Part 13: Civil Appeals before the General Division

• 111. Application of this Part
• 112. Request for further arguments before Judge
• 113. Civil Appeals from the State Courts to General Division
• Appeals from District Judge and Magistrate to General Division under Order 18, Rule 17 of the Rules of Court 2021
• Appeals from District Court and Magistrate’s Court to General Division under Order 19, Rule 14 of the Rules of Court 2021
• Appeals from the Employment Claims Tribunal
• 114. Civil Appeals from Registrar to Judge in chambers
• 115. Civil Appeals from Tribunals to General Division

111. Application of this Part

The directions in this Part apply to civil appeals before the General Division (excluding appeals under section 55 of the Medical Registration Act 1997).

112. Request for further arguments before Judge

(1) All requests for further arguments pursuant to Order 18, Rule 28 or Order 19, Rule 21 of the Rules of Court 2021 must be made by way of Request filed through the Electronic Filing Service and should, either in the Request electronic form or a document attached to the Request:

• (a) state the party making the request;
• (b) identify the Judge who heard the appeal;
• (c) specify when the order concerned was made (if the request is made after the Judge has given his or her decision);
• (d) state the provision of law under which the request is made;
• (e) set out the proposed further arguments briefly, together with any authorities; and
• (f) include a copy of each of the authorities cited.

(2) A copy of the Request should be furnished to all parties to the appeal.

(3) All Requests should be addressed to the Registrar.

113. Civil Appeals from the State Courts to General Division

Appeals from District Judge and Magistrate to General Division under Order 18, Rule 17 of the Rules of Court 2021

(1) Where an appeal is filed under Order 18, Rule 17 of the Rules of Court 2021, each party is to tender 1 hard copy each of his or her written submissions and bundle of authorities (if any) to the Registry within the timelines prescribed in Order 18, Rule 21(5) of the Rules of Court 2021.

(2) The written submissions filed under Order 18, Rule 21(5) of the Rules of Court 2021 should not exceed 35 pages (including the cover page and table of contents). The written submissions 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 must, in lieu of the bundle of authorities, file a 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 within the timelines prescribed in Order 18, Rule 21(5) of the Rules of Court 2021. The bundle of authorities (whether in hard copy of soft copy) must comply with the requirements under paragraph 101(5) to (11) of these Practice Directions. In particular, where the bundle of authorities consists of more than 1 volume:

• (a) the table of contents of all volumes of the bundle of authorities must be placed at the beginning of Volume I; and
• (b) each volume must have a table of contents indicating the authorities that are contained in that volume.

Appeals from District Court and Magistrate’s Court to General Division under Order 19, Rule 14 of the Rules of Court 2021

(4) Where an appeal is filed under Order 19, Rule 14 of the Rules of Court 2021, the appellant must tender 1 hard copy each of the following documents to the Registry:

• (a) the record of appeal, the appellant’s Case, the appellant’s core bundle of documents and the appellant’s bundle of authorities, within the timeline prescribed in Order 19, Rule 17(4) of the Rules of Court 2021; and
• (b) if applicable, the appellant’s Reply (if any), the second core bundle (if necessary) and the appellant’s second bundle of authorities (if any), within the prescribed timeline in Order 19, Rule 17(10) of the Rules of Court 2021.

(5) Where an appeal is filed under Order 19, Rule 14 of the Rules of Court 2021, the respondent must tender 1 hard copy each of the respondent’s Case, the respondent’s core bundle of documents (if necessary) and the respondent’s bundle of authorities to the Registry within the timeline prescribed in Order 19, Rule 17(8) of the Rules of Court 2021.

(6) The table below sets out the prescribed page limits under Order 19, Rule 19 of the Rules of Court 2021 of the following documents:

(7) The page limits set out in the table at sub-paragraph (6) include the cover page and table of contents. The appellant’s Case, the respondent’s Case and the appellant’s Reply must each include a cover page and a table of contents. Parties are to note that where the Court allows the prescribed page limit referred to at sub-paragraph (6) to be exceeded, fees are payable under the Fourth Schedule to the Rules of Court 2021.

