SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Benedict Teo, Kelvin Tan, Kong Man Er and Shumin Lin, Drew & Napier LLC
• as far as possible, the action is to be fixed for trial within nine months after the action is placed on the Express Track; • the length of the trial must not exceed four days (excluding time for oral closing submissions); and • all decisions made by a judge in an action placed on the Express Track are non-appealable, except in the circumstances in paragraph 4 (1) of the Fourth Schedule to the SCJA (ie, decisions which are in the nature of a judgment given after the trial of the action and a judgment or order by the judge that would bring the action to an end). The court may, no later than 14 days before the com- mencement of the trial, order the removal of the action from the Express Track if the court determines that the Express Track is no longer suitable for the action. 4.3 Dispositive Motions See 4.2 Early Judgment Applications . Judgment on admission of facts is available where a party has made admissions of fact in pleadings or other documents on which the applicant can capitalise to obtain a judg- ment or order in its favour. Furthermore, the court has the power to summarily determine any question of law or construction of any document arising in any cause or matter at any stage of the proceedings. Such applications should be considered at the time of sub- mission of the SAPT. 4.4 Requirements for Interested Parties to Join a Lawsuit Any person seeking to be added as a party to an action may attend a case conference, if the person is aware of it, or may seek a case conference by letter addressed to the court and copied to all the parties. 4.5 Applications for Security for Defendant’s Costs A defendant may apply for security for costs to be provided by a claimant. Such an application should ideally be considered at the time of submission of the SAPT but may be made by summons supported by an affidavit as and when the applicable circumstances arise. At a minimum, the defendant must demonstrate that the claimant: • is ordinarily resident out of the jurisdiction;
• is a nominal claimant or is being funded by a non- party, and there is reason to believe that the claim- ant will be unable to pay the defendant’s costs if ordered to do so; or • has changed its address during the course of the proceedings with a view to evading the con- sequences of the litigation, or the address is not stated or is incorrectly stated in the originating process. The court may decline to order security for costs where it would not be just to do so. Where the claimant is a corporation, the court may order security for costs if there is credible evidence that it will be unable to pay the defendant’s costs if the defence succeeds. 4.6 Costs of Interim Applications/Motions Costs are entirely at the discretion of the court. Gen- erally, a successful party will receive its costs unless there are special reasons not to award such costs. The courts can have regard to, among other things, the scales of costs in the ROC and judge-issued costs guidelines in Appendix G of the Supreme Court Prac- tice Directions (SCPD). The court may decide to deter- mine costs at a later stage of the proceedings. 4.7 Application/Motion Timeframe Most interlocutory applications are heard within two to three months after being filed. The applicant can request urgent timelines where circumstances war- rant. Where the applicant requests an urgent hearing, the applicant should complete and file Form 14 of Appendix B of the SCPD and file skeletal submissions. In cases of extreme urgency, an applicant may request to have the matter heard without notice to the other side before the duty registrar/duty judge. See 6.3 Availability of Injunctive Relief on an Ex Parte Basis . Parties that seek urgent relief on a without-notice basis are under a duty of full and frank disclosure.
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