Part XIV – General Matters

158. Weekend/Public Holiday Duty Registrar and Judge at the Family Courts

159. Duty Registrar and Duty Magistrate

159A. Request for urgent hearing before Duty Judge

• Request for urgent hearing before Duty District Judge or Assistant Registrar of the Family Justice Courts

• Request for urgent hearing before Judge of the Family Division of the High Court

160. Attendance of solicitors in Court

161. Use of Video or Telephone Conferencing for Hearings

• Guidelines for Video and Telephone Conferencing

• Directions for Hearing by Video and Telephone Conferencing

• Conduct of Hearing

161A.Technology Facilities in Supreme Court Building

• Use of the Video Conference Facilities and the Mobile Infocomm Technology Facilities

• Applications to use the Video Conference Facilities and Usage of Additional Equipment

• Applications to use the Mobile Infocomm Technology Facilities

• Fees

162. Absence from Court on medical grounds

163. Publication of & Reports and Comments on Court Cases

164. Citation of Case Numbers

165. The Electronic Queue Management System and Central Display Management System

166. Precedence and preaudience of Senior Counsel

167. Court dress

• Trials in Court

• Hearings in Chambers

• Mediations

168. Requests and Other Correspondence

• General Correspondence

• Request to adjourn, reschedule or vacate a hearing date

169. Requests for Court interpreters

• Family Division of the High Court

• Family Courts

• Translation

170. Authorisation for collection of mail and Court documents

158. Weekend / Public Holiday Duty Registrar and Judge at the Family Courts

(1) The Duty Judge at the Family Courts may hear an urgent application from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays under the following circumstances:

(a) where the applicant, being a lawful guardian or parent of a child, is seeking to restrain or enjoin another party from taking the child out of jurisdiction without the consent of the applicant;

(b) the child’s departure from Singapore is so imminent that it would be too late for the application to be heard on the next working day; and

(c) there is a strong likelihood that the child, once taken out of Singapore, will not return to Singapore.

(2) To request the urgent hearing of such an application, the applicant should contact the Weekend / Public Holiday Duty Registrar at 97241402 during the hours of 9 a.m. to 6 p.m on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.

(3) The Duty Registrar will only arrange for the hearing of the application before the Duty Judge if the applicant satisfies the Duty Registrar that the case meets all the criteria stipulated in sub-paragraph (1) and the application is so urgent that it cannot be heard the next working day. The Duty Registrar or Duty Judge may also give directions for the urgent hearing to take place remotely or, alternatively, with parties attending in person at any place as directed.

(4) The Duty Registrar or the hearing judge may, in lieu of filing, direct the applicant to tender the application and supporting documents by email or in hard copies. In this case, the applicant is to provide a signed undertaking in accordance with Form 259 in Appendix A to these Practice Directions that all documents (including the originating process if applicable) will be filed in Court the next available working day. Where the Duty Registrar or the hearing judge directs the applicant to provide hard copies of the relevant documents, the applicant must bring three copies each of the application, the supporting affidavit and the appropriate draft orders of court (Form 260 in Appendix A to these Practice Directions) for the ex parte hearing.

(5) On an ex parte application for an injunction against the permanent removal of a child from Singapore, the Court would require the applicant, to give an undertaking to compensate any party for any loss caused as a result of the application. The Court may require the undertaking as to damages to be supported by —

(a) making payment into Court;

(b) furnishing a banker’s guarantee; or

(c) making payment to the applicant’s solicitor to be held by the solicitor as an officer of the Court pending further order.

(6) An applicant for an order under section 14 of the Guardianship of Infants Act (Cap 122) must prepare the following documents in accordance with the appropriate forms in Appendix A to these Practice Directions and bring them along to the hearing:

(a) the Order of Court being sought (Form 261 in Appendix A to these Practice Directions);

(b) the Writ for Seizure (Form 262 in Appendix A to these Practice Directions);

(c) the Request for Writ for Seizure (Form 263 in Appendix A to these Practice Directions);

(d) the applicant’s letter of undertaking to indemnify the Family Justice Courts and the Bailiff against any liabilities or claims that may arise from or in connection with the execution of the order granted by the Court to the applicant (Form 264 in Appendix A to these Practice Directions);

(e) the applicant’s letter of undertaking to pay compensation / damages and to serve the documents (Form 265 in Appendix A to these Practice Directions); and

(f) the applicant’s counsel’s letter of undertaking to ensure a calm and orderly execution and to pay the costs, expenses and charges of execution should the same not be fully paid by the applicant (Form 266 in Appendix A to these Practice Directions)

(7) The forms in Appendix A to these Practice Directions are intended to make it easier for persons served with the relevant orders to understand what the orders mean. These standard form orders should be used save to the extent that an applicant is of the view that the form should be varied and the Duty Judge hearing a particular application considers that there is a good reason for adopting a different form. Any departure from the terms of the standard forms must be justified by the applicant in his / her supporting affidavit(s).

