summonses filed on or after 1 January 2006.
Forms for originating summonses
(2) Solicitors’ attention is drawn to rule 327 of the Family Justice Rules which provides that no appearance need be entered to an originating summons.
(3) Where any legislation requires a party to file an originating summons and the form is not provided within the legislation, the originating summons must be filed using either Form 47 (Originating Summons) or Form 48 ( Ex Parte Originating Summons) of Appendix A of these Practice Directions.
(4) The parties in Form 47 of Appendix A of these Practice Directions shall be stated as “plaintiff” and “defendant”, or “appellant” and “respondent” as the case may be.
(5) The party in Form 48 of Appendix A of these Practice Directions shall be stated as “applicant”.
Originating summons to be heard in open Court
(6) Rule 506 of the Family Justice Rules provides that all originating summonses shall be heard in Chambers, subject to any provisions in the Family Justice Rules, written law, directions by the Court, or practice directions issued by the Registrar.
(7) In addition to any provisions in the Family Justice Rules or other written law, and subject to any further directions made by the Court, the Registrar hereby directs that the following applications made by originating summonses shall be heard in open Court:
(a) applications by the Public Trustee or any person interested in a property to appoint a receiver of property pending the grant of probate or letters of administration under section 39 of the Probate and Administration Act (Cap. 251).
(1) Where it is necessary to include endorsements on any document, the directions in this paragraph shall apply.
(2) Endorsements are normally made on originating processes and other documents to show the renewal of, amendments to, and authorisation for service of, the document in question. Such endorsements on originating processes and other documents do not require the Registrar’s signature. This is because such endorsements are pursuant to either an order of Court or the Family Justice Rules. The Registrar should therefore not be asked to sign such endorsements.
(3) For documents that are filed through the Electronic Filing Service as electronic forms composed online, the following requirements apply:
(a) Solicitors should select the appropriate endorsement and check the accuracy of the electronic form in the preview stage before filing the originating process or other document. The acceptance by the Registry of electronic forms composed online does not affect the regularity of any endorsements on the document.(b) Where endorsements can be made prior to the filing or issuance of a document, those endorsements shall be incorporated into the document before the document is filed or issued.(c) Where endorsements must be made on a document which has already been filed or issued, a fresh copy of the document containing the relevant endorsements shall be prepared, and the document must be re-filed or re-issued, as the case may be. An example of this would be renewals of writs of summons.
(1) An ex-parte originating summons for leave under section 121D of the Women’s Charter and rule 40 of the Family Justice Rules to file an application for financial relief under section 121B of the Women’s Charter shall be in Form 227 in Appendix A to these Practice Directions.
(2) The plaintiff’s affidavit in support of the ex-parte originating summons for leave under section 121D of the Women’s Charter and rule 40 of the Family Justice Rules to file an application for financial relief under section 121B of the Women’s Charter shall be in Form 228 in Appendix A to these Practice Directions.
(3) The plaintiff’s affidavit in support of the originating summons for financial relief under section 121B of the Women’s Charter shall be in Form 229 in Appendix A to these Practice Directions.
All applications in chambers (including summonses and originating summonses) shall be filed without specifying whether the application is to be heard before a Judge in person or the Registrar.
(1) All interlocutory applications must be made by way of summons.
(2) Ordinary summonses shall be endorsed “ex parte” or “by consent” where applicable. When the summons is endorsed “ex parte”, it must bear a certificate to that effect signed by the solicitors for the applicant. When the summons is endorsed “by consent” and the respondent to the summons is unrepresented, the signature of that respondent with the following endorsement
“I acknowledge that I have considered the terms of the agreement and have also been informed of my right to seek independent legal advice.”
must be witnessed by an advocate and solicitor or a commissioner for oaths not acting for any of the parties in the proceedings.
(3) After the filing of any “ ex parte ” or “by consent” summons, the application will be examined by the Judge or Registrar as the case may be. If he is satisfied that the application is in order and all other requirements have been complied with, he may make the order(s) applied for on the day fixed for the hearing of the application without the attendance of the applicant or his solicitor.
(4) Summonses that are filed using the Electronic Filing Service will be routed to the inbox of the applicant solicitor’s Electronic Filing Service account. Where the summons is filed through the service bureau, it may be collected at the service bureau.
(5) Enquiries by telephone will not be entertained.
(6) Where a summons is filed in a matter for which a trial date has been fixed, the summons must be filed using the Electronic Filing Service with a special request informing the Registry of Family Justice Courts of the trial date(s).
Originating Summons for leave to file Writ under section 94 of the Women’s Charter
(1) The affidavit supporting an application for leave under section 94 Women’s Charter must include the following information:
(a) The date and place of registration of marriage, exhibiting a copy of the marriage certificate;(b) The age of the child (ren), if any, exhibiting a copy of the birth certificate(s);(c) The grounds upon which the applicant is seeking leave, i.e. exceptional hardship suffered by the applicant or exceptional depravity by the respondent;(d) Particulars of exceptional hardship or exceptional depravity including,(i) If violence is alleged, to exhibit the police reports, medical reports, Personal Protection Orders, Domestic Exclusion Orders, and status of ongoing related family proceedings (if any); and(e) Possibility of reconciliation between parties, including any attempts at reconciliation after each incident, and the period of each reconciliation attempt.
Summons for leave to file additional Ancillary Matters Affidavits
(2) An application for leave of court to file an additional affidavit in the ancillary matters shall be made by way of summons filed in the divorce suit, and supported with an affidavit demonstrating why a reply to the last round of affidavits is relevant and necessary to the resolution of the ancillary matters.
(3) The summons shall set out:
(a) The title and date of the affidavit to which the applicant wishes to respond; and(b) The specific paragraphs of that affidavit which the applicant wishes to respond to.
(4) The supporting affidavit must exhibit a draft of the proposed additional affidavit.
(5) The supporting affidavit shall include the following information:
(a) the new matters raised in the specific paragraphs which the applicant wishes to respond to;(b) whether the applicant had an earlier opportunity to address the court on these new matters raised; and(c) the reasons why the applicant’s response would be relevant and material for the just disposition of the case.
Summons to vary child-related orders
(6) An application to vary child-related orders shall be made by way of summons filed in the suit in which the original order was made.
(7) In an application to vary the existing court order(s) on custody, care and control and/or access, the applicant must demonstrate by way of affidavit why it would be in the best interests and welfare of the child for the orders to be varied.
(8) The affidavit in support of the summons shall include the following (where relevant):
(a) the names, current ages and dates of birth of each child;(b) the existing orders relating to custody, care and control and access;(c) a table of past variations of custody, care and control and/or access (if any);(d) the applicant’s proposed care plan for the child, including the proposed shelter and education-related arrangements;(e) if the applicant intends to move overseas with the child after the order is varied, to state the proposed care plan and the proposed access arrangements for the parent left behind;(f) if the applicant is an un-discharged bankrupt, an explanation how that party intends to financially provide for the child; and(g) the applicant’s explanation why the proposed variation, instead of the status quo, would be in the best interests and welfare of the child.
(9) The applicant must file an affidavit that includes the matters set out in sub-paragraphs (7) and (8) above, even if the other party consents to the variation.
Summons to vary maintenance orders made under Part X of Women’s Charter
(10) Any application for variation of maintenance shall be by way of summons filed in the original suit under which the order was made.
(11) The summons shall set out :
(a) the date of the Order of Court sought to be varied, including the specific Paragraph(s) in the said Order of Court;(b) the original quantum of maintenance and the quantum of maintenance now sought to be ordered (e.g. “the Plaintiff seeks a decrease in the monthly maintenance sum from $600 to $500”.)
(12) The affidavit in support of the summons shall include the following :
(a) The grounds on why a variation of maintenance is sought, including supporting documentary evidence (e.g. if a variation of maintenance is sought because of the termination of the applicant’s employment, the letter of termination should be exhibited in the affidavit);(b) List of Expenses of the applicant and the child(ren) (where applicable), including supporting documentary evidence;(c) A copy of the Order of Court to be varied;(d) Copies of the applicant’s IRAS Notices of Assessment for the three years immediately preceding the filing of the application for variation of maintenance;(e) Copies of the applicant’s pay slips for the six months immediately preceding the filing of the application for variation of maintenance; and(f) Copies of the applicant’s bank statements for the three months immediately preceding the filing of the application for variation of maintenance.
(1) The attention of solicitors is drawn to rule 898(1) of the Family Justice Rules which provides:
“Personal service must be effected by a process server of the Court or by a solicitor or a solicitor’s clerk whose name and particulars have been notified in the relevant Form to the Registrar for this purpose .” [ emphasis added ]
(2) Solicitors are required to notify the Registry of the particulars, and any change thereof, of such clerks who have been authorised by them to serve processes and documents (“authorised process servers”) by submitting a request to authorise user through the Electronic Filing Service. Where such authorised process servers are no longer so authorised, solicitors are to revoke or delete the authorisation immediately by submitting a request through the Electronic Filing Service. Solicitors’ clerks do not require the authorisation of the Registrar to effect personal service of processes and documents.
