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Jurisdiction: Singapore Jurisdiction: Singapore Firm: Drew & Napier LLC Authors: Foo Yuet Min, Gerui Lim, Meryl Koh and Woo Shu Yan 1. What is the structure of the court system in handles civil claims exceeding S$250,000 in respect of civil proceedings? What is the role of value. Admiralty matters, company winding-up the judge in civil proceedings? proceedings and bankruptcy proceedings are heard exclusively by the High Court. Singapore’s court system, with regard to civil proceedings, consists of both the State Courts There is also the Singapore International and the Supreme Court. The State Courts Commercial Court (“SICC”), which is a include the Magistrates’ Courts, the District division of the High Court designed to deal Courts and the Small Claims Tribunals, while the with transnational commercial disputes. The Supreme Court comprises the High Court and SICC has jurisdiction to hear and try any the Court of Appeal. Appeals can be made from action if: (a) the action is international and the Magistrates’ Courts and District Courts commercial in nature; (b) the action is one to the High Court and from the High Court to that the High Court may hear and try in its the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal is original civil jurisdiction; and (c) the action Singapore’s final court of appeal. satisfies such other conditions as the Rules of Court may prescribe. Civil proceedings are heard by different courts depending on the value of the claim. Cases with Singapore inherited from England an claims not exceeding S$10,000 in value can be adversarial system where the judge adopts heard by the Small Claims Tribunals, although a non-interventionist role during legal this limit can be raised to S$20,000 if both proceedings. Judges are arbiters of both law and parties agree. This is slated to increase to fact in Singapore as there is no jury system in S$20,000 and S$30,000 respectively when Singapore. the Small Claims Tribunals (Amendment) Bill 2018 comes into force. Otherwise, cases will be 2. Are court hearings open to the public? Are heard in the first instance by the Magistrates’ court documents accessible by the public? Courts, District Courts or the High Court. The Magistrates’ Courts generally deal with claims All hearings in the Supreme Court and the not exceeding S$60,000 in value, while claims State Courts are open to the public unless of sums between S$60,000 and S$250,000 in otherwise specified. Hearings may be closed value are generally heard by the District Courts. to the public if the Court is satisfied that it is For claims arising from road traffic accidents expedient in the interests of justice, public and claims for personal injuries resulting from safety, public security or propriety, or for industrial accidents, the District Courts are now other sufficient reason to do so. Examples able to hear claims of up to S$500,000. include sensitive cases involving testimonies of vulnerable witnesses. On the other hand, The High Court exercises original and appel- hearings in chambers such as the Judge’s late jurisdiction in civil cases. This means that it chambers or the Registrar’s chambers are hears cases at first instance as well as cases on not generally open to the public. appeal from the State Courts. The High Court Jurisdictional Q&A – Singapore 1 To promote public confidence in the seeking to inspect such documents must file administration of justice, the principle of a Request to Inspect, containing a brief open justice generally requires decisions by description of the relationship of the requestor judges in Court proceedings to be amenable to the relevant case file and the reasons for to scrutiny by members of the public through requiring inspection. The Court may not inspection of documents filed in Court. Court approve a request made by a non-party to documents filed in the Registry of the Supreme inspect a case file if the requestor has not Court or the Registry of the State Courts are demonstrated an adequate or sufficient interest generally available to the public at a prescribed in the case file to be inspected. fee and with the Registrar’s leave, where the Court has made a decision involving a Leave to access court documents will not consideration of these documents. A person be granted where there is a sealing order in About Author Foo Yuet Min Director, Dispute Resolution department of Drew & Napier LLC Tel: +65 6531 2799 Fax: +65 6220 0324 Email: [email protected] Foo Yuet Min is a Director in the Dispute in numerous ad hoc and SIAC international Resolution department of Drew & Napier arbitrations, and is on the SIAC Reserve LLC. She regularly appears before the Panel of Arbitrators. She is part of the Young Singapore courts, successfully handling MCIA (Mumbai Centre for International high-value matters ranging from offshore Arbitration) Steering Committee and was also