(8) If an order is granted under section 14 of the Guardianship of Infants Act (Cap 122), the applicant must do the following:

(a) accompany the Bailiff to the place of execution and identify the child to be seized;

(b) instruct his / her solicitor (if any) to accompany the Bailiff;

(c) provide specific address of execution and if the execution is at an airport (whether Singapore Changi or Seletar), solicitor/applicant shall provide the details of flight and terminal number (boundary of seizure at the airport is restricted to public area); and

(d) engage and pay for the costs of an auxiliary police officer to accompany the Bailiff to the place of execution, subject to the condition that where the person against whom the execution is to be carried out or the child / any of the children concerned is a female, the auxiliary police officer shall be a female officer.

(9) For the avoidance of doubt, every applicant must comply with Paragraph 83 of these Practice Directions.

159. Duty Registrar and Duty Magistrate

(1) The duties of the Duty Registrar are —

(a) to hear applications made ex parte or by consent (except probate matters) provided that the summons has been entered in the summonses book;

(b) to grant approval for any matter pertaining to the administration of the Registry, including giving early or urgent dates and allowing inspection of files;

(c) to sign documents to effect sale and transfer of matrimonial assets; and

(d) to sign and certify documents.

(2) The duties of the Duty Magistrate shall include the examination of complainants when they file a Magistrate’s Complaint.

(3) The duty hours shall be as follows:

Mondays to Fridays              -          9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and
                                              2:15 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

(4) Only solicitors (or, where a party is not represented, a litigant in person) shall appear before the Duty Registrar.

(5) Except where the attendance of the advocate and solicitor is required under sub- paragraph (9), the filing of the relevant documents will be sufficient for the Duty Registrar’s disposal of any application or matter. Documents which are filed using the Electronic Filing Service will be returned to the solicitor through the Electronic Filing Service to the inbox of the law firm’s computer system or through the service bureau. Documents which are not electronically filed shall be collected from the relevant Family Registry not earlier than one clear day after the documents have been filed.

(6) All documents which are not required to be filed using the Electronic Filing Service should be duly stamped before presentation to the Duty Registrar for his signature and/or decision.

(7) A solicitor who wishes to attend before a Duty Registrar and to refer him to documents filed using the Electronic Filing Service must either —

(a) file the document sufficiently far in advance before attending before the Duty Registrar such that the documents are already included in the electronic case file for the Duty Registrar’s reference (and in this regard, solicitors should only attend before the Duty Registrar after they have received notification from the Court that the document has been accepted); or

(b) attend before the Duty Registrar with the paper documents, if these exist (and in this regard, the Duty Registrar will require the solicitor to give an undertaking to file all the documents by the next working day after the attendance before dealing with the matter).

(8) Solicitors should register at the relevant Family Registry counter prior to attending before the Duty Registrar.

(9) The advocate and solicitor’s attendance is compulsory only:

(a) when he is requesting an early or urgent date for hearing before the Registrar or Judge;

(b) when an application or document is returned with the direction “Solicitor to Attend”; o

(c) when so required by any provision of law.

(10) A solicitor may, if he wishes to expedite matters, attend before the Duty Registrar even if his attendance is not ordinarily required.

(11) When dealing with the ancillary matters, the Court may grant orders under section 31 of the Family Justice Act empowering the Registrar to sign the documents to effect the sale and transfer of matrimonial assets. These orders fall into two categories:

(a) an order empowering the Registrar to sign the relevant documents without further notice to the party whom the Registrar is signing the documents on behalf of (“Category A orders”); and

(b) an order empowering the Registrar to sign the relevant documents only in the event of a default by a party in signing the relevant documents (“the other party”) despite written notification to him/her to sign the relevant documents (“Category B orders”).

(12) Applications to obtain the signature of the Registrar pursuant to Category A orders and Category B orders shall be made before the Duty Registrar in the Family Justice Courts. The documents to be signed by the Duty Registrar shall contain the following endorsements:

“Signed on behalf of {insert name of party in default} by Registrar, Family Justice Courts, pursuant to order of court dated {insert date}”

(13) Counsel shall furnish the following documents to the Duty Registrar when making such applications:

(a) For Category A orders

(i) The sealed copy of the order of court empowering the Registrar to sign the relevant documents; and

(ii) A duplicate copy of each of the documents to be signed by the Registrar, which will be retained by the Court.

(b) For Category B orders

(i) The documents set out in sub-paragraph (13)(a)(i) and (ii) above.

(ii) An affidavit stating the details of the written notification(s) sent to the other party and showing the other party’s default in signing the relevant documents.

(14) The sealed copy of the order of court empowering the Registrar to sign will be returned after the signing of the documents.

159A. Request for urgent hearing before Duty Judge

Request for urgent hearing before Duty District Judge or Assistant Registrar of the Family Justice Courts

(1) Save for attendances before the Duty Registrar or Duty Magistrate listed in Paragraph 159 of these Practice Directions, this paragraph applies to all other requests for urgent hearing (including ex parte applications) before the Duty District Judge or Assistant Registrar.