(3) In view of the alternative modes providing for personal service to be effected by a solicitor or a solicitor’s clerk, Court process servers will not be assigned to effect personal service of processes and documents unless there are special reasons.
(4) If it is felt that there are special reasons requiring personal service by a Court process server, a Request for such service should be filed through the Electronic Filing Service, setting out the special reasons. The approval of the Duty Registrar should then be obtained for such service. Once approval has been obtained, the documents for service should be presented at the counter designated for this purpose. A process server will then be assigned to effect service and an appointment for service convenient to both the litigant and the assigned process server will be given.
(5) On the appointed date, the person accompanying the process server should call at the Registry. The amount required for the transport charges of the process server (a record of which will be kept) should be tendered, or, alternatively, the process server in question should be informed that transport for him will be provided. The Registry will then instruct the process server to effect service.
(6) Under no circumstances should any payment be made directly to the process server.
(1) In any application for substituted service, the applicant should persuade the Court that the proposed mode of substituted service will bring the document in question to the notice of the person to be served.
Application for substituted service by way of posting on the front door at the defendant’s last known address in Singapore (“the address”)
(2) The applicant should, where appropriate, consider other modes of substituted service, such as AR registered post or electronic means (including electronic mail or Internet transmission) in addition to or in substitution of substituted service by posting on doors or gates of residential and business premises.
(3) Two reasonable attempts at personal service should be made before an application for an order for substituted service is filed. In an application for substituted service, the applicant shall file a supporting affidavit stating the dates, times and outcomes of the said attempts and why he or she believes that such attempts made were reasonable.
(4) If there is no response for both attempts at personal service (i.e. the door was locked and no one came to the door during both attempts), the plaintiff needs to state in the affidavit —
(a) the evidence that the defendant is currently residing at the address (for example, relevant search results from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, the Singapore Land Authority, the Housing & Development Board or the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority); and(b) the grounds for the plaintiff’s belief that the defendant is currently residing at the address, for example, that the plaintiff is also residing at the same address, and sees the defendant every day.
(5) If the plaintiff is not able to state both of the matters set out in sub-paragraph (4)(a) and (b) above in the affidavit, he or she should make attempts to locate the defendant by contacting the defendant’s relatives, friends, and employer(s) (if any), in order to discover the address at which the defendant is currently residing. The affidavit should then include the following matters:
(a) details of the plaintiff’s last contact with the defendant, including the date, the mode of contact (i.e. over the telephone, a letter, or a meeting), and the contents of any communications made, whether written or oral;(b) details of the plaintiff’s knowledge of the defendant’s relatives and friends, and those person(s)’ knowledge of his / her whereabouts (“the defendant’s contacts”), including their names, addresses and their relationship to the defendant and whether they live in Singapore or overseas;(c) details of the plaintiff’s attempts to contact the defendant’s contacts, including the number of such attempts made, the dates and mode of the said attempts (i.e. whether by telephone, letter, or meeting), and the contents of any communications made, whether written or oral;(d) the name and address of the defendant’s last known employer (if any), and the result of enquiries the plaintiff has made of that employer as to the defendant’s whereabouts, including the date of such enquiries, the mode of the said enquiries (i.e. whether by telephone, letter, or meeting), and the contents of any communications made, whether written or oral;(e) details of the defendant’s nationality.
(6) If the local address at which the defendant is currently residing (not being the matrimonial home) is discovered by the plaintiff pursuant to paragraph (5) above, personal service on the defendant should be attempted at that address in accordance with paragraph (3). Details of the dates, times and outcomes of the personal service are required in the affidavit.
(7) If the response to the attempt at personal service is that the process server is told that the defendant “is overseas”, evidence is required in the affidavit as to what date the defendant will be back in the country.
(8) If it appears from the response to the attempt at personal service that the defendant is permanently overseas, evidence is required in the affidavit as to how the documents will come to the defendant’s attention by being posted on the front door.
(9) If the response to the attempt at personal service is that the defendant has “moved away”, and the plaintiff is alleging that the defendant is evading service, evidence is required in the affidavit to support the plaintiff’s belief that the defendant is evading service.
Application for substituted service by way of prepaid AR registered post / ordinary post
(10) An application for substituted service need not be made where an originating process is sent by prepaid AR registered post to the defendant, and the defendant returns the acknowledgement of service, signed by him, in accordance with rule 48(5) and rule 49(3) of the Family Justice Rules. In such a situation, the originating process would be deemed to be duly served on the defendant by registered post.
(11) On an application for substituted service by way of prepaid AR registered post / ordinary post, the plaintiff must state the following matters in the affidavit—
(a) the grounds for the plaintiff’s belief that the defendant is currently resident at the particular address in respect of which the plaintiff is applying for substituted service by way of prepaid AR registered post / ordinary post;(b) if the application for substituted service by way of prepaid AR registered post / ordinary post is to an overseas address, that the defendant is not ordinarily resident in Singapore;
(12) For the avoidance of doubt, substituted service by prepaid AR registered post is deemed to be effective when the postal service has delivered the document, or attempted to deliver the document (in cases where no one is present or willing to accept the document).
Application for substituted service by way of email
(13) If substituted service is by electronic mail, it has to be shown that the electronic mail account to which the document will be sent belongs to the person to be served and that it is currently active.
Application for substituted service by way of advertisement
(14) Before an application for substituted service by way of advertisement can be granted, the plaintiff should make attempts to locate the defendant by contacting the defendant’s relatives, friends, and employer(s) (if any), in order to discover the address at which the defendant is currently residing.
(15) The affidavit must include the following:
(a) the matters set out in sub-paragraph (5)(a) to (e) above;(b) details of the defendant’s literacy, and in what language;(c) if the advertisement is to be placed in an overseas newspaper, the grounds for the plaintiff’s belief as to why the defendant is thought to be in that particular country.
(16) An application for substituted service by advertisement (in one issue of the Straits Times if the person to be served is literate in English, or one issue of the Straits Times and one issue of one of the main non-English language newspapers where his language literacy is unknown) should only be considered as a last resort and should contain evidence that the person to be served is literate in the language of the newspaper in which the advertisement will be placed.
Application for dispensation of service
(17) Before an application for dispensation of service can be granted, the plaintiff should make attempts to locate the defendant by contacting the defendant’s relatives, friends, and employer(s) (if any), in order to discover the address at which the defendant is currently residing.
(18) The affidavit must include the following:
(a) the matters set out in sub-paragraph (5)(a) to (e) above;(b) an explanation as to why advertisement would not be effective in bringing the divorce proceedings to the defendant’s notice (for example, that it is not known which country the defendant is currently residing in).
(19) For the avoidance of doubt, posting on the Notice Board of the Registry of the Family Justice Courts is not available as a proposed mode of substituted service.
(1) Inspection of documents
(a) The notice to be served on a party requiring him to produce any document or documents for inspection under rule 65(1) of the Family Justice Rules shall be in Form 231 in Appendix A to these Practice Directions.(b) The notice to be served by a party (on whom a notice under rule 65(1) of the Family Justice Rules has been served) under rule 65(2) of the Family Justice Rules shall be in Form 232 in Appendix A to these Practice Directions.
(2) Request or application for discovery and interrogatories
(a) In any application for discovery, inspection and interrogatories in respect of ancillary relief, the particular rule, paragraph and sub-paragraph (where applicable) of the Family Justice Rules under which the application is being taken out shall be stated in the application.(b) A request for discovery under rule 63(4) of the Family Justice Rules shall be in Form 233 in Appendix A to these Practice Directions, and a notice under rule 63(5) of the Family Justice Rules in response to the request for discovery shall be in Form 234 in Appendix A to these Practice Directions.(c) An application for discovery under rule 63(1) to (3) of the Family Justice Rules shall be in Form 237 in Appendix A to these Practice Directions.(d) A request for interrogatories under rule 69(1) of the Family Justice Rules shall be in Form 235 in Appendix A to these Practice Directions, and a notice under rule 69(3) of the Family Justice Rules in response to the request for interrogatories shall be in Form 236 in Appendix A to these Practice Directions.(e) An application for interrogatories under rule 69(5) to (6) of the Family Justice Rules shall be in Form 238 in Appendix A.(f) If more than 5 items are listed in the request (under rule 63(4) or 69(1) of the Family Justice Rules) or application (under rule 63(1) to (3) or rule 69(5) to (6) of the Family Justice Rules) for discovery or interrogatories, the request or application, as the case may be, shall comply with the following requirements:(i) The various items under the request or application shall be organised by theme or type (for example, all items relating to bank accounts to be grouped together, all requests relating to companies to be grouped together, all items relating to a particular property to be grouped together). Each group of items under a particular theme or type shall be preceded by a heading.(ii) If there are more than 5 sub-items within each item (for example, if bank statements in relation to more than 5 accounts with the same bank are requested), the sub-items shall be organised in either chronological, numerical, or alphabetical order, or alternatively, by themes (for example, all the sub-items relating to housing loan accounts to be listed together, all the sub-items relating to fixed deposits to be listed together).(iii) The time-frame requested for each discovery item shall be stated (where relevant) (for example, if bank statements for a certain bank account are requested, to state which year(s) and / or month(s) the statements are requested for).(iv) The relevant paragraphs and pages in the affidavit(s) relating to the item shall be stated for each item and sub-item, where applicable. (v) If discovery of bank, trading or investment account statements are being requested, then the relevant account numbers (if known) shall be set out.(g) A request (under rule 63(4) of the Family Justice Rules) or application (under rule 63(1) to (3) of the Family Justice Rules) for discovery and a request (under rule 69(1) of the Family Justice Rules) or application (under rule 69(5) to (6) of the Family Justice Rules) for interrogatories have to be filed through the separate prescribed templates in the Electronic Filing Service.
