Going to court for a civil simplified case conference (from 1 April 2022)

The Civil Simplified Case Conference (Civil Simplified CC) is central to the simplified civil process. At the Civil Simplified CC, the court will assist the parties to:

• Narrow down the issues between them.
• Deal with any relevant issues which may arise (interlocutory matters).
• Facilitate an early resolution of the dispute without going to trial.
  • This may include the use of negotiation and any alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process.

When you have to attend a Civil Simplified CC

For cases heard in the Magistrate's Court, a Civil Simplified CC is generally convened within 7 weeks after the defendant files their defence. The court will notify you in a notice to attend a Civil Simplified CC within 8 days of the filing of the defendant's defence.

For cases heard in the District Court and parties have filed their consent for the simplified civil process to apply to their case, both parties will have to file a request via eLitigation to arrange for a Civil Simplified CC. 

Attendance is compulsory

Parties must attend every Civil Simplified CC. If one or more of the parties fails to attend the Civil Simplified CC without valid reasons, the court may:

• Give a judgment or dismiss the case.
• Make any other order, or give any direction, as the court thinks appropriate given the circumstances.

You will not be allowed to adjourn any Civil Simplified CC without valid reasons. For example, the consent of both parties to adjourn a Civil Simplified CC is not considered a sufficient reason for an adjournment.

Cases a Civil Simplified CC applies to

A Civil Simplified CC is conducted for all cases which the simplified civil process applies to, except for:

• Non-injury motor accident (NIMA) claims.
• Personal injury (PI) claims.
• Claims in negligence (including professional negligence and medical negligence claims).

NIMA, PI and negligence cases are channelled to the State Courts' Court Dispute Resolution Cluster (CDRC) where experienced judges will assist parties by providing liability indications based on information on the accident given by the parties.

If your claim falls within either of these categories, you may refer to the Pre-action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims and Non-injury Motor Accident Claims (Appendix B of the State Courts Practice Directions 2021), the Guidelines for Court Dispute Resolution Case Conferences for Personal Injury Claims and Non-injury Motor Accident Claims (Appendix C of the State Courts Practice Directions 2021) or the Protocol for Medical Negligence Claims (Appendix E of the State Courts Practice Directions 2021) for more information.

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