(2) An applicant requesting for an urgent hearing before a Duty District Judge or Assistant Registrar is required to file the request through the Electronic Filing Service. The request should be accompanied by the completed Form 270 of Appendix A of these Practice Directions. A copy of Form 270 should be served on each respondent to the application at the time of filing, unless the application is an ex parte application and service of Form 270 would or might defeat the purpose of the application. The Registry will update the applicant or parties (whichever applicable) on the outcome of the request.

(3) The applicant should prepare skeletal submissions for the urgent hearing before the Duty District Judge, and file the skeletal submissions at the same time as Form 270. A copy of the skeletal submissions should be served on each respondent to the application at the time of filing, unless the application is an ex parte application and service of the skeletal submissions would or might defeat the purpose of the application.

(4) If, due to urgency, the applicant is unable to file or serve Form 270 and/or the skeletal submissions before attending before the Duty District Judge, the applicant should provide a copy each of Form 270 and the skeletal submissions to each respondent to the application when the parties attend before the Duty District Judge. Each such copy of Form 270 or the skeletal submissions must be a hard copy, if the parties attend before the Duty District Judge physically, or in soft copy, if the parties attend before the Duty District Judge by live video or live television link. Thereafter, Form 270 and the skeletal submissions should be filed as soon as possible and, in any event, no later than the next working day after the attendance before the Duty District Judge, unless the Court directs otherwise. If any respondent does not attend before the Duty District Judge, Form 270 and the skeletal submissions should be served on that respondent as soon as possible after the hearing before the Duty District Judge, unless the Court directs otherwise.

(5) In cases of extreme urgency where the applicant is unable to comply with the requirement to file or provide a copy of the skeletal submissions by the time of the urgent hearing before the Duty District Judge, the applicant should seek dispensation of that requirement and the supporting reasons for the dispensation request should be included in Form 270 filed pursuant to sub-paragraph (2).

(6) The applicant’s skeletal submissions should contain the following:

(a) the relevant facts;

(b) the applicable law;

(c) the reason(s) for requesting an urgent hearing; and

(d) a summary of arguments.

(7) The applicant’s skeletal submissions should be in the following format:

(a) all pages should be paginated;

(b) the skeletal submissions should not exceed 10 pages (excluding the cover page and backing page);

(c) the minimum font size to be used is Times New Roman 12 or its equivalent;

(d) the print of every page must be double-spaced; and

(e) every page must have a margin on all 4 sides, each of at least 35mm in width.

Request for urgent hearing before Judge of the Family Division of the High Court

(8) In the event that a request is for an urgent hearing before a Judge of the Family Division of the High Court, unless otherwise directed, sub-paragraphs (2) to (7) shall apply save that references to the Duty District Judge shall be read as references to the Judge of the Family Division of the High Court.

160. Attendance of solicitors in Court

(1) Save in the most exceptional and unforeseen circumstances, and so long as the firm of solicitors remains on record, a member of the firm must attend all proceedings in respect of the cause or matter in which the firm is acting, even if it does not intend to oppose the orders sought by the other side. The practice of asking the opposing solicitor to mention the matter on one’s behalf is also not acceptable and should be discouraged.

(2) The court may however allow a solicitor appearing in any cause or matter to mention for counsel for all other parties provided that:

(a) the solicitor obtains confirmation of his authority to mention on their behalf for the purpose of the hearing; and

(b) parties have agreed on the order sought.

(3) However, where an adjournment of the hearing date of any cause or matter is sought, solicitors for all parties must attend the hearing. See also paragraphs 100 and 168 of these Practice Directions.

(4) Solicitors appearing in any cause or matter should be punctual in attending Court, as delay in the commencement of the hearing leads to wastage of judicial time. Appropriate sanctions may be imposed for solicitors who do not arrive for hearings on time.

161. Use of Video or Telephone Conferencing for Hearings

(1) These directions apply to hearings to be conducted by video or telephone conferencing, as directed by the Court.

Guidelines for Video and Telephone Conferencing

(2) A set of guidelines (“Guidelines”) shall govern the scope, use and procedure for the conduct of hearings by video or telephone conferencing. The Guidelines are found on the Singapore Courts website at http://www.judiciary.gov.sg and counsel / parties are to abide by and familiarise themselves with the Guidelines for hearings conducted by video or telephone conferencing. The Guidelines may be amended where necessary.

(3) Counsel / parties shall ensure that their equipment meets the required technical specifications and that they are familiar with the applicable platform listed in the Guidelines.

Directions for Hearing by Video and Telephone Conferencing

(4) Where the Court directs that a hearing will be conducted by video or telephone conferencing, a Registrar’s Notice will be sent to the parties in advance of the scheduled hearing:

(a) Solicitors may write to the Court to raise any concerns that they may have within 2 days after receiving the Registrar’s Notice; and

(b) A party who is not legally represented is strongly encouraged to use video conferencing or telephone conferencing, but may inform the Court if he or she does not wish to do so.