drilling contracts and construction matters, a committee member of the YSIAC (formerly to disputes relating to commercial rights, known as Young SIAC) from 2014 to 2018. as well as major sports events and banking disputes, among others. Much of her work also Before joining Drew & Napier in 2008, Yuet involves SIAC and ICC arbitrations, as well Min was a Justices’ Law Clerk at the Supreme as arbitration-related court proceedings to Court of Singapore, having graduated with enforce or set aside arbitral awards and to First Class Honours from the National obtain interim relief. University of Singapore in 2006. She was also appointed to the Supreme Court’s Young Yuet Min has particular experience and interest Amicus Curiae Scheme in 2010 and 2011. in dealing with multilingual proceedings, and has conducted a bilingual international Yuet Min is recommended by the Legal arbitration under the UNCITRAL Arbitration 500 Asia-Pacific and Who’s Who Legal: Rules. Yuet Min speaks English, Mandarin, Arbitration – Future Leaders. In 2016, she was Malay and the Hokkien dialect. also identified by Asian Legal Business as one of 40 bright legal minds in the region under the Yuet Min has also been appointed arbitrator age of 40. LexisNexis® Dispute Resolution Law Guide 2020 2 place. Sealing orders are commonly granted in 5. Are there any pre-action procedures arbitration-related Court proceedings, given with which the parties must comply before the overriding public policy of keeping commencing proceedings? arbitrations confidential. In general, proceedings can be commenced 3. Do all lawyers have the right to appear in by filing a Writ of Summons or an Originating court and conduct proceedings on behalf of Summons with no pre-action procedures. their client? If not, how is the legal profession However, there are limited exceptions where structured? certain pre-action procedures must be complied with before commencing proceedings. In Singapore, the legal profession is a fused profession, meaning that every lawyer The Courts’ Practice Directions set out several admitted to the Singapore Bar is both an types of claims requiring parties to comply Advocate and Solicitor of the Supreme Court with pre-action protocols before commencing of Singapore and is qualified to act as both. proceedings in either the State Courts or the Only Advocates and Solicitors of the Supreme High Court. There are pre-action protocols for Court of Singapore with current and valid medical negligence claims, non-injury motor practising certificates have the right to appear accident cases, personal injury claims (includ- and plead in the Singapore courts. ing claims arising out of motor accidents and industrial accidents) and defamation actions. Foreign lawyers do not generally enjoy the right to appear in court and conduct proceedings Unless there are good reasons for in Singapore on behalf of their clients. non-compliance, parties who fail to comply However, for the purpose of any one case, with pre-action protocols may face the Court may allow ad hoc admissions for Court-imposed sanctions. For example, the Queen’s Counsels or lawyers of equivalent extent to which the parties have followed rank in other jurisdictions. Foreign lawyers can any relevant pre-action protocol or practice also appear in SICC proceedings if they are direction for the time being issued by the registered under the Legal Profession Act Registrar has been particularly singled out (Cap 161, 2009 Rev Ed). There are no as a special matter to be taken into account restrictions on foreign lawyers acting in when the Court is exercising its discretion arbitration proceedings conducted in in adjudicating costs under Order 59 Rule Singapore, even in cases in which the 5(d) of the Rules of Court. governing law is Singapore law. 6. What is the typical civil procedure and 4. What are the limitation periods for timetable for the steps necessary to bring the commencing civil claims? matter to trial? The statutory provisions governing limitation There are two main procedures for civil periods can be found in the Limitation Act actions. If the claim is likely to involve (Cap 163, 1996 Rev Ed). The limitation periods substantial disputes of fact, the action must be in the Limitation Act do not operate to bar an brought by a Writ of Summons. Alternatively, action unless expressly pleaded as a defence. the action may be brought by an Originating Summons if the claim is unlikely to involve a Different limitation periods apply to different substantial dispute of fact or if the principal types of claims. For instance, the limitation issues are likely to be legal issues. period of an action founded on contract or tort is 6 years from the date on which the cause of An action by Writ of Summons has four main action accrued, while actions brought upon stages: judgments have a longer limitation period of 12 years.
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