(1) This Part provides an opt-in framework for requests and applications for the giving of discovery and inspection of electronically stored documents, and the supply of electronic copies of such documents. A party that seeks to rely on this Part must cite the relevant paragraph(s) in any request or application made hereunder.
Location of electronically stored documents
(2) Electronically stored documents may reside in storage management systems, folders or directories in storage locations, electronic media or recording devices, including folders or directories where temporarily deleted files are located (for example, the Recycle Bin folder or Trash folder). Electronically stored documents or parts thereof may also reside in the unallocated file space or file slack on an electronic medium or recording device as deleted files or file fragments which may be recovered through the use of computer forensic tools or techniques.
Definition of metadata information
(3) Metadata information refers to the non-visible and not readily apparent information embedded in or associated with electronically stored documents and may include both application metadata, which is created by the application software used to create the electronic documents, and system metadata, which is created by the operating or storage system. Examples of application metadata include hidden columns or text, formatting and display codes, formulae, prior edits and editorial comments; examples of system metadata include data relating to creation, modification and access of the electronic document, its size, file format and storage location, and other document profile information like title, author, subject and keywords or tags. Metadata information may be stored internally within the electronically stored document or externally in a separate file or database. Externally stored metadata information shall be discoverable as separate documents.
Time to consider electronic discovery issues during general discovery
(4) Parties are encouraged to collaborate in good faith and agree on issues relating to the discovery and inspection of electronically stored documents within the framework for discovery set forth in Part 18 Division 19 of the Family Justice Rules. Such issues may include the scope and/or any limits on documents to be given in discovery, whether parties are prepared to make voluntary disclosures, and the giving of discovery in stages according to an agreed schedule, as well as the format and manner in which copies of discoverable documents shall be supplied.
(5) Parties may, immediately after the close of pleadings, agree on an electronic discovery protocol which may take the form set forth in Appendix B Part 1. Parties may include the agreed electronic discovery protocol in the summons for directions. The Court shall consider the adequacy of the agreed electronic discovery protocol and may make such order or give such direction as it thinks fit, for the just, expeditious and economical disposal of the cause or matter. The agreed electronic discovery protocol, as amended by such order or direction of the Court as the case may be, shall form part of the order under the summons for directions to be extracted for the action.
(6) If parties are unable to agree on an electronic discovery protocol, the party seeking discovery of electronically stored documents may apply for an order. The application must include a draft electronic discovery protocol and must be supported by affidavit providing an account of the parties’ attempts to collaborate in good faith to reach agreement on an electronic discovery protocol.
Requests for discovery
(7) A request for discovery of any electronically stored document or class of electronically stored documents may be made before the commencement of proceedings, or at any time to any party to a cause or matter, or any person who is not a party to the proceedings. Unless the request specifies that discovery of externally stored metadata information of the requested electronically stored documents is required, the party providing discovery shall not be required to discover externally stored metadata information.
(8) A class of electronically stored documents may be described by specifying or describing a search term or phrase to be used in a reasonable search for electronically stored documents. A request for the giving of discovery by reasonable search must specify or describe limits on the scope of the search; such limits shall include at least the following:
(a) specifying or describing physical or logical storage locations, media or devices; and(b) specifying the period during which the requested electronically stored documents were created, received or modified.
(9) A request shall not be made for the discovery of deleted files or file fragments containing information which may be recovered through the use of computer forensic tools or techniques unless:
(a) a request is made for the discovery of the electronic medium or recording device on which a forensic inspection is to be conducted; and(b) a request is made for inspection of the said electronic medium or recording device in compliance with sub-paragraph (21) to (27).
Applications for discovery
(10) An application for discovery of any electronically stored document or class of electronically stored documents which includes externally stored metadata information must be supported by an affidavit showing that a request for externally stored metadata information of the requested electronically stored document or class of electronically stored documents had been made previously.
(11) An application for discovery of any electronically stored document or class of electronically stored documents which specifies or describes a search term or phrase to be used in a reasonable search for electronically stored documents must specify or describe limits on the scope of the search to be conducted.
(12) An application for the discovery of a computer database, electronic medium or recording device may be made together with an application for inspection of the said computer database, electronic medium or recording device in accordance with sub- paragraph (21) to (27).
(13) Upon the hearing of an application for an order for discovery of electronically stored documents, the Court shall have regard to the matters set forth in sub-paragraph (15).
(14) Nothing in this paragraph shall prevent the party giving discovery from reviewing the discoverable electronically stored documents or the results of any reasonable search for the purpose of identifying privileged documents. However, such review for the purpose of identifying privileged documents shall not extend to the deletion, removal or alteration of metadata information.
Matters to which regard shall be had in determining whether discovery or inspection is necessary
(15) Rules 468 and 474 of the Family Justice Rules states that an order for discovery and production of documents for inspection shall not be made unless such order is necessary either for disposing fairly of the cause or matter or for saving costs. The matters to which regard shall be had, in determining whether an application for discovery or inspection (including the supply of copies) of electronically stored documents is necessary either for disposing fairly of the cause or matter or for saving costs, shall include:
(a) the number of electronic documents involved;(b) the nature of the case and complexity of the issues;(c) the value of the claim and the financial position of each party;(d) the ease and expense of retrieval of any particular electronically stored document or class of electronically stored documents, including —(i) the accessibility, location and likelihood of locating any relevant documents,(ii) the costs of recovering and giving discovery and inspection of any relevant documents,(iii) the likelihood that any relevant documents will be materially altered in the course of recovery, or the giving of discovery or inspection; and(e) the significance of any particular electronically stored document or class of electronically stored documents which are likely to be located to the issues in dispute.
Form of list
(16) The following matters shall be included in any list of documents made pursuant to the giving of discovery in accordance with this Part in which electronic documents are enumerated:
(a) the name of the electronic file constituting or containing the electronic document; and(b) the file format (and its version) of the electronic document.
(17) Where the party giving discovery objects to the production of certain discoverable electronically stored documents solely on the ground that the internally stored metadata information is protected by privilege, he must state in the list of documents whether he objects to the production of the electronic documents without the internally stored metadata information. If he does not object to the production of the electronic documents without the internally stored metadata information, he must enumerate the electronic documents in Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the list of documents. In any event, he must enumerate such documents in a separate section in Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the list of documents and shall state that he objects to the production of the whole or part of the internally stored metadata information of these documents.
(18) Reasonable efforts shall be made to remove duplicated documents from the list of documents. A document shall be considered a duplicate of another if the contents of both (including metadata information) are identical. The use of a hashing function to identify duplicates shall be deemed to be reasonable effort.
(19) If copies of electronic documents are supplied in one or more read-only optical disc(s) or other storage medium, the party giving discovery shall provide a further list, at the time when such copies are supplied, stating the following:
(a) the storage format (and its version) of the optical disc or storage medium; and(b) if there are multiple optical discs or storage media, a list of electronic documents stored on each optical disc or storage medium.
(20) An index of documents enumerated in a list of documents referred to in sub-paragraph (16) or (19) above shall be provided in an electronic, text searchable and structured format. In the absence of parties’ agreement, this index or load file shall be provided in a delimited text file in the Comma Separated Value (or ‘CSV’) file format.
Inspection of electronically stored documents
(21) A party required to produce electronically stored documents for inspection under Part 18 Division 19 of the Family Justice Rules shall provide reasonable means and assistance for the party entitled to inspection to inspect the electronically stored documents in their native format.
(22) Where an inspection is carried out under rule 470, 471 or 472(1) of the Family Justice Rules and the inspecting party wishes to take copies of electronically stored documents produced for inspection, his request to take copies shall comply with the protocol set forth in sub-paragraphs (28) to (33).
Inspection of computer databases and electronic media or recording devices
(23) No request or application for the inspection of any computer database, electronic medium or recording device shall be made unless discovery of the computer database, electronic medium or recording device has been given.
(24) A request may be made for the inspection of an electronic medium or recording device (for which discovery has been given) for the purpose of recovering deleted electronic documents through the conduct of a forensic examination of the unallocated file space or file slack of the electronic medium or recording device using computer forensic tools or techniques.