(4A) The Court retains full discretion to decide:

(a) whether to conduct any hearing by video conferencing or telephone conferencing, and

(b) whether to conduct any hearing with one or more parties attending by video conferencing or telephone conferencing and any other party attending physically in Court.

Conduct of Hearing

(5) Where hearings are conducted by video conferencing or telephone conferencing, the hearing shall proceed as if it were a hearing conducted in person before the Court. Parties must observe all court rules and practices on dress etiquette applicable to Court hearings as prescribed in these Practice Directions and the Registrar’s Circulars. However, it will not be necessary to stand and/or bow to the Court at the start or end of the hearing or to stand when addressing the Court.

(6) If the hearing cannot be conducted, or if the Court decides that it is not expedient to deal with the matter by video or telephone conferencing, the Court may either direct that the hearing be adjourned for counsel and/or parties to attend Court personally, or issue any other direction regarding the resolution of the case.

(7) Unauthorised audio or visual recording of hearings is strictly prohibited and in appropriate cases, the Court may require an undertaking that no such recording will be made. The attention of parties is drawn to section 5 of the Administration of Justice (Protection) Act 2016 regarding contempt of court by unauthorised recordings.

(8) Counsel / parties are to ensure that the hearing is conducted in a private and secure location and not in a public area. No person should be attending at the video or telephone conferencing terminal if the Court is not aware of their presence. The identities of all persons present at the hearing should be disclosed to the Court at the start of the hearing, and permission is to be obtained for their attendance.

(9) In the event of non-compliance with the required technical specifications, prescribed Court etiquette or the applicable Guidelines, the Court may adjourn the hearing and issue further directions to be complied with.

(10) Any reference made to the record of proceedings in these Practice Directions shall refer to the Court’s record of proceedings of the hearing conducted by video or telephone conferencing.

(11) Any queries or requests for assistance pertaining to hearings by video or telephone conferencing may be sent by email to [e-mail].

161A. Technology Facilities in Supreme Court Building

Use of the Video Conference Facilities and the Mobile Infocomm Technology Facilities

(1) This Paragraph shall apply only in respect of proceedings in the Family Division of the High Court conducted at the Supreme Court building.

(2) The Video Conference (“VC”) Facilities and the Mobile Infocomm Technology Facilities (“MIT facilities”) may, at the discretion of the Registrar, be used:

(a) for the hearing of any matter, whether before a Judge or Registrar, in open Court or in Chambers; or

(b) for any other dispute resolution process.

(3) The Registrar may refuse any request for the use of any of the services described in this Part at any time owing to the unavailability of staff or equipment or for any other reason. The Registrar need not give any reasons for the refusal of such a request.

Applications to use the Video Conference Facilities and Usage of Additional Equipment

(4) A request to use the VC facilities for the hearing of any matter before a Judge or Registrar must be made by filing a Request through the Electronic Filing Service at least 14 working days before the hearing at which those facilities are to be used and Form 266A of Appendix A of these Practice Directions in Portable Document Format (PDF) must be annexed to the Request electronic form.

(5) An application to use the VC facilities for any other dispute resolution process must be made by submitting Form 266A of Appendix A of these Practice Directions to the Registrar through the relevant person-in-charge at the organisation at which the dispute resolution process is carried out at least 14 working days before the dispute resolution proceedings at which it is to be used.

(6) [deleted]

(7) Upon a successful request to use the VC facilities,

(a) prior arrangements for equipment testing have to be made at least 5 working days before the first day fixed for the hearing, in order to ensure equipment compatibility;

(b) applicants will be informed of the number for video conferencing during the testing session; and

(c) as a matter of general practice, the remote site will connect to the number and it is the responsibility of the party requesting the VC to coordinate the booking and calling in from the remote site.

(8) Any person who desires to use audio-visual and computer equipment additional to those provided in a Courtroom will be asked to provide details of such equipment. The applicant must also be prepared to have the equipment available for testing with the audio-visual system of the Courtroom at least 3 working days before the first day fixed for the hearing. It is the responsibility of the applicant to provide equipment that is compatible with the audio-visual system of the Courtroom.

Applications to use the Mobile Infocomm Technology Facilities

(9) A request to use the MIT facilities for the hearing of any matter in open Court or in Chambers before a Judge or Registrar must be made by filing a Request through the Electronic Filing Service at least 14 working days before the hearing at which the MIT facilities are to be used and Form 266A of Appendix A of these Practice Directions in Portable Document Format (PDF) must be annexed to the Request electronic form.

(10) An application to use the MIT facilities for any other dispute resolution process must be made by submitting Form 266A to the Registrar through the relevant person-in- charge at the organisation at which the dispute resolution process is carried out as soon as practicable, as availability of the resources are on a first-come-first served basis.

