Civil appeals against decisions made by a judge in the General Division of the High Court (from 1 April 2022)

File the Originating Applications

• If the value of your case is up to $1 million: $500
• If the value of your case is more than $1 million: $1,000

File the written submissions

No filing fees unless the page limits are exceeded. 

You will need the permission of the court to exceed the prescribed page limit. If you have such permission, the fees that will be imposed are:

• $20 per page for the first 10 pages or less exceeding the limit; and
• N + $20 per page (where “N” is the fee payable per page for the previous 10 pages) for every subsequent 10 pages or less, subject to a maximum of $200 per page.
  

The non-exhaustive grounds for an application for permission to appeal against a decision of the General Division of the High Court are: 

• prima facie case of error;
• question of general principle decided for the first time; and 
• question of importance upon which further argument and a decision of a higher tribunal would be to the public advantage.

See, for example, Lee Kuan Yew v Tang Liang Hong and another [1997] 2 SLR(R) 862 at [16]. 

When considering whether to rely on the ground of a prima facie case of error, applicants should bear in mind that this ground is generally not satisfied where the decision in question was well-reasoned and amply supported by the available evidence: see, for example, Virtual Map (Singapore) Pte Ltd v Singapore Land Authority and another application [2009] 2 SLR(R) 558 at [34]. Furthermore, applicants should state and explain how this prima facie case of error had a significant bearing on the eventual outcome of the decision in respect of which leave to appeal is sought.

When considering whether to rely on the ground that there is a question of general principle decided for the first time (“Question”), applicants should bear in mind that this ground is generally not met where:

• there have been other decisions on the Questions; or 
• the Question concerns an application of principles to the facts of the case. 

See, for example, Werner Samuel Vuillemin v Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd [2017] 3 SLR 501 at [47] and [48]. Furthermore, applicants should state and explain how this Question arose from the decision and reasoning of the court below: see, for example, Ho Soo Fong and another v Ho Pak Kim Realty Co Pte Ltd (in liquidation) [2021] SGHC(A) 11 at [8].

When considering whether to rely on the ground that there is a question of importance upon which further argument and a decision of a higher tribunal would be to the public advantage (“Public Importance Question”), applicants should bear in mind that this ground is generally not met where there is a “mere application of [a test set out in another case] to a given factual scenario”: see, for example, Hwa Aik Engineering Pte Ltd v Munshi Mohammad Faiz and another [2021] 1 SLR 1288 at [24]. Furthermore, applicants should state and explain how the outcome they seek in relation to the Public Importance Question also has a material bearing on the outcome of the main hearing of the appeal if leave is granted: see, for example, CLI v CLJ [2021] SGHC(A) 3 at [12].

Court to which the application should be made 

You should refer to Section 29A of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act which provides when leave is required to appeal against a decision of the General Division of the High Court in the exercise of its original or appellate civil jurisdiction. 

Generally, where leave to appeal is required, the application (via an originating summons) should be made directly to the Court of Appeal or the Appellate Division. Save for a case where any written law specifies the court from which leave must be obtained, please refer to Paragraph 1 of the Fifth Schedule to the Supreme Court of Judicature Act to determine which is the correct appellate court to hear the application.

The application should not be filed in the General Division of the High Court via a summons.

Timelines for the filing of an application

When filing an application for permission to appeal, you should consider whether Section 29B of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act applies to the decision of the General Division of the High Court. 

Section 29B of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act provides that a judge may hear further arguments in respect of a decision made by the judge in the exercise of the original or appellate civil jurisdiction of the General Division of the High Court after any hearing other than a trial of an action, if certain conditions are met.

If Section 29B of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act applies to the decision of the General Division of the High Court , different timelines for the filing of an application for permission to appeal may apply under the Rules of Court 2021. These timelines seek to ensure that there is finality in the decision being appealed against before the application for permission to appeal is considered.

