In the legal context, an entity is an organisation that may be recognised by the law as having legal rights and responsibilities. If so, that entity can sue and be sued.
Examples of entities that may be involved in court proceedings include:
In legal proceedings, an entity must be represented by an individual, who must have authorisation from the entity's controlling body (such as board of directors) to represent the entity.
For criminal cases, a representative in relation to an entity means a person duly appointed by such entity to represent it at court proceedings, as defined in Section 117(5) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
For civil cases, the individual must be an officer of the entity, as defined in Order 1, Rule 9(6) of the Rules of Court.
If you are not a lawyer and you wish to represent an entity in a legal proceeding, what you need to do depends on the type of case:
For criminal cases, the representative must be appointed through a Letter of Authorisation.
The Letter of Authorisation must be printed on the entity's official letterhead. It must be signed by one of the following officers, depending on the type of entity (according to Section 117(6) of the Criminal Procedure Code):
Type of entity | Who must sign the letter |
---|---|
A company (body corporate) or limited liability partnership | A director, manager, secretary or officer of similar authority. |
A partnership | A partner, secretary or officer of similar authority. |
An unincorporated association (which is not a partnership or registered trade union) | The president, secretary, any member of the committee or officer of similar authority. |
The letter should include the following information:
For tribunal cases heard in the Small Claims Tribunals (SCT) or Employment Claims Tribunals (ECT), the representative must be appointed through a Letter of Authorisation.
The Letter of Authorisation must be printed on the entity's official letterhead. It must be signed by one of the following officers, depending on the type of entity:
Type of entity | Who must sign the letter |
---|---|
A limited liability partnership | A partner, manager or officer of similar authority. |
Any other body corporate (for example, a company) | A director, chief executive, manager, secretary or officer of similar authority. |
A partnership | A partner or officer of similar authority. |
An unincorporated association (which is not a partnership or registered trade union) | The president, any member of the governing body or officer of similar authority. |
The letter should include the following information:
Refer to this sample for more instructions (PDF, 182 KB).
The Letter of Authorisation needs to be uploaded in the Community Justice and Tribunals System (CJTS) as a supporting document.
Note:
In general, an entity that is involved in a court proceeding must be represented by lawyers. This includes proceedings for civil or family cases in any of the following courts:
However, the court may allow an officer of the entity to act on its behalf if the court is satisfied that it is appropriate to allow this, given the circumstances of the case. The entity must file an application for the court's leave (permission).
Not all officers are allowed to represent an entity in civil or family proceedings. Only the following officers are allowed to apply as representatives, depending on the type of entity:
Type of entity | Who can represent |
---|---|
A company or variable capital company | A director, secretary or a person employed in an executive capacity by the company or variable capital company. |
A limited liability partnership | A partner or manager of the limited liability partnership. |
An unincorporated association (which is not a partnership or registered trade union) | The president, secretary or any member of the committee of the unincorporated association. |
The entity will have to file a formal application to the court via eLitigation. The application must be made via a Summons (Form 60 of the Rules of Court) accompanied by a supporting affidavit.
The affidavit for this application must be made by an officer of the entity who is not the officer to be appointed to represent the entity in legal proceedings.
The affidavit should include:
The estimated fees for filing the application depends on the type of court. Refer to Appendix B of the Rules of Court for the full list of fees.
Item or service | Estimated fee |
---|---|
File a summons | $10 |
File an affidavit |
|
Note: This table does not include additional fees payable to the LawNet & CrimsonLogic Service Bureau.
Item or service | Estimated fee |
---|---|
File a summons | $20 |
File an affidavit |
|
Note: This table does not include additional fees payable to the LawNet & CrimsonLogic Service Bureau.
Item or service | Estimated fee |
---|---|
File a summons | $100 |
File an affidavit |
|
Note: This table does not include additional fees payable to the LawNet & CrimsonLogic Service Bureau.
For a case with a value exceeding $1 million, the estimated fees include:
Item or service | Estimated fee |
---|---|
File a summons | $200 |
File an affidavit |
|
Note: This table does not include additional fees payable to the LawNet & CrimsonLogic Service Bureau.
If you are the individual filing on behalf of the entity, you will need to follow these steps:
Step | Result |
---|---|
1. File the application | Your application is filed in the court. |
2. Collect the endorsed documents | You receive a copy of the application documents that have been endorsed by the court. |
3. Serve the application | You inform the other party of your application. |
File the prepared documents via eLitigation. Parties who are not represented by a lawyer need to visit the LawNet & CrimsonLogic Service Bureau to file in person.
The Service Bureau will notify you via email or SMS of whether the court accepts your application documents.
If the court accepts your application documents, you will be asked to return to the Service Bureau to collect an endorsed version of the documents. This will include the date and time of a hearing that you must attend.
You will need to serve a copy of the endorsed documents on the other parties in the case (in accordance with Order 32, Rule 3 of the Rules of Court).
This involves giving them a copy of the document in any of the following ways:
This informs them of the application and the hearing.
You must attend the scheduled hearing.
The court may grant leave (permission) for the proposed representative to represent the entity if the court is satisfied with all of the following:
The court may allow the proposed representative to represent the entity subject to certain conditions, depending on the facts of the case. These conditions may include:
The information here is for general guidance as the courts do not provide legal advice. If you need further help, you may want to get independent legal advice.
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