(25) Where an application under rule 472(2) is made for the inspection of computer databases, electronic media or recording devices for which discovery has been given, the party seeking inspection shall include in his application an inspection protocol, which may take the form found in Appendix B Part 2, in order to ensure that the party entitled to inspection has access only to electronic documents that are necessary and is not allowed to trawl through the entire database, electronic media or recording device.
(26) Upon the hearing of an application for an order for the inspection of computer databases, electronic media or recording devices, the Court shall have regard to the matters set forth in sub-paragraph (15). The Court shall have the power to review the adequacy of an inspection protocol and may make such order or give such direction as it thinks fit, for the just, expeditious and economical disposal of the cause or matter.
(27) Nothing in this paragraph shall prevent the party producing computer databases, electronic media or recording devices for inspection from reviewing the discoverable electronically stored documents or the results of any reasonable search for the purpose of identifying privileged documents. However, such review for the purpose of identifying privileged documents shall not extend to the deletion, removal or alteration of metadata information.
Supply of copies of electronically stored documents
(28) Copies of discoverable electronically stored documents shall generally be supplied in the native format in which the requested electronic documents are ordinarily maintained and in one or more read-only optical disc(s).
(29) Metadata information internally stored in the native format of discoverable electronically stored documents shall not be deleted, removed or altered without the agreement of the parties or an order of Court. Where the party giving discovery objects to the production for inspection of certain discoverable electronically stored documents solely on the ground that the internally stored metadata information is protected by privilege, but does not object to the production of the electronic documents without the internally stored metadata information, copies of such documents may be supplied in a reasonably usable format with all or such of the metadata information over which privilege is claimed removed.
Requests for the supply of copies
(30) A request for copies of discoverable electronically stored documents may specify the format and manner in which such copies are to be supplied. If the party giving discovery does not agree with the specified format or manner or both, he may either:
(a) propose a reasonably usable format and/or storage medium and/or a reasonable manner in which he intends to supply copies of the requested electronic documents; or(b) in default of agreement, supply copies of the requested electronic documents in accordance with sub-paragraph (1).
(31) The party giving discovery shall not be required to supply copies of electronically stored documents in more than one format.
(32) The file format versions set forth in Appendix B Part 3 shall be deemed to be reasonably usable formats for the purpose of this paragraph.
Applications for the supply of copies
(33) Applications for the supply of copies of discoverable electronically stored documents shall specify the format and manner in which copies of such electronic documents are to be supplied.
Restriction on use of privileged document, inspection of which has been inadvertently allowed
(34) Rule 479 of the Family Justice Rules applies to the giving of discovery or inspection of electronically stored documents, including the supply of copies, as it would to the giving of discovery or inspection of any other document.
Costs
(35) Except for orders made in respect of third party or pre-action discovery, the costs of complying with an order for the giving of discovery or inspection of electronically stored documents shall generally be borne by the party giving discovery; and disbursements incurred in providing copies shall be reimbursed by the party requesting for copies.
(36) The Court may invoke its inherent powers under rules 958 and 959 of the Family Justice Rules to make or give such further orders or directions incidental or consequential to any order as may be necessary, to order the party entitled to discovery to bear the whole or a portion of the costs of compliance with such order for the giving of discovery or inspection of electronically stored documents, and the supply of copies, if such order is necessary to prevent injustice or to prevent an abuse of the process of the Court.
(1) This Paragraph applies to an application made under rule 467(1) or rule 495(1) of the Family Justice Rules —
(a) by or on behalf of an owner or exclusive licensee of copyright material against a network service provider for information relating to the identity of a user of the network service provider’s primary network who is alleged to have infringed the copyright in the material in relation to an electronic copy of the material on, or accessible through, the network service provider’s primary network; or(b) by or on behalf of the performer of a performance against a network service provider for information relating to the identity of a user of the network service provider’s primary network who is alleged to have made an unauthorised use of the performance in relation to an electronic recording of the material on, or accessible through, the network service provider’s primary network.
(2) An application referred to in sub-paragraph (1) shall be made in Form 47 of Appendix A to these Practice Directions.
(a) [deleted](b) [deleted]
(3) If the applicant requires an urgent hearing date, the onus shall lie on the applicant to attend before the Duty Registrar to highlight the nature of the application and to request that the application be fixed for hearing on an urgent basis.
(4) [deleted]
(5) [deleted]
(1) Rule 516 of the Family Justice Rules provides that an application for the grant of an injunction may be made ex parte in cases of urgency. However, the cases of Castle Fitness Consultancy Pte Ltd v Manz [1989] SLR 896 ‘ The Nagasaki Spirit ’ (No.1) [1994] 1 SLR 434 take the position that an opponent to an ex parte application, especially where the application seeks injunctive relief, should be invited to attend at the hearing of the application.
(2) In view of this, any party applying ex parte for an injunction (including a Mareva injunction) must give notice of the application to the other concerned parties prior to the hearing. The notice may be given by way of facsimile transmission or the use of any other electronic means (including electronic mail or Internet transmission), or, in cases of extreme urgency, orally by telephone. Except in cases of extreme urgency or with the leave of the Court, the party shall give a minimum of two hours’ notice to the other parties before the hearing. The notice should inform the other parties of the date, time and place fixed for the hearing of the application and of the nature of the relief sought. If possible, a copy of the originating process, the ex parte summons and supporting affidavit(s) should be given to each of the other parties in draft form as soon as they are ready to be filed in Court. At the hearing of the ex parte application, in the event that some or all of the other parties are not present or represented, the applicant’s solicitors should inform the Court of:
(a) the attempts that were made to notify the other parties or their solicitors of the making of the application;(b) what documents were given to the other parties or their solicitors and when these documents were given; and(c) whether the other parties or their solicitors consent to the application being heard without their presence.
(3) The Directions set out in sub-paragraph (2) need not be followed if the giving of the notice to the other parties, or some of them, would or might defeat the purpose of the ex parte application. However, in such cases, the reasons for not following the Directions should be clearly set out in the affidavit prepared in support of the ex parte application.
(1) Applicants for Mareva injunctions are required to prepare their orders in accordance with the following forms in Appendix A:
(a) Form 239: Worldwide Mareva injunction; and(b) Form 240: Mareva injunction limited to assets within the jurisdiction.
When composing the summons electronic form online through the Electronic Filing Service, these Forms shall be prepared in Portable Document Format (PDF) and attached to the summons electronic form for an Order of Court in Form 4 or 118 of Appendix A to these Practice Directions.
(2) These forms, inevitably, are complicated, but their language and layout are intended to make it easier for persons served with these orders to understand what they mean. These standard form orders should be used save to the extent that the Judge hearing a particular application considers there is a good reason for adopting a different form. Any departure from the terms of the prescribed forms should be justified by the applicant in his supporting affidavit(s).
(3) The applicant should undertake not to inform any third party of the proceedings until after the return date.
(4) Wherever practicable, applications should be made sufficiently early so as to ensure that the Judge has sufficient time to read and consider the application in advance.
(5) On an ex parte application for a Mareva injunction, an applicant may be required, in an appropriate case, to support his cross-undertaking in damages by a payment to be made into Court, a bond to be issued by an insurance company with a place of business within Singapore, a written guarantee to be issued from a bank with a place of business within Singapore or a payment to the applicant’s solicitor to be held by the solicitor as an officer of the Court pending further order.
(1) Without prejudice to the requirements stated in Paragraphs 83 and 84 of these Practice Directions, in order to assist the Court hearing ex parte applications for injunctions (including Mareva injunctions), an applicant must include in the affidavit prepared in support of the application the following information under clearly defined headings:
(a) reason(s) the application is taken out on an ex parte basis, including whether the applicant believes that there is a risk of dissipation of assets, destruction of evidence or any other prejudicial conduct;(b) urgency of the application (if applicable), including whether there is any particular event that may trigger the dissipation of assets, destruction of evidence or any other prejudicial conduct;(c) factual basis for the application, including the basis of any belief that there will be dissipation of assets, destruction of evidence or any other prejudicial conduct, whether there have been any past incidents of the opponent dissipating assets, destroying evidence or engaging in any other prejudicial conduct, and whether there is any evidence of dishonesty or bad faith of the opponent;(d) factual basis for any reasonable defences that may be relied on by the opponent;(e) whether the applicant is aware of any issues relating to jurisdiction, forum non conveniens or service out of jurisdiction, and. if so, whether any application relating to these issues has been or will be made;(f) an undertaking to pay for losses that may be caused to the opponent or other persons by the granting of the orders sought, stating what assets are available to meet that undertaking and to whom the assets belong; and : (g) any other material facts which the Court should be aware of.
(2) An applicant must prepare skeletal submissions on the points to be raised at the hearing of the ex parte application. At the hearing, the applicant shall give a copy of the skeletal submissions to the Court and to any opponent present. The applicant shall file the skeletal submissions by the next working day.
(3) The Court may also require the applicant to prepare a note of the hearing setting out the salient points and arguments canvassed before the Court and may order such a note to be served together with the court documents on any opponent who is not present at the hearing or within a reasonable time after the service of the court documents.
