SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Foo Yuet Min, Kong Man Er, Shumin Lin and See Chern Yang, Drew & Napier LLC
5.4 Alternatives to Discovery Mechanisms
adjust their evidence to match disclosed docu- ments, to crystallise key issues and streamline the matters to be dealt with in the SAPT, and reduce the scope of disclosure and potentially obviate the need for expert evidence. Unless the SICC or High Court orders otherwise, discovery in SICC cases is governed by its own set of rules, which is similar to international arbi- tration practice. In SICC cases, each party provides all the docu- ments on which it relies within the time and in the manner ordered by the SICC. Parties in SICC proceedings need not provide general disclo- sure of both beneficial and self-damaging docu- ments. A party in an SICC proceeding may be required to disclose particular documents upon application by the other party only if they are relevant and material to the requesting party’s case. 5.2 Discovery and Third Parties A party may apply to court to obtain discovery from a person who is not a party (ie, not a claim- ant or a defendant) to the civil case. The applica- tion should specify the documents sought, and must be served personally on the third party and on every other party to the proceedings. The supporting affidavit must state the grounds for the application, why the third party is like- ly to have the requested documents, how the requested documents are relevant to an issue arising in the case, and why it would be just to grant the application. 5.3 Discovery in This Jurisdiction The discovery process during a civil case com- prises two stages: general discovery and spe- cific discovery. These stages are outlined in 5.1 Discovery and Civil Cases .
The court may order the production of docu- ments and information before the commence- ment of proceedings to identify possible parties to any proceedings, to enable a party to trace the party’s property or for any other lawful pur- pose, in the interests of justice. The court must not order a document to be produced if its pro- duction cannot be compelled in law. In respect of civil proceedings commenced pri- or to 1 April 2021 and in respect of which the Rules of Court 2014 continue to apply, a party can also seek information by serving interrogato- ries. Interrogatories are a supplementary form of discovery and assist in the resolution or clarifica- tion of issues in dispute by requiring persons to answer questions. The questions must be nec- essary for disposing fairly of the cause or matter or for saving costs. In respect of civil proceedings commenced after 1 April 2021 and in respect of which the Rules of Court 2021 apply, there is no express provi- sion for the service of interrogatories. However, the court has the power to order the filing and exchange of affidavits of evidence-in-chief after pleadings are filed and before document pro- duction. 5.5 Legal Privilege A person has the right not to give discovery of documents covered by legal professional privi- lege, which comprises two categories. • First, legal advice privilege covers any com- munication made between a client and the client’s legal adviser, including in-house counsel, in the course of and for the purpose of employment of the legal adviser. The privi- lege extends to information the legal adviser
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