(11) The MIT facilities are available for use in both open Court and in Chambers.

(12) Any applicant desiring to use MIT facilities is required to provide details of the type of evidence to be presented and media format in the application form. The applicant must also be prepared to have the presentation material or media available for testing with the MIT facilities at least 5 working days before the first day fixed for the hearing. It is the responsibility of the applicant to provide presentation materials or media format that is compatible with the equipment provided by the Court.

(13) [deleted]

Fees

(14) [deleted]

(15) [deleted]

162. Absence from Court on medical grounds

(1) If —

(a) any party to proceedings;

(b) any witness;

(c) any counsel; or

(d) a Deputy Public Prosecutor or other officer or person appointed by the Attorney- General to assist him or to act as his deputy in the performance of any of the functions or duties of the Public Prosecutor under the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 68) or under any other written law,

is required to attend Court and wishes to excuse himself from Court on medical grounds, he must tender or cause to be tendered to the Court an original medical certificate. The medical certificate so tendered must be in the form and contain the information and particulars required by sub-paragraphs (2) to (5).

(2) A medical certificate issued by a Government hospital or clinic may be in the pre- printed form produced by the Ministry of Health, a sample of which appears at Form 267 of Appendix A. A medical certificate issued by a restructured hospital or specialist centre may also be in a pre-printed form similar to the sample which appears at Form 267 of Appendix A. The pre-printed medical certificate must:

(a) be completely and properly filled in;

(b) contain the name of the medical practitioner who issued the medical certificate;

(c) state the name of the hospital or clinic in which the medical practitioner practices;

(d) indicate that the person to whom the certificate is issued is unfit to attend Court, and specify the date(s) on which he is unfit to attend Court;

(e) be signed in full by the medical practitioner and must not be merely initialled; and

(f) be authenticated by a rubber stamp showing the medical practitioner’s full name and his designation in the hospital or clinic, as the case may be.

(3) If a medical certificate is not in Form 267 of Appendix A, then the medical certificate should:

(a) be addressed to the Court for which the certificate was intended. It must not merely be addressed to “whomsoever-it-may-concern”. Where the patient is unable to furnish the name of the judicial officer concerned, the relevant medical certificate may be addressed to “The District Judge/Magistrate, Family Courts” or “The Registrar, Family Justice Courts”, as the case may be;

(b) identify clearly the name of the medical practitioner who issued the certificate;

(c) state the name of the hospital or clinic from which it had been issued;

(d) be signed in full by the medical practitioner and not merely initialled;

(e) be authenticated by a rubber stamp showing the medical practitioner’s full name, designation and any other relevant particulars;

(f) contain the diagnosis of the patient concerned, if any (unless the diagnosis cannot or should not normally be disclosed);

(g) contain a statement to the effect that the person to whom the certificate had been issued is medically unfit to attend Court, and specify the date(s) on which the person is unfit to attend Court; and

(h) bear the date on which it was written, and where this differs from the date of consultation this must be clearly disclosed.

(4) If any portion of the information set out in sub-paragraph (3) is not found in the medical certificate proper, such information should be included in a memorandum attached to the medical certificate. This memorandum must similarly:

(a) identify clearly the name of the medical practitioner who issued the memorandum;

(b) contain the name of the hospital or clinic from which it was issued;

(c) be signed in full by the medical practitioner and not merely initialled; and

(d) be authenticated by a rubber stamp showing the medical practitioner’s full name and designation.

(5) All information and details in any medical certificate or any memorandum must be clearly and legibly printed.

(6) If the Directions set out in sub-paragraphs (2) to (5) are not complied with, the Court may reject the medical certificate and decline to excuse the absence from Court of the person to whom the medical certificate was issued. The Court may then take any action it deems appropriate.

(7) This Paragraph shall apply to all proceedings in the Family Justice Courts, whether in open Court or in private.

163. Publication of & Reports and Comments on Court Cases

(1) This paragraph applies to solicitors, litigants (whether acting by solicitors or in person), the media and all other persons reporting on or commenting about cases which are before any court (“court cases”). All categories of persons mentioned above are collectively referred to as “all concerned”.

(2) All concerned are reminded that reports or comments in public on court cases must not flout any existing law or order of court or be calculated to affect, or be reasonably capable of affecting, the outcome of any decision by the court.

(3) All concerned are not to publish, report or comment on publicly any affidavit or statutory declaration which has not been adduced as evidence or referred to in any hearing in open Court or in Chambers or any other court document which has not been served on the relevant party or parties in the court proceedings.

(4) All concerned are not to publish, report or comment on publicly any statements made in Chambers by anyone which is expressly stated to be confidential or is impliedly confidential. Solicitors may inform their clients of statements made in Chambers when it is necessary for them to render proper advice to their clients.