(1) Pre-trial conferences known as case conferences will be conducted for proceedings under:—
(a) Guardianship of Infants Act;(b) Inheritance (Family Provision) Act;(c) International Child Abduction Act;(d) Intestate Succession Act;(e) Legitimacy Act;(f) Mental Capacity Act;(g) Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act;(i) Status of Children (Assisted Reproduction Technology) Act 2013;(j) Section 17A(2) of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act;(k) Voluntary Sterilization Act(l) Section 59 and Part X Women’s Charter; and(m) Probate and Administration Actbefore a hearing date is given. Notification of the Case Conference shall be Form 241 of Appendix A to these Practice Directions.
(2) At the case conference, the matters to be considered include the following, where applicable:
(a) the service of documents;(b) the likelihood of settlement of the contested issues;(c) the ages of the child / children of the marriage;(d) directions for parties to attend with counsel;(e) for parties to attend mandatory counselling and mediation at the Family Justice Courts;(f) the dates of the mediation and counselling sessions;(g) directions on the conduct of mediation and counselling;(h) the witnesses who will be called and whether they need interpretation;(i) the filing of affidavits, reports, summonses and any other necessary documents;(j) the necessity (if any) for an order for the Central Provident Fund Board to furnish information relating to the utilisation of CPF monies or CPF account balances where there is a claim for the division of a matrimonial property or CPF-related assets;(k) the necessity (if any) to transfer the proceedings to the Family Division of the High Court for hearing and determination. In determining whether to transfer the case to the Family Division of the High Court, the Family Court will take into account whether:(i) there is an important question of law;(ii) the matter is a test case; and/or(iii) there is any other sufficient reason to transfer the proceedings;(l) the value of the property in question or matrimonial assets. Generally, in a case where the property in question or matrimonial assets are asserted by any party to the proceedings to be worth a gross value of $5 million or more, the matter will be transferred to the Family Division of the High Court for hearing and determination;(m) the number of days required for the hearing and the fixing of hearing dates; and(n) the administrative arrangements for the next hearing (e.g. whether interpreters are required, etc.).
(3) The principal solicitors having conduct of the case are to personally attend the case conference. They are expected to be thoroughly prepared to discuss all relevant matters as the Registrar conducting the case conference will take a holistic approach tothe case and consider all relevant matters relating to the case.
(4) Solicitors should ensure that their clients are fully informed of the option of using alternative dispute resolution before attending the case conference. They are expected to advise their clients and to take instructions on the desirability of referring the dispute for mediation and / or counselling.
(5) The following sub-paragraphs shall apply in matrimonial proceedings under Part X of the Women’s Charter where any of the ancillary relief claimed is contested and section 17A(2) of the Supreme Court Judicature Act.
(a) The parties or their counsel attending the case conference shall ensure that all affidavits, reports, Ancillary Matters Fact and Position Sheet in Form 242 in Appendix A to these Practice Directions and any other necessary documents have been filed and all interlocutory applications and appeals therefrom have been dealt with before seeking a date for the hearing of the ancillary matters.(b) Where the contested ancillary matters include the division of matrimonial assets, the parties or their counsel shall, upon the direction of the court, file the in Form 243 in Appendix A to these Practice Directions stating the contested issues, the net value of the matrimonial assets as at the date of the Declaration, the status of the proceedings.(c) At any time before the commencement of the hearing of the contested ancillary matters, where it is necessary to do so, the parties or their counsel may, upon the direction of the court, file another in Form 243 in Appendix A to these Practice Directions.
(6) In proceedings under the Guardianship of Infants Act,
(a) where the parties are or were married under the provisions of Muslim law or are Muslims, both parties shall notify the Family Justice Courts Registry, by way of a letter in the prescribed format in Form 244 in Appendix A to these Practice Directions, a day before each hearing as to whether proceedings involving the same parties have been commenced in the Syariah Court.
(1) For the avoidance of doubt, the general rule is that all hearings in a Family Justice Court shall be heard in private pursuant to section 10(1) of the Family Justice Act. Members of the public are not entitled to attend such hearings.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) above, a Family Justice Court may hear any matter in an open and public court to which the public generally may have access, if the Court is satisfied that it is expedient in the interests of justice, or for other sufficient reason to do so. Such matters include but are not limited to:-
(a) trial or hearings for proceedings under section 105 and 106 of the Women’s Charter;(b) uncontested trials or hearings for proceedings under section 95 and 101 of the Women’s Charter which were adjourned from chambers to Open Court; and(c) mentions for proceedings under Part VII and VIII of the Women’s Charter.
(3) Subject to any written law, the Court may, in its discretion, permit interested persons, such as instructing solicitors, and parties to the matter, to attend hearings in a Family Justice Court. In exercising its discretion, the Court may consider a broad range of factors including —
(a) the interest that the person seeking permission has in the matter before the Court;(b) the interests of the litigants;(c) the reasons for which such permission is sought; and(d) the Court’s interest in preserving and upholding its authority and dignity.
(4) In granting interested persons the permission to attend hearings in a Family Justice Court, the Court may, in its discretion, impose the necessary conditions to be complied with.
Time for filing of documents
(1) Subject to any Directions in this Part to the contrary, or by the Court to the contrary, all documents to be used at any hearing in Court must be filed using the Electronic Filing Service at least 1 clear day in advance of the hearing. These documents include written submissions, skeletal arguments, bundles of documents, bundle of pleadings, bundles of affidavits, core bundles and opening statements.
(2) In the event that it is not possible to file the documents in advance of the hearing, counsel may apply to the Judge or Registrar conducting the hearing for leave to:
(a) use hard copy documents during the hearing. Without limiting paragraph 90(12) of these Practice Directions, the hard copy documents may be printed on one side or both sides of each page; or(b) display a soft copy of the document by sharing his or her screen during the hearing (if the hearing is conducted by video-conferencing).
The solicitor must explain why it was not possible to file the documents in advance of the hearing, and must also give an undertaking to file using the Electronic Filing Service all the documents used at the hearing by the next working day after the hearing. Any document not filed using the Electronic Filing Service will not be included in the Court’s case file.
General requirements as regards documents filed for use in Court
(3) Without limiting any directions in these Practice Directions, the following requirements apply to all documents filed for use in Court:
(a) Cover pages are mandatory for all documents;(b) A table of contents is mandatory for all documents exceeding 20 pages;(c) Where a document consists of more than 1 volume:(i) the table of contents of all volumes of the document must be placed at the beginning of Volume I; and(ii) each volume must have a table of contents indicating the items that are contained in that volume.
(4) If the filing of a document is to be done by submitting only a hard copy of the same to the Registry in accordance with these Practice Directions or the Court’s direction:
(a) Any fees payable pursuant to the Fifth Schedule to the Family Justice Rules must be paid over the counter or by any alternative mode of payment specified by the Registry at the same time as when the hard copy document is submitted to the Registry.(b) Parties should, when making payment over the counter, indicate to the cashier the precise number of pages which comprise the documents.(c) The hard copy of the document filed in Court should show, on the first page of the document, the amount of fees that have been paid on the document.(d) To avoid doubt, this sub-paragraph does not apply where:(i) a document is filed, and the fees payable pursuant to the Fifth Schedule to the Family Justice Rules are paid, through the Electronic Filing System; and(ii) the party chooses to tender hard copy of the document to the Registry.
Bundle of authorities
(5) Where bundles of authorities are required to be filed under these Practice Directions or by the Court, the following directions, unless otherwise provided by these Practice Directions or ordered by the Court, apply.
(6) Bundles of authorities may be filed, served, delivered or otherwise conveyed using the Electronic Filing Service. A party may also choose not to file the bundle of authorities into the electronic case file and instead submit a hard copy of the bundle of authorities for hearings according to the directions in this Part.
(7) The party using the hard copy of the bundle of authorities must produce the bundle at every hearing at which it is required. The hard copy of the bundle of authorities may be printed on one side or both sides of each page. The Court will neither retain nor undertake to produce for hearings the hard copy of the bundle. The Judge or Registrar may, if he or she so chooses, retain the hard copy of the bundle of authorities for his or her own reference. The hard copy so retained will not, however, form part of the Court’s record in respect of the proceedings in which it was used.
