SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Foo Yuet Min, Kong Man Er, Shumin Lin and See Chern Yang, Drew & Napier LLC
stituted service” by other means, such as email, Skype, Facebook or WhatsApp, if personal ser- vice is impracticable. Originating process can be issued against unknown persons (eg, persons who have concealed their true identities using pseudonyms), provided that the description of the unknown persons is sufficiently certain to identify the persons falling within and outside of that description. After the Singapore court has been seized of jurisdiction by way of proper service, a defend- ant may still challenge jurisdiction – for exam- ple, where an applicable arbitration or choice of court agreement exists, and/or if the Singapore courts are not the appropriate forum. 3.4 Initial Complaint Proceedings are either commenced by an origi- nating claim (usually accompanied by a state- ment of claim) or by an originating application (accompanied by a supporting affidavit). For per- sonal injury claims, the claimant must annex a medical report and a statement of special dam- ages claimed. Parties may amend originating processes after they have been filed, although permission of the Originating processes must be served person- ally 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. Service may be validly effected upon a defend- ant’s lawyer who accepts service on behalf of the court may be required. 3.5 Rules of Service
client. The court will also give effect to modes of service contractually agreed between parties. Please see 3.3 Jurisdictional Requirements for a Defendant regarding substituted service and
service outside Singapore. 3.6 Failure to Respond
A defendant who is served with an originating claim must file and serve a notice of intention to contest or not contest the claim within 14 days after the statement of claim is served on the defendant where it is served in Singapore, and within 21 days where the defendant is served out of Singapore. If the defendant fails to file and serve such a notice or states in the notice that the defendant does not intend to contest the claim, the claimant may apply for judg- ment in default. The claimant may also apply for judgment in default where the defendant fails to serve a defence (including jurisdictional challenges and counterclaims) to the statement of claim 21 days (for service in Singapore) or five weeks (for service outside Singapore) after being served. A legal practitioner must not enter a default judgment against a party represented by another legal practitioner unless prior written notice is given at least two working days before default judgment is entered. Default judgment is inapplicable for actions com- menced by originating application. The matter proceeds with no opposing party in attendance. 3.7 Representative or Collective Actions Representative actions are permitted where there are numerous claimants or defendants having the same interest in the proceedings and every member of the group consents to being represented. The court may appoint a repre- sentative of a class where members cannot be ascertained. The court retains the discretion to
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