164. Citation of Case Numbers

(1) All originating processes and summons filed in the Family Justice Courts on or after 2 January 2015 shall bear case numbers in the following format:

Description of Court/Type of Application [Case number]/Year filed

For example:

Case Number Format	Type of Case
HCF/P [Case Number] / [Year filed]	Probate case filed in Family Division of the High Court
HCF/OSF [Case Number] / [Year filed]	Originating summons filed in Family Division of the High Court
FC/P [Case Number] / [Year filed]	Probate case filed in the Family Courts
FC/D [Case Number] / [Year filed]	Originating summons filed in the Family Courts

(2) Parties are to cite the case number in full in all documents and correspondence which are submitted to the Court.

(3) Please take note that the court forum prefix will not be shown in the Electronic Queue Management System. Counsel and parties should disregard the court forum prefix when taking their queue numbers.

165. The Electronic Queue Management System and Central Display Management System

(1) The Electronic Queue Management System (EQMS) is used for hearings and conferences in the Family Justice Courts except the following:-

(a) Youth Courts;

(b) Mentions in the Family Courts;

(c) Trials in the Family Courts; and

(d) Open Court Hearings in Family Courts.

(2) When taking queue numbers at the EQMS kiosk, solicitors should indicate they are ready for hearing by taking the queue number for the opposing party.

(3) The Judge or Registrar has the full discretion to manage the queue and call cases in the EQMS in a manner which he or she deems fit.

(4) Senior Counsel will continue to be given the precedence and the right of preaudience according to paragraph 166.

(5) If a hearing or conference is being conducted in the Supreme Court building, solicitors shall use the Central Display Management System as set out in the Supreme Court Practice Directions 2021.

166. Precedence and preaudience of Senior Counsel

(1) By virtue of section 31 of the Legal Profession Act (Cap. 161) and existing custom and usage, Senior Counsel are given precedence and the right of preaudience.

(2) In order to give substance to the principle of precedence and preaudience to Senior Counsel, Senior Counsel who intend to appear before Judges or Registrars for summonses hearings should inform the Registrar in writing not later than two clear days before the scheduled hearing date. Matters involving Senior Counsel will thereafter be listed first, in the order of their precedence. If Senior Counsel do not appear at the time their matters come on for hearing according to the list, they will have to wait for their turn in accordance with their queue numbers given by the Queue Management System in the Family Justice Courts, subject to the Judge’s or Registrar’s overriding discretion.

(3) All other counsel, including those who appear on behalf of Senior Counsel, will continue to be heard in the order of their queue numbers in accordance with the current practice in the Family Justice Courts, subject to the Judge’s or Registrar’s overriding discretion.

167. Court dress

Trials in Court

(1) For the Family Division of the High Court,

(a) the attire for male advocates and solicitors appearing in trials or in open Court will be the existing gown worn over an ordinary long-sleeved white shirt with a turn- down collar, a tie of a subdued or sober colour, a dark jacket, dark trousers and black or plain coloured shoes; and

(b) the attire for female advocates and solicitors appearing in trials or in open Court will be the existing gown worn over a long-sleeved white blouse high to the neck, a dark jacket, a dark skirt or dark trousers and black or plain coloured shoes. Conspicuous jewellery or ornaments should not be worn.

(c) when appearing in trials or open Court proceedings that are conducted through a live video or live television link:

(i) if the proceedings are conducted solely through the live video or live television link and do not take place in any courtroom, the attire for an advocate and solicitor will be the same as for trials and open court, except that the gown need not be worn; but

(ii) if one or more Judges hear the proceedings in a courtroom, unless the Court directs otherwise, every advocate and solicitor in the proceedings will wear the usual attire for trials and open Court proceedings.

(iii) if the Judge conducts proceedings through the live video link or live television link, and the parties attend the proceedings in the courtroom, unless the Court otherwise directs, every advocate and solicitor in the proceedings will wear the usual attire for open court proceedings.

(2) The attire for Senior Counsel shall be as described in sub-paragraphs (1), save that, for hearings, they may, instead of the existing gown, wear a gown in the design of those worn by the Queen’s Counsel of England and Wales and made of the following material:

(a) silk;

(b) silk and wool mix; or

(c) artificial silk.

(3) For Family Courts and Youth Courts, the attire for appearing in trials or in open Court shall be as per sub-paragraph (4).

Hearings in Chambers

(4) When appearing before the Judge or Registrar in Chambers, the attire for both an advocate and solicitor will be the same as for trials and open Court, save that the gown need not be worn.

Mediations

(5) For mediations:

(a) The attire for male advocates and solicitors will be as in sub-paragraph (4) save that a single-coloured shirt of neutral or subdued shades instead of a white shirt may be worn.

(b) The attire for female advocates and solicitors will be as in sub-paragraph (4) save that a single-coloured blouse or a single-coloured dress of neutral or subdued shades instead of a white blouse may be worn.

168. Requests and other Correspondence

General Correspondence

(1) All Requests relating to or in connection with any family proceedings in the Family Courts and Family Division of the High Court shall be addressed to the Registrar and sent to the Registry of the Family Justice Courts.

