Supreme Court Practice Directions 2021

LAST UPDATED: 06 MARCH 2023
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Supreme Court Practice Directions 2021

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Part 11: Conduct of Court Proceedings

85. Urgent applications outside of the Court’s office hours

(1) When an applicant files an application for any civil matter (including applications for interim injunctions or interim preservation of subject matter of action, evidence and assets to satisfy judgments) or criminal matter, and the application is so urgent that it has to be attended to outside of the hours specified in paragraph 86(2) of these Practice Directions, the applicant’s counsel or the applicant (if not legally represented) must contact the Registrar on duty at 6332 4351 or 6332 4352.

(2) When the applicant seeks an urgent hearing for the application, all the papers required for the application must have been prepared, together with the appropriate draft order(s) of court. Where the documents (including the originating process) have yet to be filed in Court when counsel seeks the urgent hearing, he or she must give an undertaking to the Registrar processing the application to have these documents filed in Court by such time as the Registrar may direct and, in any event, no later than the next working day.

(3) In seeking an urgent hearing, counsel is to ensure that all applicable notice requirements prescribed by these Practice Directions are complied with. For all civil and criminal matters which have to be served on other parties or non-parties, notice must be given to the other party or non-parties (as the case may) be prior to the applicant seeking an urgent hearing.

(4) The Registrar will only arrange for the matter to be heard outside of office hours if it is so urgent that it cannot be heard the next working day. The hearing may take place in the Registrar’s chambers in the Supreme Court or at any place as directed by the Judge or Registrar hearing the matter.

(5) If the application is of sufficient urgency, the Registrar may also direct counsel to send the application and supporting documents by email. The Judge or Registrar has the discretion to decide whether to deal with the application by email or to hear oral arguments from counsel.

86. Duty Registrar

(1) The duties of the Duty Registrar are to:

(2) On Mondays to Fridays (excluding public holidays), the duty hours are from 9.00 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and from 2.30 p.m. to 5.00 p.m.

(3) Only advocates and solicitors or litigants (if they are not legally represented) may appear before the Duty Registrar.

(4) Except where the attendance of the advocate and solicitor is required under sub- paragraph (6) below, the filing of the relevant documents will be sufficient for the Duty Registrar to dispose of any application or matter. Documents will be returned to the advocate and solicitor through the Electronic Filing Service to the inbox of the law firm’s computer system or through the service bureau.

(5) All Court fees for the filing of documents should be duly paid before presentation of the documents to the Duty Registrar for his or her signature and/or decision.

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

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

(8) A solicitor or a litigant who is not legally represented (collectively, “parties”) who wishes to attend before a Duty Registrar and to refer him or her to documents filed must either:

(9) A solicitor or a litigant who is not legally represented (collectively, “parties”) who wishes to attend before a Duty Registrar by way of video conferencing must call the Case Management Officer (“CMO”) to notify the Court of the following:

If parties wish to tender any hard copy documents ahead of the hearing before the Duty Registrar, parties should as far as possible provide the hard copies and ensure that they have been placed before the Duty Registrar at least 1 hour before the scheduled hearing. Parties should check with the CMO that the documents have been placed before the Duty Registrar before the scheduled hearing.

87. Request for urgent hearing before Judge

(1) Before an applicant attends before the Duty Registrar to request an urgent hearing before a Judge of any application for any civil matter, the applicant should complete (as far as possible) and file Form B14 of Appendix B of these Practice Directions. A copy of Form B14 should be served on each respondent to the application at the time of filing, unless the application is an application without notice and service of Form B14 would or might defeat the purpose of the application.

(2) The applicant should prepare skeletal submissions for the urgent hearing before the Judge, and file the skeletal submissions at the same time as Form B14 of Appendix B of these Practice Directions. 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 application without notice and service of the skeletal submissions would or might defeat the purpose of the application. If the skeletal submissions are not filed, the applicant should inform the Duty Registrar whether the skeletal submissions will be filed and served by the time of the urgent hearing before the Judge.

(3) If, due to urgency, the applicant is unable to file or serve Form B14 of Appendix B of these Practice Directions and/or the skeletal submissions before attending before the Duty Registrar, the applicant should provide a copy each of Form B14 and the skeletal submissions to each respondent to the application when the parties attend before the Duty Registrar. Each such copy of Form B14 or the skeletal submissions must be a hard copy, if the parties attend before the Duty Registrar physically, or in soft copy, if the parties attend before the Duty Registrar by video conferencing. Thereafter, Form B14 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 Registrar, unless the Court otherwise directs. If any respondent does not attend before the Duty Registrar, Form B14 and the skeletal submissions should be served on that respondent as soon as possible after the hearing before the Duty Registrar, and, in any event, before the urgent hearing before the Judge, unless the Court otherwise directs.

