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Singapore Country Report – Enforcement of Civil Judgments

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Singapore Country Report – Enforcement of Civil Judgments Singapore Country Report – Enforcement of Civil Judgments I. OVERVIEW OF REGIME FOR ENFORCEMENT OF CIVIL JUDGMENTS IN SINGAPORE 1. Singapore’s Report is a summary of her existing regime for the enforcement of judgments and orders made in civil proceedings. The scope of this Report will include enforcement of the following types of judgments and orders in Singapore, which shall be referred to as “civil judgments”: a. Judgments and orders of Singapore Courts, which are the Court of Appeal of Singapore, the High Court of Singapore (including the Singapore International Commercial Court1), the State Courts of Singapore (comprising the District Court, Magistrate’s Court and Small Claims Tribunal) and the Family Justice Courts of Singapore. Judgments and orders of tribunals in Singapore may also be enforced as though they were rendered by domestic Courts, where the constituting statute of the tribunal so permits; and b. Judgments and orders of foreign Courts, where they satisfy the requirements to be recognised and enforced in Singapore2. For completeness, this Report will also address the enforceability of civil judgments rendered by Singapore Courts in foreign jurisdictions. 2. The enforcement regime for civil judgments in Singapore is primarily governed by the Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Cap. 322) (“SCJA”), the State Courts Act (Cap. 321) (“SCA”), the Rules of Court (Rev Ed 2014) and the Family Justice Rules 2014. The modes of enforcement are generally the same for all civil judgments, save that there is some variation for judgments of the Family Justice Courts3. 3. Where the judgment debtor voluntarily complies with the civil judgment, Court intervention is not necessary. Where the judgment debtor refuses or is unable to comply, judgment creditors retain control over and responsibility for the tracing of the judgment debtor’s assets and in deciding which modes of enforcement to employ against the judgment debtor. The Courts have power to authorise judgment creditors to employ several mechanisms in aid of enforcement on their application, with such mechanisms requiring varying degrees of supervision from the Courts. These will be described in greater detail in Chapter III below. 1 See Chapter VI below. 2 See Chapter V below. 3 Judgments of the Family Justice Courts are enforced in accordance with the Family Justice Rules 2014. The Family Justice Rules 2014 remain largely similar to the Rules of Court in relation to enforcement. The main difference is that the Family Justice Rules 2014 provides for additional modes of enforcement for maintenance orders made under the Women’s Charter. There is also minor variation in the procedures for certain modes of enforcement e.g. garnishee proceedings. Ministry of Law 100 High Street | #08-02 The Treasury Singapore 179434 E [email protected]| T 1800 2255 529| F 6332 8842 www.mlaw.gov.sg II. ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS IN SINGAPORE 4. Where the judgment creditor chooses to enforce the civil judgment by way of a writ of execution or an order of committal, the execution process must be carried out by the following individuals as authorised under the SCJA or SCA: a. Sheriff of the Supreme Court and his officers: The Sheriff (who is the Registrar) and his officers are officers of the Supreme Court. The SCJA confers power and imposes duties on them to execute judgments and writs of execution given to them by the Supreme Court, and to arrest and receive all persons or property committed to the custody of the Supreme Court. As public functionaries the Sheriff and his officers primarily owe a duty to the Court, but at the same time they must have regard to the interests of both the judgment creditors and debtors in carrying out the execution process. While the judgment creditors pay attendance fees for the work of the Sheriff or his officers, such fees are payable to the Supreme Court rather than to the Sheriff himself. b. Bailiffs of the State Courts: The Bailiffs are officers of the State Courts. The SCA confers powers and duties on the Bailiffs which are identical to the Sheriff. While the judgment creditors pay attendance fees for the work of the Bailiffs, such fees are payable to the State Courts rather than to the Bailiffs themselves. c. Authorised Bailiffs: The Registrar of the Supreme Court and Registrar of the State Courts each have the power to authorise solicitors or their employees to exercise the powers and duties of a Sheriff / Bailiff for a particular period or occasion, although limited to execution of a writ of seizure and sale for movable property only. Pursuant to these powers, a Panel of Authorised Bailiffs is presently maintained by the State Courts, and a judgment creditor may choose to engage one of the Authorised Bailiffs to execute his judgment rather than the Court Bailiff. The judgment creditor or Authorised Bailiff files a request for appointment to the Registrar, who will exercise his discretion to appoint the Authorised Bailiff on a case-by-case basis. The judgment creditor is liable to pay the Authorised Bailiff directly and the fees payable are prescribed in the Rules of Court. A person who is authorised by the SCJA or SCA to carry out enforcement of civil judgments will be referred to as a “Bailiff” or “Bailiffs” in this Report. 