(8) Counsel must adhere to the following directions when preparing bundles of authorities for use in Court. These requirements also apply to paragraphs 90 to 92, 99, 125 and 126 of these Practice Directions:
(a) The bundle of authorities must contain all the authorities, cases, statutes, subsidiary legislation and any other materials relied on.(b) The bundle of authorities must be arranged in the following order – statutes in alphabetical order of the title, subsidiary legislation in alphabetical order of the title, cases in alphabetical order of the case name, secondary materials (such as textbooks and articles) in alphabetical order of the last name of the author, and any other materials in alphabetical order of the title or last name of the author as is appropriate.(c) The bundle of authorities must have a table of contents immediately after the cover page. Where the bundle of authorities consists of more than 1 volume:(i) the table of contents of all volumes of the bundle of authorities must be placed at the beginning of Volume I; and(ii) each volume must have a table of contents indicating the authorities that are contained in that volume.(d) The items in the table of contents must be numbered sequentially, and bound in the order in which they are listed.(e) The table of contents must contain a concise statement of the relevance of each authority to the specific issues before the Court. The relevance of each authority must be succinctly expressed and comprise no more than 3 sentences. The statement must be set out immediately after the name of the case. For example:Rickshaw Investments Ltd and another v Nicolai Baron von Uexkull [2007] 1 SLR(R) 377Relevance: Choice of law considerations are relevant even when determining the natural forum to hear a dispute.(f) The bundle of authorities must be properly bound with plastic ring binding or plastic spine thermal binding. The rings or spines should be red for plaintiffs/appellants and blue for defendants/respondents with a transparent plastic cover in front and at the back.(g) The bundle of authorities must have flags to mark out the authorities. Such flags must bear the appropriate indicium by which the authority is referred to. Flags must be spaced out evenly along the right side of the bundle so that as far as possible they do not overlap one another.(h) The bundle of authorities must be paginated consecutively at the top right hand corner of each page. Each separate volume must start at page 1, and every page in that volume must be numbered consecutively.(i) The bundle of authorities must be legible. Clear copies of the authorities must be made available for inspection by the other parties or the Judge if the copies exhibited in the bundle of authorities are not legible.
(9) The Court may reject bundles of authorities that are not in compliance with sub-paragraph (8) above, and in exercising its discretion as to costs, take such non-compliance into account.
(10) Only authorities which are relevant or necessary for the trial or hearing may be included in the bundle. No bundle of authorities is necessary in cases where parties are not relying on any authority at the trial or hearing. In cases where the Court is of the opinion that costs have been wasted by the inclusion of unnecessary authorities, the Court will have no hesitation in making a special order for costs against the relevant party.
(11) Where bundles of authorities are filed through the Electronic Filing Service, the following applies:
(a) A bookmark should be created in the Portable Document Format (PDF) file for each authority in the bundle.(b) The name given to each bookmark should be the same as the corresponding authority in the table of contents.(c) The page number of each printed volume of the bundle must correspond to the page number in the Portable Document Format (PDF) version of that volume of the bundle. Each separate volume must start at page 1, and every page in that volume must be numbered consecutively.
[deleted]
(1) This Paragraph shall apply to trials of —
(a) writ actions; and(b) originating summonses ordered to be continued as if the cause of action had been begun by writ.
(2) To improve the conduct of family proceedings and to reduce the time taken in the presentation of cases in Court, the following documents shall also be prepared by the respective solicitors of the parties:
(a) a bundle of authorities; and(b) an opening statement.
Time for filing of documents under rule 567(1) of the Family Justice Rules
(3) Parties are to note that the timeline given pursuant to the Court’s directions under rule 567(1) of the Family Justice Rules is to be adhered to strictly, and that the timeline will apply to the filing of the documents into the electronic case file and, if applicable, the submission of the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM (containing the documents in Portable Document Format (PDF)) to the Registry.
(4) At the trial of the cause or matter, an adjournment may be ordered if:
(a) the documents or any of them (save for the opening statement in cases where it is not required or dispensation was granted) were not filed and served within the prescribed time or at all; or(b) one party seeks to tender any of the above documents or supplements to such documents (except for supplements to the opening statement at the trial of the cause or matter).
(5) If an adjournment is ordered for any of the reasons set out in sub-paragraph (3), the party in default may be ordered to bear the costs of the adjournment.
Mode of filing documents
(6) The opening statement, the affidavits of the evidence-in-chief of all witnesses or other affidavits, and the bundle of documents must be filed in Court as separate documents using the Electronic Filing Service, and, if required, each of the opening statement, the affidavits of the evidence-in-chief of all witnesses or other affidavits, and the bundle of documents in Portable Document Format (PDF) stored on optical media (CD-ROM or DVD-ROM) may be tendered to the Registry. The documents must comply with the provisions of this paragraph.
(7) Additionally, unless otherwise directed, the parties must tender the documents referred to at sub-paragraph (6) above to the Registry in hard copy. The hard copy must tally in all respects with the soft copy (if tendered in optical media), and the page numbers of the hard copy must correspond to the page numbers in the Portable Document Format (PDF) version. Parties should adhere as far as possible to the guidelines set out on the eLitigation website at http://www.elitigation.sg on the resolution to be used when scanning documents into PDF.
Bundle of documents
(8) The bundles of documents in Rules 566 and 567(1)(b) must be prepared in an electronic format. The contents of the bundle of documents must be agreed on between all parties as far as possible. If there are other documents, the relevance of which is uncertain, these documents should be included and any objections taken before the trial Judge. Only documents which are relevant or necessary for the trial may be included in the bundles. In cases where the Court is of the opinion that costs have been wasted by the inclusion of unnecessary documents, the Court will have no hesitation in making a special order for costs against the relevant party. No bundle of documents is necessary in cases where parties are not relying on any document at the trial.
(9) The following directions apply to the electronic creation of bundles of documents:
(a) Index pages shall be prepared. Bookmarks should be created in the Portable Document Format (PDF) file for each such reference in the index. There should be as many book-marks in that PDF file as there are references in the index to documents in that PDF file.(b) The name given to each bookmark should be the same as the corresponding reference in the index.(c) It is the responsibility of the solicitors for all parties to agree and prepare a bundle of agreed documents. The scope to which the agreement extends must be stated in the index sheet of the bundle of agreed documents. If the parties are unable to agree on the inclusion of certain documents, those documents on which agreement cannot be reached must be prepared by the party that intends to rely on or refer to those documents. It is the responsibility of the solicitors for the party filing the bundle of documents to separate the documents into sections for documents of which authenticity is not in dispute and documents of which authenticity is in dispute and to indicate in the index sheet the documents of which authenticity is in dispute and by whom. Apart from the above, the various PDF documents should be arranged chronologically or in some logical order.(d) The page number of each bundle of documents must correspond to the page number in the Portable Document Format (PDF) version of that bundle. Each separate bundle of documents shall start at page 1 and every page shall be numbered consecutively.
(10) For proceedings using the Electronic Filing Service, a bundle of documents may be created online and filed through the Electronic Filing Service. The electronic bundle shall be created in Portable Document Format (PDF). The electronic bundle may contain:
(a) documents in the electronic case file; and(b) documents that have been uploaded into the electronic case file by solicitors or other persons given access to the shared folder in the electronic case file.
(11) The directions in sub-paragraph (12) below apply to hard copies tendered to the Registry or the Court.
(12) The documents in the bundles should —
(a) contain an index of contents of each bundle in the manner and form set out in Form 205 in Appendix A to these Practice Directions.(b) be paginated consecutively throughout at the top right hand corner and may be printed on one side or both sides of each page.(c) Where the bundle of documents consists of more than 1 volume:(i) the index of contents of all volumes of the bundle of documents must be placed at the beginning of Volume 1; and(ii) each volume must have an index of contents indicating the documents that are contained in that volume.(d) be firmly secured together with plastic ring binding or plastic spine thermal binding, and such rings or spines should be red for plaintiffs and blue for defendants with a transparent plastic cover in front and at the back;(e) have flags to mark out documents to which repeated references will be made in the course of hearing, and such flags shall —(i) bear the appropriate indicium by which the document is indicated in the index of contents; and(ii) be spaced out evenly along the right side of the bundle so that as far as possible they do not overlap one another; and(f) be legible (for which purpose clear legible photo-copies of original documents may be exhibited instead of the originals provided the originals are made available for inspection by the other parties before the hearing and by the Judge at the hearing).(g) Where originals and copies of documents are included in one bundle, it should be stated in the index which documents are originals and which are copies.
Core bundle of documents
(13) A core bundle should (unless clearly unnecessary) also be provided containing the most important documents upon which the case will turn or to which repeated reference will have to be made. The documents in this bundle should normally be paginated but should also be cross-referenced to copies of the documents included in the main bundles. The bundle supplied to the Court should be contained in a loose-leaf file which can easily have further documents added to it if required.
(14) Where the core bundle of documents consists of more than 1 volume:
(a) the table of contents of all volumes of the core bundle of documents must be placed at the beginning of Volume I; and(b) each volume must have a table of contents indicating the documents that are contained in that volume.
Opening statements
(15) A proper opening statement is of great assistance to the Court as it sets out the case in a nutshell, both as to facts and law. It is intended to identify both for the parties and the Judge the issues that are, and are not, in dispute. It enables the Judge to appreciate what the case is about, and what he is to look out for when reading and listening to the evidence that will follow. Opening statements also help to clarify issues between the parties, so that unnecessary time is not spent on trying to prove what is not disputed or irrelevant. The need for brevity is emphasised as opening statements that contain long and elaborate arguments, and citations from and references to numerous authorities, do not serve this purpose.