(4) 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 Judge, the applicant should inform the Duty Registrar of the applicant’s intention to seek a dispensation of that requirement at the hearing before the Judge, and provide supporting reasons for the dispensation.

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

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

88. Attendance of solicitors in Court and mentioning on behalf of other solicitors

(1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2), a solicitor appearing in any cause or matter may mention for counsel for all other parties provided that:

(2) 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 24 and 25 of these Practice Directions.

(3) 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.

89. Absence from Court on medical grounds

(1) If:

is required to attend Court and wishes to absent himself or herself from Court on medical grounds, he or she must provide the Court with an original medical certificate. The medical certificate must be in the proper 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 may be found at Form B15 of Appendix B of these Practice Directions. 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 B15. The pre-printed medical certificate must:

(3) If a medical certificate is not in Form B15 of Appendix B of these Practice Directions, the medical certificate should:

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

(5) All information and details in any medical certificate or 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 attendance of the person to whom the medical certificate was issued. The Court may then take any action it deems appropriate.

(7) This paragraph applies to all hearings in the Supreme Court, whether in open court or in chambers.

(8) This paragraph applies to both civil and criminal proceedings.

90. Attendance at hearings in chambers

(1) To avoid doubt, the general rule is that hearings in chambers in civil proceedings are private in nature, and that members of the public are not entitled to attend such hearings.

(2) However, subject to any written law, the Court may, in its discretion, allow any person such as instructing solicitors, foreign legal counsel and parties to the matter, to attend any hearing in chambers subject to space, security and the interests of justice. 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.

91. The Central Display Management System

(1) The Central Display Management System (CDMS) is used for the following types of hearings:

(2) Before taking a CDMS queue number, solicitors are to have conferred with their opponent(s) and enter the estimated duration of their own submissions. The number of minutes entered should be an accurate reflection of the actual duration of submissions expected to be made by each of the solicitors. Solicitors should indicate in the CDMS that they are ready for hearing only when the solicitors for all the parties concerned are present.

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

(4) Senior Counsel will continue to be given the precedence and the right of preaudience in accordance with paragraph 92.

92. Precedence and preaudience of Senior Counsel

(1) By virtue of section 31 of the Legal Profession Act 1966 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, the Chief Justice has directed that Senior Counsel who intend to appear before Judges or Registrars for summonses should inform the Registrar in writing not later than 2 clear days before the scheduled hearing date. Senior Counsel should indicate their presence in the Central Display Management System (CDMS), and will be given precedence and the right of preaudience, subject to the Judge’s or Registrar’s overriding discretion.

(3) All other counsel, including those who appear on behalf of their Senior Counsel, will be heard according to the order in which their matters appear on the CDMS, subject to the Judge’s or Registrar’s overriding discretion.

93. Court dress

(1) The attire for male advocates and solicitors appearing 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.

(2) The attire for female advocates and solicitors appearing 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.

(3) When appearing in open court proceedings that are conducted through a live video link or live television link:

(4) When appearing before the Judge or Registrar in chambers, the attire for an advocate and solicitor will be the same as for open court, except that a gown need not be worn.

(5) The attire for Senior Counsel must be as described in sub-paragraphs (1) to (4), save that for hearings in open court, they may, instead of the existing gown, wear a gown in the design of those worn by Queen’s Counsel of England and Wales and made of the following material:

94. Forms of address

The Chief Justice has directed that the following forms of address apply:

(a) The Chief Justice, the Justices of the Court of Appeal, the Judges of the Appellate Division, the Judges of the High Court, the Senior Judges, the International Judges and the Judicial Commissioners must, when sitting in open court or in chambers, be addressed as “Your Honour”, and on social occasions or other extra-judicial occasions, as “Chief Justice” or “Judge”, as the case may be.

(b) The Chief Justice, the Justices of the Court of Appeal, the Judges of the Appellate Division, the Judges of the High Court, the Senior Judges, the International Judges and the Judicial Commissioners must, in all cause lists, orders of court, correspondence and other documents, be described in the following manner without any accompanying gender prefix.

