SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Azmul Haque, Ashley Chew, Hu Yutong and Aaron Leong, Collyer Law LLC
Collyer Law LLC 3 Temasek Avenue Centennial Tower, #17-01 Singapore 039190
Tel: +65 69502875 Fax: +65 69502876 Email: contact@collyerlaw.com Web: www.collyerlaw.com
1. Legal System 1.1 Legal System and Judicial Order
trates’ Courts hear claims not exceeding SGD60,000 in value. The Family Justice Courts hear family proceedings, including divorce, maintenance, guardianship and related matters. 2. Restrictions on Foreign Investments 2.1 Approval of Foreign Investments General Position Singapore is generally open to foreign investment and does not have a broad foreign investment approval regime. Foreign investors may typically incorporate or acquire full ownership of Singapore businesses without a local equity partner. However, targeted restrictions and approval requirements apply where an investment falls within the Significant Investments Review Act 2024 (SIRA) or sector-specific legislation. SIRA SIRA regulates significant investments in, and con - trol of, entities designated as critical to Singapore’s national security interests. Designated entities are identified by the Minister of Trade and Industry and published in the Government Gazette. Under the SIRA, the following applies: • a person who becomes a 5% controller must notify the Minister within seven calendar days; • prior approval is required before a person becomes a 12%, 25% or 50% controller;
Singapore has a common law system. Its sources of law are the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, legislation, subsidiary legislation and case law. The judicial order is divided into the Supreme Court, which comprises the Court of Appeal and the High Court, and the subordinate courts as may be provided for by any written law for the time being in force. The Supreme Court The Court of Appeal is Singapore’s apex court. The High Court consists of the General Division, which exercises original civil and criminal jurisdiction, and the Appellate Division, which hears civil appeals allo - cated to it under the statutory framework. Specialised lists have been set up in the General Division to hear certain types of disputes; such lists comprise dock - eted judges and a team of assistant registrars, who manage cases in consultation with the docketed judg - es as appropriate. The Singapore International Com - mercial Court is a division of the General Division and hears qualifying international commercial disputes. The State Courts and Family Justice Courts The State Courts comprise the District Courts, Mag - istrates’ Courts and other specialist courts and tribu - nals. They hear most first-instance civil and criminal matters, subject to statutory jurisdictional limits. The District Courts generally hear civil claims of between SGD60,000 and SGD250,000, or up to SGD500,000 for road traffic accident claims and claims for personal injuries arising out of industrial accidents. The Magis -
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