5. The SCJA and SCA confer power on the Bailiffs to effect entry into any building in order to effect a writ of execution, and to use reasonable force as necessary to do so. As such, a Bailiff is permitted to break open the outer door of commercial premises to effect entry, but not for private premises. A Bailiff is also not permitted to force his way into the premises if he is resisted – he should instead cite the judgment debtor for contempt or for obstruction of the Bailiff. The judgment creditor or his representative is generally required to be in attendance during execution. 6. The Bailiffs are not liable to be sued for carrying out their duties in execution or for any damage caused when effecting execution, unless they knowingly acted in excess of the authority conferred on them. 2 As at 21 July 2015 III. MODES OF ENFORCEMENT IN SINGAPORE 7. The regime for enforcement of civil judgments in Singapore is relatively Court-centric, in that an order of Court is required for the judgment creditor to proceed with most modes of enforcement. The modes of enforcement are concurrent and cumulative. 8. The modes of enforcement available to the judgment creditor are dependent on the subject matter of the judgment to be enforced, and these are summarised in Annex A. The procedure for applying for and effecting each mode of enforcement in the Rules of Court is summarised below, and is applicable to all civil judgments made in High Court and the State Courts. The procedure for judgments made in the Family Justice Courts is separately governed by the Family Justice Rules, although they are materially similar to the Rules of Court. Enforcement of civil judgments is subject to a limitation period of 12 years from the date of pronouncement. 9. Enforcement Conference. The Court may of its own motion or on request of any party convene an Enforcement Conference after commencement of any execution proceedings and direct any party to appear before it, so that the Court may give any directions and orders for just, expeditious and economical disposal. (a) Examination of Judgment Debtor 10. Examination of judgment debtor is a mechanism to aid the judgment creditor in garnering information to aid in enforcement of the judgment, rather than a mode of execution in itself. The judgment creditor may apply to the Court for an order requiring the judgment debtor to attend a hearing for oral examination on his assets and means or any other matters relevant to enforcement, or for an order that the judgment debtor produce any relevant books and documents in his possession. Where the judgment debtor is a body corporate, any officer may be summoned. 11. If the Court allows the application, the Order for Examination is personally served on the examination witness together with a questionnaire. The completed questionnaire is filed, and if the questionnaire is completed to the judgment creditor’s satisfaction the witness may be discharged without need for an examination hearing. If not, the judgment creditor may proceed with further examination of the judgment debtor at the examination hearing. (b) Stop Notice and Stop Orders 12. A stop notice allows a person claiming to be beneficially entitled to an interest in any securities (including Government stocks) to be notified of any proposed transfer or payment of those securities. The judgment creditor must apply for a stop notice and thereafter serve it on the Accountant-General or the company (as the case may be), who shall not register the transfer of any stock or make a payment of any dividend or interest without first serving a notice informing the judgment creditor of the request for transfer or payment. 3 As at 21 July 2015 13. However, a stop notice only gives the judgment creditor the opportunity to assert his rights over the securities, and does not prohibit actual transfer or payment. To prevent transfer, a judgment creditor who claims to be beneficially entitled to an interest in the securities may separately apply for a stop order to prohibit the Accountant-General or company from registering the transfer of securities or from paying the dividend or interest. (c) Writ of Execution 14. A writ of execution is a direction from the Courts to the Bailiffs to perform their duties in the execution of judgments. It is valid for 12 months at the first instance, although this may be extended on application.
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