Office Form of Address Abbreviated Form of Address
Chief Justice “Chief Justice [name]” “[name] CJ”
Justice of the Court of Appeal “Justice [name]” “[name] JCA”
Judge of the Appellate Division “[name] JAD”
Judge of the High Court “[name] J”
Senior Judge “[name] SJ”
International Judge “[name] IJ”
Judicial Commissioner “Judicial Commissioner [name]” “[name] JC”

95. Citation of Case Numbers

(1) All originating processes and summonses filed in the Supreme Court must 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
CA/CA [Case Number]/[Year filed] Appeal to the Court of Appeal
AD/CA [Case Number]/[Year filed] Appeal to the Appellate Division
CA/OA [Case Number]/[Year filed] Originating Application filed in the Court of Appeal
AD/OA [Case Number]/[Year filed] Originating Application filed in the Appellate Division
HC/OA [Case Number]/[Year filed] Originating Application filed in the General Division
HC/OC [Case Number]/[Year filed] Originating Claim filed in the General Division
CA/SUM [Sub-Case Number]/[Year filed] Summons filed in the Court of Appeal
AD/SUM [Sub-Case Number]/[Year filed] Summons filed in the Appellate Division
HC/SUM [Sub-Case Number]/[Year filed] Summons filed in the General Division

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

96. Submissions and examination by leading and assisting counsel

(1) Subject to sub-paragraphs (2) and (3), in the event that a party is represented by more than one counsel at a hearing, whether in open 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 certain portions of the submissions, or examination, cross-examination or re-examination of witnesses to be conducted by different counsel in the same case, an oral application for permission to do so should be made to Court as early as is practicable and by no later than the commencement of the trial or hearing. The following information should be provided to the Court for the purposes of the application:

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 permission has been granted in accordance with sub-paragraph (2), counsel should ensure that he or she confines himself or herself to the issues or portions of evidence in respect of which permission 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 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) For civil proceedings, 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.

(5) For civil trials:

(6) Unless otherwise stated, this paragraph applies to both civil and criminal proceedings.

97. Use of electronic and other devices

(1) In order to maintain the dignity of Court proceedings, the Chief Justice has directed that in all hearings in open court or in chambers before a Judge or Registrar, video and/or image recording is strictly prohibited.

(2) Additionally, audio recording during a hearing is strictly prohibited without prior approval of the Judge or Registrar hearing the matter.

(3) Court users are permitted to use notebooks, tablets, mobile phones and other electronic devices to:

(4) The attention of Court users is also drawn to section 5 of the Administration of Justice (Protection) Act 2016.

98. Publication of and reports and comments on Court cases

(1) This paragraph applies to solicitors, litigants (whether represented by solicitors or not), 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. The attention of all concerned is drawn to section 3 of the Administration of Justice (Protection) Act 2016.

(3) All concerned are not to publish, report or publicly comment on 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 publicly comment on 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.

99. Lead counsel’s statement on trial proceedings

For every case proceeding to trial in the General Division, each party must file and serve a lead counsel’s statement in Form B16 of Appendix B of these Practice Directions to provide a list of issues for trial and an accurate estimation of the trial days needed after taking into account the time needed for the examination of each witness. The lead counsel’s statement must be filed and served within 1 week after objections to the contents of the affidavits of evidence-in-chief are due to be taken, unless the Court otherwise directs.

100. Late filing fees

The attention of parties is drawn to Order 3, Rule 2(4)(e) of the Rules of Court 2021 which provides that:

For example, where a document is required to be filed by 4.00 p.m. on Monday, 4 April 2022 pursuant to the Court’s order, but is only filed at 4.00 p.m. on Monday, 11 April 2022, the Court may order late filing fees of $250 to be paid by the filing party.

101. Filing of documents and authorities for use in Court generally

Time for filing of documents

(1) Subject to any directions in these Practice Directions, in particular paragraph 102(2), or by the Court to the contrary, all documents for use 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 permission:

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:

(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:

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 102 to 105 of these Practice Directions:

(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:

102. Documents for use in trials of originating claims in open court

(1) This paragraph applies to trials of originating claims in open court, including originating claims that were ordered to be converted from originating applications.