(2) For cases which have been commenced electronically, a letter shall be sent to the Court by a law firm only using the Electronic Filing Service. If a letter is sent to the Court by a law firm in any other way, it is liable to be rejected. This sub-paragraph does not apply to litigants in person.

(3) In addition, all letters should be captioned with the number of the cause to which they relate and the names of the parties. For example:

‘DIVORCE WRIT NO. 12345 OF 2015

Between AB and CD’

(4) If the correspondence relates to an interlocutory application or applications, the reference number, hearing date and time of that application or those applications should be stated in the caption below the parties’ names. For example:

“SUMMONS NO. 98765 OF 2015

CASE CONFERENCE ON 1 JANUARY 2015 at 2:30PM”

Request to adjourn, reschedule or vacate a hearing date

(5) A request for a hearing date to be rescheduled shall be made via the electronic filing service as soon as possible and at least 7 working days prior to the hearing date.

(6) Before parties write to the Court to request an adjournment or vacation of any hearing other than a trial, they should seek the consent of the other party or parties to the matter. Unilateral requests made without first seeking the consent or views of the other party or parties to the matter will not be entertained, except in the most exceptional circumstances.

(7) If the consent of all other parties to the matter is obtained, the request should state that all parties have consented to the request for the adjournment or vacation. However, this does not mean that the request will be granted as a matter of course. The Court will still evaluate the merits of the request before making its decision.

(8) If the consent of one or more of the other parties is not obtained, the request should set out the reasons for the other parties’ objections, or explain why the consent of one or more of the other parties cannot be obtained. Any relevant correspondence between the parties should also be annexed. The Court will then evaluate the contents of the request and the relevant correspondence before deciding whether the request should be allowed.

(8A) In any other case, parties must attend before the Court to make an application for an adjournment. See also paragraph 160 of these Practice Directions.

(9) Where the reason for rescheduling of the hearing is a conflict of court dates, the following information relating to both court cases must be stated in the request:

(a) the case number;

(b) the date and time of the hearing;

(c) the nature of hearing;

(d) the date when the applicant was informed of the hearing date or agreed to accept the hearing date (e.g. date of Registrar’s Notice or date of case conference or Court mentions when the date was taken);

(e) in the event the family proceedings hearing date was fixed earlier, whether the court subsequently giving the same hearing date was informed of the family proceedings hearing already fixed; and

(f) in the event the family proceedings hearing date was fixed later, whether the Family Justice Courts was informed of the earlier hearing date and the reasons for the earlier date.

(10) Compliance with the directions in this Paragraph will facilitate the expeditious location of the relevant cause file.

(11) If a letter is sent to the Court by a law firm without the information specified in sub- paragraph (3) and (4), it is also liable to be rejected.

(12) All correspondence to Court relating to or in connection with any pending matter shall be copied to all other parties in the matter or to their solicitors unless there are good reasons for not so doing. Solicitors are further reminded that the Court should not be copied on correspondence between parties or their solicitors. The Registry has the discretion to reject or refuse to act on any inappropriate or ex parte correspondence.

(13) Registrar’s Directions and Notices from the Registry will be sent to law firms who are registered users of the Electronic Filing Service through the Electronic Filing Service.

(14) Registered users are to ensure that the inbox of their Electronic Filing Service account(s) are checked and cleared regularly.

169. Request for court interpreters

Family Division of the High Court

(1) For proceedings in the Family Division of the High Court, any party requiring the services of an interpreter of the Court for himself or any of his witnesses at a hearing is to comply with sub-paragraphs (2) to (10) below.

(2) The directions set out in sub-paragraphs (3) to (10) below are to be followed in relation to all requests for interpretation services of interpreters from the Supreme Court’s Interpreters Section, whether the services are required for hearings in open Court or in Chambers.

(3) Not less than 7 working days before the day on which the services of an interpreter are required (“scheduled day”), the requesting party must file a Request addressed to the appropriate Head Interpreter through the Electronic Filing Service and attach Form B1 of Appendix B of the Supreme Court Practice Directions 2021 in Portable Document Format (PDF) to the Request in electronic form.

(4) The Request in sub-paragraph (3) must be filed for hearings of matters which have been adjourned or part-heard, even if the services of an interpreter were requested and provided at an earlier hearing of the same matter. In the event that a Request is made in respect of an adjourned or part-heard matter, the Request should also state the date of the earlier hearing in addition to the scheduled day.

(5) The requesting party shall make payment of any prescribed fee for interpretation services under the Family Justice Rules upon approval of the Request.

(6) In the event that the services of the interpreter are for any reason not required on any of the scheduled days specified in the Request, the requesting party shall immediately notify the appropriate Head Interpreter either by letter or email. This shall serve as a notice of cancellation.

(7) Any request for refund of the fee paid under sub-paragraph (5) must be submitted to the Registrar through the Electronic Filing Service within one month from the date on which the reason for the refund arose. The supporting reasons and the amount of refund sought must be clearly specified in the request for refund.