(a) In the light of these objectives, opening statements will be required in all cases from all parties, except where dispensation has been granted by the trial Judge and in running down actions.(b) All opening statements must include the following:(i) the nature of the case generally and the background facts insofar as they are relevant to the matter before the Court and indicating which facts, if any, are agreed;(ii) the precise legal and factual issues involved are to be identified with cross-references as appropriate to the pleadings. These issues should be numbered and listed, and each point should be stated in no more than one or two sentences. The object here is to identify the issues in dispute and state each party's position clearly, not to argue or elaborate on them;(iii) the principal authorities in support of each legal proposition should be listed, while the key documents and witnesses supporting each factual proposition should be identified;(iv) where there is a counterclaim or third party action, the opening statement must similarly address all issues raised therein; and(v) an explanation of the reliefs claimed (if these are unusual or complicated).(c) In the case of the plaintiff, the statement must include the following:(i) a summary of essential facts indicating which, if any, are agreed;(ii) an indication of how these facts are to be proved, identifying relevant witnesses and documents;(d) The plaintiff’s statement as provided for in sub-paragraph (15)(c) above, should, unless exempted or dispensation has been granted by the trial Judge, be filed and served on all other relevant parties not less than 3 working days before the commencement of the trial for which they are to be used.(e) The other counsel should each similarly not later than 2 working days before the start of the trial provide to the Court (with copies at the same time to their opponents) a statement which should concisely state the nature of their case on each of the issues to be tried and summarise the propositions of law to be advanced with references to the main authorities to be relied on. The character and length of this document will depend on the circumstances and whether there is any counterclaim or third-party proceedings.(f) In cases where the Court is of the opinion that costs or hearing days have been wasted by a poorly drafted opening statement, the Court will have no hesitation in making a special order for costs against the relevant person.(g) The following format shall be adhered to when preparing opening statements:(i) all pages shall be paginated, with the first page (including the cover page) numbered as ‘Page 1’ so that the page numbers of the hard copy correspond to the page numbers in the Portable Document Format (PDF) version(ii) the minimum font size to be used is Times New Roman 12 or its equivalent;(iii) the print of every page shall be double spaced;(iv) each page may be printed on one side or both sides; and(v) every page shall have a margin on all 4 sides, each of at least 35 mm in width.(h) All opening statements should not exceed 20 pages (including the cover page, table of contents and all annexes and appendices). All opening statements must include a cover page and a table of contents.(i) Opening statements may be amended at trial, but counsel will be expected to explain the reasons for the amendments.
Bundle of authorities
(16) In addition to the documents required to be filed and served under rule 567 of the Family Justice Rules, the Court may direct parties to file and serve bundles of authorities. Paragraphs 88(5) to (11) of these Practice Directions must be complied with.
(17) The bundle of authorities shall be filed and served on all relevant parties at least 5 working days before trial.
(1) In all hearings in chambers before a Judge or Registrar, counsel shall submit their bundles of documents and their own bundle of authorities. Rule 567 of the Family Justice Rules and the requirements of paragraphs 88(5) to (11) and 90(8) to (12) shall, with the necessary modifications, be complied with, except where paragraph 92(1) of these Practice Directions applies, the bundles may be submitted at the hearing itself before the Judge or Registrar, as the case may be.
(2) The party using a hard copy of the bundle of authorities for the hearing must, if directed by the Court, file the list of authorities (that corresponds to the table of contents of the hard copy of the bundle of authorities) into the case file using the Electronic Filing Service at least 1 clear day in advance of the hearing. In the event that it is not possible for the party to do so, he or she must explain to the Judge or Registrar conducting the hearing why it was not possible for him or her to do so and must also undertake to file the list of authorities using the Electronic Filing Service by the next working day after the hearing.
This paragraph applies only to hearings in the Family Division of the High Court save for the hearing of appeals.
(1) Unless otherwise directed by the Court for any contested special date hearing before a Judge in the Family Division of the High Court, each party shall:
(a) submit to the Court and serve on the other party a hard copy of the following documents at least 1 clear day in advance of the hearing:(i) written submissions (with a cover page and a table of contents); and(ii) bundle of authorities (which are in compliance with the requirements under paragraphs 88(5) to (11) of these Practice Directions); and(b) file a soft copy of the written submissions into the electronic case file using the Electronic Filing Service at least 1 clear day before the hearing.
(2) All written submissions must include a cover page and a table of contents.
(3) The party using a hard copy of the bundle of authorities for the hearing must, if directed by the Court, file the list of authorities (that corresponds to the table of contents of the hard copy of the bundle of authorities) into the case file using the Electronic Filing Service at least 1 clear day before the hearing. Where the bundle of authorities (whether in hard copy or soft copy) consists of more than 1 volume:
(a) the table of contents of all volumes of the bundle of authorities must be placed at the beginning of Volume I; and(b) each volume must have a table of contents indicating the authorities that are contained in that volume.
(4) If any party does not intend to rely on written submissions at the contested hearing referred to in sub-paragraph (1) above (e.g., where the hearing does not involve complex issues), the party should seek the Court’s approval for a waiver by way of a Request using the Electronic Filing Service at least 7 days before the hearing.
(5) This paragraph does not apply to any hearing before a Judge which is fixed on the normal list. However, parties are encouraged to adhere to the directions set out in sub-paragraph (1) above if the application will be contested. In the event that this is not done, the Judge may adjourn the hearing to enable the filing of written submissions or bundle of authorities if appropriate.
(6) For any special date hearing before a Registrar, any party who wishes to rely on written submissions at the hearing is required to comply with sub-paragraph (1) above.
(7) This paragraph does not apply to any hearings for which specific directions on the filing of written submissions or bundle of authorities are provided for in these Practice Directions.
(1) Counsel who wish to cite a judgment as authority in support of their oral or written submissions must adhere to the following directions. These directions are intended to provide guidance to advocates and solicitors as to:
(a) the extent to which it is necessary to rely on local and foreign judgments in support of their case; and(b) the practice of citing such judgments.
Use of judgments as authorities in submissions
(2) Counsel who cite a judgment must state the proposition of law that the judgment establishes and the parts of the judgment that support that proposition. Such statements should not excessively add to the length of the submission but should be sufficient to demonstrate the relevance of that judgment to the argument made. Where counsel wish to cite more than two judgments as authority for a given proposition, there must be a compelling reason to do so, and this reason must be provided by counsel in submissions.
(3) The Court will also pay particular attention to any indication in the cited judgment that the judgment:
(a) only applied decided law to the facts of the particular case; or(b) did not extend or add to the existing law.
Use of judgments from foreign jurisdictions
(4) Judgments from other jurisdictions can, if judiciously used, provide valuable assistance to the Court. However, where there are in existence local judgments which are directly relevant to the issue, such judgments should be cited in precedence to foreign judgments. Relevant local judgments will be accorded greater weight than judgments from foreign jurisdictions. This will ensure that the Courts are not unnecessarily burdened with judgments made in jurisdictions with differing legal, social or economic contexts. In addition, counsel who cite a foreign judgment must:
(a) draw the attention of the Court to any local judgment that may be relevant to whether the Court should accept the proposition that the foreign judgment is said to establish; and(b) ensure that such citation will be of assistance to the development of local jurisprudence on the particular issue in question.
Citation practice
(5) Counsel who cite a judgment must use the official series of the law report(s) or, if the official series is not available, any other law report series in which the judgment was published. Counsel should refrain from referring to (or including in the bundle of authorities) copies of judgments which are printed out from electronic databases, unless:
(a) such judgments are not available in any law report series; or(b) the print-outs are the exact copies of the judgments in the law report series. The following are examples of law reports that should be used for citation:
Jurisdiction | Law Reports (in order of preference) |
|---|---|
(a) Singapore | 1. Singapore Law Reports (2010 - ) (SLR current series) |
| 2. Singapore Law Reports (Reissue) (SLR (R)) |
| 3. Singapore Law Reports (1965-2009) (SLR 1965-2009) |
| 4. Malayan Law Journal (MLJ) |
(b) Malaysia | Malayan Law Journal (MLJ) |
(c) England & Wales | 1. Law reports published by the Incorporated Council of Law Report (e.g., Queen’s Bench (QB), Appeal Cases (AC), Chancery (Ch), Family (Fam), Probate (P) |
| 2. Weekly Law Reports (WLR) |
| 3. All England Law (All ER) |
(d) Australia | 1. Commonwealth Law Reports (CLR) |
| 2. Australian Law Reports (ALR) |
(e) Canada | 1. Supreme Court Reports (SCR)) |
| 2. Federal Court Reports (FC) |
| 3. Dominion Law Reports (DLR) |
(f) New Zealand | New Zealand Law Reports (NZLR) |
(6) Counsel should, where possible, make specific citations by referring to the paragraph number of the judgment, and not to the page number of the judgment or report. For consistency, square brackets ([xx]) should be used to denote paragraph numbers. The paragraph mark (¶) should no longer be used.