Time for filing of documents under Order 9, Rule 25(9) of the Rules of Court 2021

(2) Order 9, Rule 25(9) of the Rules of Court 2021 requires the affidavits of evidence-in- chief of all witnesses or other affidavits, the bundles of documents and the opening statements to be filed and served as directed by the Court. Parties are to note that the timeline given pursuant to the Court’s directions under Order 9, Rule 25(9) of the Rules of Court 2021 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.

(3) At the trial of the cause or matter, an adjournment may be ordered if:

(4) 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

(5) 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.

(6) The parties may tender the documents referred to at sub-paragraph (5) above to the Registry in hard copy. The hard copy must tally in all respects with the soft copy, 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 https://www.elitigation.sg on the resolution to be used when scanning documents into PDF.

Bundles of documents

(7) Under Order 9, Rule 25(10) of the Rules of Court 2021, parties are required to file and serve bundles of documents which must contain:

Where directed by the Court, the claimant’s solicitors are to prepare a table in the manner and form set out in Form B17 of Appendix B of these Practice Directions. The table seeks to provide an overview of the parties’ positions reflected in the last pleading (which incorporates all the previous pleadings).

(8) The bundles of documents 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:

(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 must be created in Portable Document Format (PDF). The electronic bundle may contain:

(11) The following directions apply to hard copies tendered to the Registry or the Court:

Core bundle of documents

(12) In addition to the bundles of documents required to be filed and served under Order 9, Rule 25(9) of the Rules of Court 2021, parties should endeavour to file a core bundle of documents for trial, unless one is clearly unnecessary. This core bundle should comprise only the most important documents that are relevant to the hearing in question, or which will be repeatedly referred to in the course of the hearing.

(13) The documents in the core bundle of documents should not only be paginated but should also be cross-referenced to copies of the documents included in the main bundles. The core bundle of documents must be prepared in an electronic format and also tendered to the Court in a loose-leaf file which can easily have further documents added to it if required. Where the core bundle of documents consists of more than 1 volume:

Opening statements

(14) 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 or she is to look out for when reading and listening to the evidence that will follow. 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:

Bundle of authorities

(15) In addition to the documents required to be filed and served under Order 9, Rule 25(9) of the Rules of Court 2021, the Court may direct parties to file and serve bundles of authorities.

103. Bundles of authorities for other open court hearings

In all civil and criminal proceedings, including civil and criminal appeals, heard in open court in the General Division, counsel must submit their own bundle of authorities. To avoid doubt, paragraph 101(5) to (11) of these Practice Directions applies, with the necessary modifications, to a bundle of authorities under this paragraph.

104. Hearings in chambers

(1) In all hearings in chambers before a Judge or Registrar, counsel must submit their own bundles of documents (where necessary) and bundles of authorities. Order 9, Rule 25(10) and (11) of the Rules of Court 2021 and the requirements of paragraphs 101(5) to (11) and 102(7) to (11) of these Practice Directions must, with the necessary modifications, be complied with in this regard. Except where paragraph 105(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.

105. Written submissions and bundles of authorities for special date hearings and hearings of originating applications

(1) For any contested special date hearing and any hearing of an originating application before a Judge sitting in the General Division, subject to the Rules of Court 2021 and unless otherwise directed by the Court, each party must:

(2) Written submissions for originating applications should not exceed 35 pages (including the cover page, table of contents and all annexes and appendices). All written submissions for originating applications must include a cover page and a table of contents. Parties are to note that where the Court allows the prescribed page limit to be exceeded, fees are payable under the Fourth Schedule to the Rules of Court 2021.

(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:

(4) If any party does not intend to rely on written submissions at the contested hearing referred to in sub-paragraph (1) (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) 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 and any hearing of an originating application before a Registrar, any party who wishes to rely on written submissions at the hearing is required to comply with sub-paragraph (1).

(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.

106. Citation of judgments

(1) The Chief Justice has directed that 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 2 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 the 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 foreign judgments. This will ensure that the Courts are not unnecessarily burdened with judgments from jurisdictions with differing legal, social or economic contexts.

(5) In addition, counsel who cite a foreign judgment must:

Citation practice

(6) 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)

(7) 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 neutral citation system for local judgments

(8) A neutral citation is a Court-approved system of citation which is independent of the series of law reports or other publication, 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:

Ancillary Provisions

(9) 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.

(10) 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.

(11) In addition, counsel should also comply with paragraph 101(5) to (11) of these Practice Directions when preparing bundles of authorities for use in trials of originating claims in open court.

(12) This paragraph applies to all hearings, whether in open court or in chambers, in the Supreme Court.

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