SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Foo Yuet Min, Kong Man Er, Shumin Lin and See Chern Yang, Drew & Napier LLC
1.4 Legal Representation in Court Only advocates and solicitors admitted to the Singapore 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 repre- sented by an advocate or solicitor. However, the court may grant permission for an officer of a local company or partnership 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 submissions on foreign law and if they meet the requirements for registration. On application, King’s Counsel, Senior Advo- cates and the like can be admitted on an ad hoc basis to argue complex matters. 2. Litigation Funding 2.1 Third-Party Litigation Funding Third-party funding was previously prohibited by the common law doctrines of “champerty” and maintenance. Legislative amendments to the Civil Law Act 1909 in 2017 abolished the above torts, permit- ting funding agreements for qualified funders in specified categories of disputes stipulated by the Act and regulations made under it (although these are not necessarily exhaustive). 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
may deal with civil claims of up to SGD250,000 (or up to SGD500,000 for claims for road traf- fic 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 Division of the High Court, the Family Courts and Youth Courts, and hear the full suite of family- related cases, and probate and succession mat- ters. Finally, 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 Family 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, pub- lic security or propriety. The public may view documents filed for court proceedings 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.
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