SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Benedict Teo, Kelvin Tan, Kong Man Er and Shumin Lin, Drew & Napier LLC
3.2 Statutes of Limitations The Limitation Act 1959 applies to civil suits. It pro- vides for many different scenarios, but the more com- mon ones are as follows: • actions brought for damages for personal injuries have a three-year limitation period from the time the cause of action accrued or the earliest date the victim had the requisite knowledge to bring such an action; • actions based on a contract or tort have a six-year limitation period, which is extended for “latent” injuries or damage, and there are certain special provisions for negligence, nuisance or breach of duty for such cases; • actions to recover land have a 12-year limitation period; and • no limitation period applies to an action by a ben- eficiary of a trust in respect of the trustee’s fraud and/or to recover trust property or proceeds from the trustee. A limitation period usually commences when the cause of action accrues. For “latent” injuries and dam- age, the limitation period commences only when the plaintiff has both the right and the knowledge to bring an action. The Limitation Act 1959 and the Foreign Limitation Periods Act 2012 apply to arbitral proceedings as they apply to proceedings before any court, and any refer- ence in both Acts to the commencement of proceed- ings is to be construed as a reference to the com- mencement of arbitral proceedings. 3.3 Jurisdictional Requirements for a Defendant A defendant must be properly served with an origi- nating process, either personally in Singapore or outside Singapore (with permission of court). Excep- tionally, the court may order “substituted service” by other means, such as email or WhatsApp, if personal service is impracticable. Originating process can be issued against unknown persons (eg, persons who have concealed their true identities using pseudo- nyms), provided that the description of the unknown persons is sufficiently certain to identify the persons falling within and outside of that description.
After the court has been seized of jurisdiction by way of proper service, a defendant may still challenge jurisdiction – for example, where an applicable arbi- tration or choice of court agreement exists, and/or if the Singapore courts are not the appropriate forum. 3.4 Initial Complaint Proceedings are commenced by an originating claim (usually accompanied by a statement of claim) or by an originating application (accompanied by a support- ing affidavit). For personal injury claims, the claimant must annex a medical report and a statement of spe- cial damages claimed. Parties may amend originating processes after they have been filed, although permission of the court may be required. Where a defendant: (a) claims against a person not already a party to the action any contribution or indemnity; (b) claims against such a person any relief or remedy relating to or connected with the original subject matter of the action and substantially the same as some relief or remedy claimed by the claim- ant; or (c) requires that any question or issue relating to or connected with the original subject matter of the action should be determined not only as between the claimant and defendant but also as between either or both of them and a person not already a party to the action, then the defendant may issue a third-party notice. A defendant may not issue a third-party notice without the court’s permission unless the action was begun by originating claim and the defendant issues the third-party notice before serving the defendant’s defence on the claimant. Where a third-party notice is served on the person against whom it is issued, that person is as from the time of service a party to the action. 3.5 Rules of Service Originating processes must be served personally on each defendant, unless alternative means of service are expressly permitted. Reasonable steps must be taken to serve an originating process expeditiously and within 14 days for personal service or 28 days for service outside Singapore.
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