(8) The contents of the appellant’s core bundle of documents must be arranged in the following separate volumes:

• (a) Volume I – A table of contents listing the documents included in Volumes 1 and 2, the certified copy of the written judgment or grounds of decision of the lower Court, and the extracted order of the lower Court.
• (b) Volume II – All other documents referred to in Order 19, Rule 3 of the Rules of Court 2021 and a table of contents listing the documents included therein.

(9) Each volume of the appellant’s and respondent’s core bundles of documents and the second core bundle must begin at page 1. Every page must be numbered and the page number of the appellant’s and respondent’s core bundles of documents and the second core bundle must correspond to the page number of the Portable Document Format (PDF) version.

(10) The party must, in lieu of the bundle of authorities, file a 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 within the relevant prescribed timelines under Order 19, Rule 17 of the Rules of Court 2021. The bundle of authorities (whether in hard copy of soft copy) must comply with the requirements under paragraph 101(5) to (11) of these Practice Directions. In particular, where the bundle of authorities consists of more than 1 volume:

• (a) the table of contents of all volumes of the bundle of authorities must be placed at the beginning of Volume I; and
• (b) each volume must have a table of contents indicating the authorities that are contained in that volume.

Appeals from the Employment Claims Tribunal

(11) In addition to any provisions in the Rules of Court 2021 or other written law, and subject to any further directions made by the Court, the Registrar hereby directs that appeals to the General Division from the Employment Claims Tribunal are to be heard in open court.

114. Civil Appeals from Registrar to Judge in chambers

(1) Where an appeal is filed under Order 18, Rule 24 of the Rules of Court 2021, each party is to tender 1 hard copy each of his or her written submissions and bundle of authorities (if any) to the Registry within the timelines prescribed in Order 18, Rule 25(5) of the Rules of Court 2021.

(2) The written submissions filed under Order 18, Rule 25(5) of the Rules of Court 2021 should not exceed 35 pages (including the cover page and table of contents). The written submissions 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 must, in lieu of the bundle of authorities, file a 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 within the timelines prescribed in Order 18, Rule 25(5) of the Rules of Court 2021. The bundle of authorities (whether in hard copy or soft copy) must comply with the requirements under paragraph 101(5) to (11) of these Practice Directions. In particular, where the bundle of authorities consists of more than 1 volume:

• (a) the table of contents of all volumes of the bundle of authorities must be placed at the beginning of Volume I; and
• (b) each volume must have a table of contents indicating the authorities that are contained in that volume.

115. Civil Appeals from Tribunals to General Division

(1) Order 20, Rule 3(4) of the Rules of Court 2021 states that the supporting affidavit must include the record of proceedings if that is available and is necessary for the appeal. If the record of proceedings is not available at the time when the supporting affidavit is filed but subsequently becomes available, the appellant should seek permission from the Court to file a further affidavit to include the record of proceedings when it becomes available, if it is necessary for the appeal. To facilitate this, the appellant should promptly apply for any written grounds of decision, the record of evidence or notes of arguments taken in respect of the proceedings before the tribunal.

(2) Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, each party is to tender 1 hard copy each of his or her affidavits, written submissions and bundles of authorities (if any) to the Registry within the timeline prescribed in Order 20, Rule 5(1) of the Rules of Court 2021.

(3) The written submissions filed under Order 20, Rule 5(1) of the Rules of Court 2021 should not exceed 35 pages (including the cover page and table of contents). The written submissions 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.

(4) The party using 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 within the timeline prescribed in Order 20, Rule 5(1) of the Rules of Court 2021. The bundle of authorities (whether in hard copy or soft copy) must comply with the requirements under paragraph 101(5) to (11) of these Practice Directions. In particular, where the bundle of authorities consists of more than 1 volume:

• (a) the table of contents of all volumes of the bundle of authorities must be placed at the beginning of Volume I; and
• (b) each volume must have a table of contents indicating the authorities that are contained in that volume.