(8) Unless otherwise decided by the Registrar, the fee paid for any scheduled day may be refunded only if a notice of cancellation under sub-paragraph (6) is given at least 1 clear working day prior to that scheduled day.

(9) The provision of interpretation services by the Supreme Court’s Interpreters Section is subject to the availability of suitable interpreters on the day that the interpretation services are required. Failure to comply with the directions set out in sub-paragraphs (3) to (5) may result in the services of interpreters not being available or provided.

(10) Engagement of private interpreters (i.e. interpreters not from the Supreme Court’s Interpreters Section):

(a) For the avoidance of doubt, a party may engage the services of a private interpreter for interpretation services in respect of the languages listed Form B1 of Appendix B of the Supreme Court Practice Directions 2021.

(b) If a party requires the services of an interpreter in a language apart from those listed in Form B1 of Appendix B of the Supreme Court Practice Directions 2021, it shall be the duty of the party to engage such an interpreter directly to obtain his or her services

(c) Interpreters who are not from the Supreme Court’s Interpreters Section must be sworn in before the Duty Registrar before they may provide interpretation services for proceedings in Court.

Family Courts

(11) The directions in the following sub-paragraphs below apply to proceedings in the Family Courts.

(12) Any party requiring the services of an interpreter of the Court for himself or any of his witnesses at a hearing must inform the Registrar in writing:-

(a) within 7 working days from the date of the case conference or other proceeding at which the hearing date was fixed; or

(b) 2 weeks before the day when the interpreter is required,

whichever is earlier. This practice is to be followed for all fresh and adjourned hearings, whether in open Court or in Chambers.

(13) Where an interpreter is required and the Registrar has not been so informed, any deployment of an interpreter will be subject to availability.

(14) The Request should contain the following information:

(a) the Case number;

(b) the parties to the suit;

(c) the names of witnesses requiring an interpreter;

(d) the Court/Chamber number;

(e) the stage of the proceedings (e.g. fresh or adjourned hearing);

(f) the date and time of hearing (in the event the hearing is fixed for more than 1 day, the date and time on which the interpreter’s services are required);

(g) the number of days for which the interpreter’s services are required; and

(h) the language/dialect spoken by the witnesses requiring the services of the interpreter.

(15) Where the services of the interpreter requested are no longer required prior to the start of the hearing, such as in the event of a settlement prior to the hearing, the party who has requested the services of the interpreter must inform the Registrar in writing immediately.

(16) For proceedings other than proceedings under Parts VII and VIII of the Women’s Charter (Cap. 353), the requesting party must file the request for the services of an interpreter through a “Request for Hearing Administrative Support” through the Electronic Filing Service.

(17) Engagement of private interpreters (i.e. interpreters not from the Family Courts’ Interpreters Section):

(a) If a party requires the services of an interpreter in a language apart from Chinese, Malay or Tamil, it shall be the duty of the party to engage such an interpreter directly to obtain his or her services for the scheduled hearing.

(b) Interpreters who are not from the Family Courts’ Interpreters Section must be sworn in before the judge hearing the proceeding before they may provide interpretation services for proceedings in Court.

Translation

(18) Requests for translations of documents in Chinese, Malay or Tamil for use in proceedings in the Family Division of the High Court and/or the Family Courts should be sent using the form available at relevant counter at the Family Registry at least 6 weeks before the date the translations are required, unless there are exceptional reasons justifying non-compliance.

(19) In the event that the Family Justice Courts’ Interpreters Section is unable to accept a translation request, parties and counsel should approach a private translation service instead.

170. Authorisation for collection of mail and Court documents

(1) Without prejudice to sub-paragraphs (3) and (4) below, all law firms are required to notify the Registry of the particulars of person(s) authorised to collect Court documents or mail from the Family Justice Courts on their behalf by submitting a request to authorise user through the Electronic Filing Service.

(2) Where such authorised persons are no longer so authorised, law firms are required to revoke or delete the authorisation immediately by submitting a request through the Electronic Filing Service. Until receipt of such notification of revocation or deletion, Court documents and mail shall continue to be released to such authorised persons upon production of evidence of identification.

(3) Any solicitor may collect Court documents and mail on behalf of his firm and any litigant in person may collect documents and mail intended for him in any matter in which he is a party.

(4) A law firm may authorise a courier service-provider to collect Court documents or mail from the Family Justice Courts on their behalf. At the time of collection, the courier service-provider should produce a letter of authorisation which is printed on the law firm’s letterhead and addressed to the courier service-provider. The said letter of authorisation should clearly state the case number, the name of the courier service- provider appointed to collect and the Court documents or mail to be collected. An employee or representative of the courier service-provider collecting the Court documents or mail may be requested to provide evidence that will allow the Family Justice Courts to verify that he is an employee or representative from the courier service- provider and will have to acknowledge receipt of the Court documents or mail collected.