The neutral citation system for local judgments
(7) A neutral citation is a court-approved system of citation which is independent of the series of law reports or other publications, and unique to each written judgment. Each written judgment from a particular level of court is assigned a sequential number, starting from 1 at the beginning of each calendar year. The application of the system is as follows:
(a) Cases reported in the Singapore Law Reports must be cited using their Singapore Law Reports citations, in priority to their neutral citations.(b) Unreported decisions must be cited using their neutral citations.
(8) Court designators
Court | Neutral citation |
Singapore Court of Appeal | SGCA |
Singapore High Court (Appellate Division) | SGHC(A) |
Singapore High Court (before 2 January 2021) or Singapore High Court (General Division) (on or after 2 January 2021) | SGHC |
Family Division of the High Court | SGHCF |
Singapore Family Courts | SGFC |
Singapore Youth Courts | SGYC |
Singapore District Court | SGDC |
(9) Example and explanation
ABC Co Pte Ltd v XYZ Co Ltd [2015] SGFC 25, at [3], [8].
Year of the decision | [2015] |
Level of Court | SGFC (Singapore Family Courts) |
Sequential Number | 25 (twenty-fifth written judgment rendered by the Family Court in 2015) |
Paragraph Number(s) | Paragraphs 3 and 8 of the judgment |
Ancillary provisions
(10) The Court in exercising its discretion as to costs may, where appropriate in the circumstances, take into account the extent to which counsel has complied with this paragraph.
(11) Counsel’s attention is drawn to rule 859 of the Family Justice Rules which gives the Court the power to make an order for costs personally against errant advocates and solicitors, who have wasted or incurred costs unreasonably or improperly. The Court will not hesitate to invoke its powers under rule 859 of the Family Justice Rules in cases where costs have been wasted due to counsel’s indiscriminate citation of unnecessary and irrelevant secondary authorities.
(12) It will remain the duty of counsel to draw the attention of the Court to any judgment he or she is aware of, not cited by an opponent, which is adverse to the case being advanced.
(13) In addition, counsel should also comply with paragraphs 88(5) to (11) of these Practice Directions when preparing bundles of authorities for use in court.
(14) This paragraph applies to all hearings, whether in open court or in chambers, in the Family Justice Courts.
(1) In the event that a party is represented by more than one counsel at a hearing, whether in Court or in chambers, the making of submissions and the questioning of witnesses may be carried out by one counsel for each party only.
(2) If a party would like submissions on different issues be made or certain portions of the examination, cross- examination or re-examination be conducted by different counsel, an oral application should be made to Court as early as is practicable and by no later than the commencement of the trial or hearing for leave to do so. The following information should be provided to the Court for the purposes of the application:
(a) the issues on which each counsel will be making submissions; and/or(b) the witnesses to be examined, cross-examined or re-examined by each counsel, or the portions of their evidence for which each counsel will conduct the examination, cross-examination or re-examination.
Nothing in this paragraph detracts from the responsibility of lead counsel to ensure that all counsel making submissions, or having conduct of any portion of the examination, cross-examination or re-examination of witnesses, are adequately supervised and able to handle the tasks assigned to them.
(3) If leave has been granted in accordance with sub-paragraph (2), counsel should ensure that each confines himself to the issues or portions of evidence in respect of which leave was granted and that there is no overlap in the issues or the examination being dealt with by different counsel for the same party. Further, counsel must not repeat, clarify or expand on any submissions or portions thereof that have been made by another counsel for the same party or examine, cross-examine or re-examine witnesses on portions of their evidence dealt with by another counsel for the same party.
(4) If leave of the Court is not sought in accordance with sub-paragraph (2), only one counsel will be allowed to make submissions or conduct examination for a party throughout the hearing.
(5) For hearings in chambers, lead counsel are strongly encouraged to apprise the client of the benefits of allocating certain advocacy tasks to junior assisting counsel, including the potential benefits of reduced legal costs and increased focus by lead counsel on the main advocacy tasks, and to therefore consider obtaining instructions to make an application in accordance with sub-paragraph (2). In this regard, lead counsel are encouraged to consider that giving junior assisting counsel more opportunities for oral advocacy could potentially benefit the client and, at the same time, promote renewal of the Bar.
(6) For civil trials:
(a) Notwithstanding sub-paragraphs (1) and (2), and save where lead counsel is a junior counsel, the junior assisting counsel shall deliver the oral opening statement unless the Court otherwise orders; and(b) lead counsel are to inform the trial judge at the Judge Pre-Trial Conference (“JPTC”), or if a JPTC has not been fixed, at the start of the trial, whether their client will be making an application pursuant to sub-paragraph (2) above and, if so, the proposed division of advocacy tasks between lead counsel and junior assisting counsel.
(7) This Paragraph shall apply to all proceedings in the Family Courts, Youth Courts and Family Division of the High Court.
General requirements for amendment of any document
(1) Except as otherwise provided by the provisions of this Paragraph, where any document (inclusive of any pleading) that has been filed in any proceedings is required to be amended and re-filed in Court, a fresh copy of the document with the amendments included must be prepared, regardless of the number and length of the amendments sought to be made.
(2) The procedure for amending a document is as follows:
(a) A fresh amended copy of the document should be produced.(b) The number of times the document has been amended shall be indicated (in brackets) after the name of the document. For this purpose, an amended document should be entitled “[document name] (Amendment No. 1)” or “[document name] (Amendment No. 2)”, or as appropriate. For example, a Statement of Claim which is amended for the first time should be filed as “Statement of Claim (Amendment No. 1)”, and a Defence that is amended for the second time should be filed as “Defence (Amendment No. 2)”.(c) The changes made in the document from the latest version of the document filed in Court should be indicated in the following way:(i) deletions shall be made by drawing a single line across the words to be deleted; and(ii) insertions shall be underlined.
Colour scheme for amendments
(3) In addition, the following colours shall be used to indicate the history of the amendments in the specified documents:
(a) black for the first round of amendments;(b) red for the second round of amendments;(c) green for the third round of amendments;(d) blue for the fourth round of amendments; and(e) brown for subsequent rounds of amendments.
Amendment for third time or more
(4) From the third round of amendments onwards, the amended specified document should comprise two versions of the document, i.e. —
(a) a clean version without the amendments shown; followed in the same document by(b) a version showing the amendments in colour.
(5) Only one amended document consisting of these two versions is required to be filed.
Cases to which the requirements in sub-paragraphs (1) and (2) do not apply
(6) The directions in sub-paragraph (2)(b) above shall not apply to any originating summons or summons that has been amended from an inter partes application to an ex parte application or vice versa.
(7) The directions in sub-paragraphs (2)(c) above shall not apply to any originating process, summons or other electronic form that is composed online through the Electronic Filing Service.
Amendment endorsements on electronic forms
(8) Rule 426(3) of the Family Justice Rules requires that an amended pleading or other document be endorsed with a statement that it has been amended, specifying the date on which it was amended and by whom the order (if any) authorising the amendment was made and the date thereof, and if no such order was made, the number of the Rule in Part 18 Division 14 of the Family Justice Rules in pursuance of which the amendment was made.
(9) Where electronic forms are amended, the amendment endorsement shall take either one of the following forms:
(a) “By order of court made on [date order was made]”; or(b) “Pursuant to Rule [cite specific rule number]”.
(10) The amendment endorsement shall be appended to the title of the electronic form, after the amendment number as required under sub-paragraph (2)(b) above. Where an electronic form is amended more than once, the endorsement need only cite the basis for the most recent amendment. For example —
(a) “Originating Summons (Amendment No. 3, by order of court made on 1 January 2013)”;(b) “Writ of Summons (Amendment No. 1, pursuant to r420)”.
(11) The date of the electronic form shall reflect the date on which the document is amended.
Amendments made on original writ or originating summons (where amendments are not numerous or lengthy)
(12) This sub-paragraph applies to writs and originating summonses that have not been filed using the Electronic Filing Service. In addition to the usual endorsement signed by the solicitors pursuant to Paragraph 73 of these Practice Directions, there should be re- sealing of the document as required by rule 426(1), of the Family Justice Rules. The seal will be embossed over the endorsement.
Amendment of case title to add a party
(13) Where leave of Court has been obtained to add a party to the main case title of a matter, for example, an intervener, a garnishee or any party that was previously a non-party, the applicant or his solicitor is to file a Request through the Electronic Filing Service to add that specific party to the main case title.
The average waiting time between the filing of certain processes or other steps in the proceedings and the date for the hearing of the matter are as set out below. Solicitors are directed to take note of these waiting times and must be ready to proceed at the end of the relevant period. The average waiting times set out below do not apply to special date fixings.
Waiting Time for Trials or Hearings in the Family Justice Courts
Family Courts
S/N | Type of Causes or Matters | Waiting Time |
|---|---|---|
1 | Trials | 2 to 4 weeks from the last case conference / court mentions |
2 | Maintenance Cases | 3 to 4 weeks from the last court mentions |
3 | Summons | 4 to 6 weeks from the last case conference |
4 | Summary Judgment | 6 weeks (statutory) from filing date |
5 | Summons for Directions | 4 to 6 weeks from filing date |
6 | Assessment of Damages |