SINGAPORE Trends and Developments Contributed by: Loh Wai Mooi, Wang Liansheng, Petrina Tan and Vaithieiswariy Kumar, Bih Li & Lee LLP
Bih Li & Lee LLP 20 McCallum Street #18-01 Tokio Marine Centre Singapore 069046 Tel: +65 6223 3227 Fax: +65 6224 0003 Email: gen@bihlilee.com.sg Web: www.bihlilee.com
Introduction The enforcement of access orders has become just as, if not more important, than the process of procur ‑ ing these orders. The struggles some parents face in gaining access to their children, even after a divorce is finalised, are well documented. Prior to the key legislative changes to the Women’s Charter 1961 in 2022, Sun Xueling, then Minister of State for Social and Family Development, recognised during a parliamentary reading of the Women’s Charter (Amendment) Bill that where there is non-compliance with a child access order, “the only recourse for the access parent is to commence committal proceedings or apply for care and control orders pertaining to the child to be varied. However, this can be a difficult and time-consuming process and it may be some time before the access parent is able to gain access.” The introduction of the new regime for ECAO seeks to smooth this difficult process. The sections below explain the historic position and then provide an over ‑ view as to the new regime and what it entails. The past – committal proceedings Prior to the establishment of the specialised ECAO regime, parents wishing to enforce child access orders had no alternative but to resort to committal proceedings against the other parent. This process involves two stages – first, the commit ‑ tal applicant is required to apply for permission from the FJC of Singapore to make an application for a committal order. This first application needs to be sup ‑ ported by an affidavit setting out the following:
Helping Families Accept the Past and Move Towards Their Best Possible Future Therapeutic justice is the driving principle in the prac ‑ tice of family law in Singapore today. Family disputes invariably involve non-legal considerations and the outcome of a family dispute has far-reaching con ‑ sequences for those beyond the parties involved, namely, the parties’ children and extended families. The Therapeutic Justice Model (“TJ Model”) states: “Therapeutic Justice (TJ) at the Family Justice Courts (FJC) is about helping families accept the past and move towards their best possible future. It involves a judge-led process where parties and their lawyers, along with other professionals, work together to find timely and enduring solutions to the family’s disagree ‑ ments, within the framework of the law.” As the Chief Justice of Singapore, CJ Sundaresh Menon, mentioned in his opening remarks at the Tenth Anniversary of the FJC, “The new Rules introduce sev ‑ eral significant changes, most notably the strength ‑ ening of the judge-led approach by equipping family judges with a wider range of tools, so as to ensure that cases can be resolved effectively, proportionately and expeditiously while reducing acrimony, costs and time.” Enforcement of Child Access Orders To further enhance the principle of therapeutic justice, the new Enforcement of Child Access Orders (ECAO) which were part of the key legislative changes to the Women’s Charter 1961 in 2022 came into effect on 2 January 2025.
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