SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Benedict Teo, Kelvin Tan, Kong Man Er and Shumin Lin, Drew & Napier LLC
tion Tribunals and the Employment Claims Tribu- nals. Magistrates’ Courts may deal with civil claims of up to SGD60,000 and any criminal offence for which the maximum term of imprisonment does not exceed five years or that is punishable with a fine only. District Courts may deal with civil claims of more than SGD60,000 and up to SGD250,000 (or up to SGD500,000 for claims for road traffic accidents or personal injuries from industrial accidents) and any criminal offence for which the maximum term of imprisonment does not exceed ten years or that is punishable with a fine only. The Small Claims Tribunal has a claims limit of SGD20,000, which can be raised to SGD30,000 with written consent. Family Justice Courts The Family Justice Courts comprise the Family Divi- sion of the High Court, the Family Courts and Youth Courts, and hear the full suite of family-related cases, and probate and succession matters. The Family Divi- sion of the High Court hears probate matters if the estate exceeds SGD5 million (or if the case involves the resealing of a foreign grant), family proceedings involving assets of SGD5 million or more, appeals against decisions of the Family Courts or Youth Courts, and cases involving important questions of law or test cases. There are smaller tribunals dealing with specialised matters. 1.3 Court Filings and Proceedings Generally, most court proceedings are open to the public. However, interlocutory applications are heard in chambers and are not open to the public. All Fam- ily Justice Court cases are also conducted in private. A party can apply to have a private hearing where it would be in the interests of justice, public security or propriety. The public may view documents filed for court pro- ceedings by filing a “request to inspect”. The Registrar of the Supreme Court decides whether such a request should be granted. The following are generally kept confidential: • sealed case files and court documents;
• affidavits and written submissions not used in proceedings; • a registrar’s notes on hearings; and • certain documents in family cases. 1.4 Legal Representation in Court Only advocates and solicitors admitted to the Singa- pore Bar with a current and valid practising certificate have the exclusive right to appear in the Singapore courts. A company or a limited liability partnership that is party to court proceedings must be represented by an advocate or solicitor. However, the court may grant permission for an officer of a local company or part- nership to act on its behalf. Foreign lawyers do not have rights of audience but may be permitted to appear as counsel before the SICC in certain cases – for instance, to make submis- sions on foreign law and if they meet the requirements for registration. On application, King’s Counsel, Senior Advocates and the like can be admitted on an ad hoc basis to argue complex matters. Third-party funding was previously prohibited by the common law doctrines of “champerty” and mainte- nance. Legislative amendments to the Civil Law Act 1909 in 2017 abolished the above torts, permitting funding agreements for qualified funders in specified catego- ries of disputes stipulated by the Act and regulations made under it. To qualify, a funder’s principal business must be the funding of dispute resolution proceedings, whether in Singapore or elsewhere. The funder must have a paid-up share capital of at least SGD5 million or at least SGD5 million in managed assets. 2. Litigation Funding 2.1 Third-Party Litigation Funding
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