General Division of the High Court’s decision is made before 1 April 2022 but application for permission to appeal is filed on or after that date

If the General Division of the High Court’s decision in respect of which you are seeking permission to appeal was made before 1 April 2022, but the application for permission to appeal is filed on or after that date, the timelines for filing the application are the same as those under the revoked Rules of Court (as in force immediately before 1 April 2022). For such applications:

• You must file the application within 7 working days after the date of the General Division of the High Court’s decision; or
• Where Section 29B of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act applies
  • In cases where the judge hears further arguments in respect of the decision, the application should be made within 7 working days after the date the judge affirms, varies or sets aside the decision after hearing further arguments.
  • In cases where a request for further arguments was made, but the judge certifies or is deemed to have certified that no further arguments are required, the application should be made within 7 working days after the date the judge certifies or is deemed to have certified that no further arguments are required.
  • In any other case, the application should be made within 7 working days after either: (i) the time on which the judgment or order was extracted; or (ii) the 15th day after the date on which the decision was made, whichever is earlier.

The other requirements in the Rules of Court 2021 and Supreme Court Practice Directions 2021 will apply to the documents to be filed for the above applications.

General Division of the High Court’s decision is made on or after 1 April 2022

If the General Division of the High Court’s decision in respect of which you are seeking permission to appeal was made on or after 1 April 2022, you must file and serve the application and the accompanying documents within 14 days after the date of the General Division of the High Court’s decision (refer to Order 18 Rule 29(1) and Order 19 Rule 26(1) of the Rules of Court 2021). 

However, where a request for further arguments has been made in respect of the General Division of the High Court’s decision pursuant to Section 29B of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act, you should not file an application for permission to appeal until the judge either:

• Affirms, varies or sets aside the decision after hearing further arguments or
• Certifies, or is deemed to have certified, that no further arguments are required.

You must file and serve the application for permission to appeal within 14 days after the relevant date mentioned above (refer to Order 18 Rule 29(3) and Order 19 Rule 26(3) of the Rules of Court 2021).

To avoid errors, you should note the following:

• As an applicant, you must provide security for the opposing party’s costs in the amount of $5,000 and file the requisite certificate for security for costs in Form 36, Appendix A, Supreme Court Practice Directions 2021, as required under Order 18 Rule 35(5) and Order 19 Rule 35(6) of the Rules of Court 2021.
• Affidavits cannot be filed for an application for permission to appeal without the permission of court.
• As an applicant, you must file the application, the written submissions, a bundle of documents (if any) and a bundle of authorities (if any) at the same time.
• If you are the party opposing the application, you must file written submissions, a bundle of documents (if any) and a bundle of authorities (if any) at the same time within 14 days after the applicant has served the application documents.
• You should also take note of the prescribed page limits for the written submissions and bundle of documents which are set out in the Rules of Court 2021.
  • Written submissions should not exceed 15 pages.
  • The bundle of documents should not exceed 25 pages.
  • These page limits include the cover page and any table of contents.

• Under the Supreme Court Practice Directions 2021:

  • Cover pages are mandatory for all documents.
  • A table of contents is mandatory for all documents for which the prescribed page limit is 20 pages or higher.
    

When preparing the written submissions, you should use the correct form prescribed by Paragraph 126(1) of the Supreme Court Practice Directions 2021 (Form 24/25 of Appendix B) and make sure the written submissions comply with the formatting requirements set out in Paragraph 120(2) of the Supreme Court Practice Directions 2021. 

You should also note that:

• Where the written submissions refer to a document, you should indicate where the document can be found in the bundle of documents. If the document is not in the bundle of documents, you should provide: (i) a clear description of the document; (ii) the date on which the document was electronically filed; and (iii) where the document forms part of an electronic filing, the exact page of the PDF version of the electronic filing where the document may be found.
• Written submissions should include a party’s submissions on costs. A party should state the appropriate costs order and the quantum (including disbursements) which should be awarded and the reasons for it.