Amendment No. 3 of 2020

Amendment No. 3 of 2020 of the Practice Directions contains amendments to Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IIIA, Part IV, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, Part XI, Part XII, Part XIII, Part XIV, Part XIX, Part XXI, Part XXIII and Appendices A, B, C, G, H and J of the Supreme Court Practice Directions. The amendments are summarised below:

1. introduction of new paragraph 1A on Definitions;
2. amendments to paragraph 7A on Business of the Registry;
3. amendments to paragraph 9 on Hours for the sittings of the Supreme Court;
4. amendments to paragraph 18 on Forms of address;
5. amendments to paragraph 24 on Access to case file, inspection, taking copies and searches;
6. amendments to paragraph 26 on Filing directions to the Accountant-General for payment into and out of Court;
7. amendments to paragraph 27 on Requests and other Correspondence;
8. amendments to paragraph 29B on Citation of Case Numbers;
9. amendments to paragraph 30 on Originating Summonses;
10. amendments to paragraph 35B on Overview of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) for civil cases;
11. amendments to paragraph 38 on Summonses to be heard in open Court;
12. amendments to paragraph 40 on Transfer of proceedings to the State Courts;
13. amendments to paragraph 63A on Lead Counsel’s Statement on Trial Proceedings;
14. amendments to paragraph 68 on Adjournment or vacation of hearings other than trials;
15. amendments to paragraph 71 on Documents for use in trials of writ actions in open Court;
16. amendments to paragraph 72 on Bundles of authorities for other open Court hearings;
17. amendments to paragraph 73A on Written submissions and bundles of authorities for special date hearings;
18. amendments to paragraph 74 on Citation of judgments;
19. amendments to paragraph 81 on Application of this Part;
20. amendments to paragraph 83 on Civil appeals before the General Division from the State Courts;
21. amendments to paragraph 84 on Civil appeals before the General Division from tribunal or person under Order 55 of the Rules of Court;
22. introduction of new paragraph 84A on Whether an appeal to the Appellate Division is to be heard by 2 or 3 Judges;
23. amendments to paragraph 85 on Whether an appeal to the Court of Appeal is to be heard by a 2 or 3 Judge Court of Appeal;
24. amendments to paragraph 85A on Whether an appeal to the Court of Appeal is to be heard by 5 or any greater uneven number of Judges;
25. amendments to paragraph 85B on Leave of the Court of Appeal or the Appellate Division to receive further affidavits in relation to an application to strike out a notice of appeal;
26. amendments to paragraph 86 on Quantum of security to be provided under Order 57, Rule 3(3) of the Rules of Court as in force immediately before 2 January 2021;
27. amendments to paragraph 86A on Appeals Information Sheet for civil appeals to the Court of Appeal and civil appeals to the Appellate Division;
28. amendments to paragraph 87 on Filing of records of appeal, core bundles and written Cases for civil appeals under Order 56A, Rules 8 and 9 and Order 57, Rules 9 and 9A of the Rules of Court;
29. amendments to paragraph 87A on Request for leave to exceed page limit for Appellant’s Case, Respondent’s Case and Appellant’s Reply for civil appeals to the Court of Appeal and civil appeals to the Appellate Division;
30. amendments to paragraph 88 on Hard copies and soft copies for hearing of civil appeals before the Court of Appeal and civil appeals before the Appellate Division;
31. amendments to paragraph 89 on Preparation of appeal records in civil appeals to the Court of Appeal and civil appeals to the Appellate Division;
32. amendments to paragraph 89A on Bundle of documents filed with leave of the Court of Appeal or the Appellate Division;
33. amendments to paragraph 89B on Inclusion in appeal bundles of documents ordered to be sealed or redacted;
34. amendments to paragraph 90 on Skeletal arguments for appeals and matters before the General Division, Appellate Division, Court of Appeal and Court of 3 Judges;
35. amendments to paragraph 90A on Applications in civil matters before the Court of Appeal and civil matters before the Appellate Division;
36. introduction of new paragraph 90B on Applications to the Court of Appeal, and applications to the Appellate Division, for leave to appeal in civil matters;
37. amendments to paragraph 91 on Use of presentation slides for all proceedings before the General Division, Appellate Division, Court of Appeal and Court of 3 Judges;
38. amendments to paragraph 92 on Further arguments before the Court of Appeal and the Appellate Division;
39. amendments to paragraph 99A on Costs Scheduling;
40. amendments to paragraph 104 on Documents which must be filed, served, delivered or otherwise conveyed using the Electronic Filing Service;
41. amendments to paragraph 116 on Application (of Part XIV);
42. amendments to paragraph 117 on Hard copies of documents;
43. amendments to paragraph 118 on Timelines for filing;
44. amendments to paragraph 138 on Transfer of Matrimonial, Divorce and Guardianship of Infants Proceedings;
45. amendments to paragraph 139 on Transfer of Section 17A(2) Supreme Court of Judicature Act Proceedings;
46. amendments to paragraph 140 on Documents to be filed at the Legal Registry of the Supreme Court;
47. amendments to paragraph 142 on Appeals on ancillary matters in Divorce Proceedings, Custody Matters or Section 17A(2) Supreme Court of Judicature Act Proceedings filed before 1 October 2014;
48. amendments to paragraph 147 on Transfer of mental capacity proceedings to District Court;
49. amendments to paragraph 148 on Documents to be filed at the Legal Registry of the Supreme Court at the Supreme Court Building;
50. amendments to paragraph 158 on Compliance with protocol;
51. amendments to Forms under Appendix A: 

• Form 6 (Order to allow Entry and Search of Premises)
• Form 7 (Injunction Prohibiting Disposal of Assets Worldwide)
• Form 8 (Injunction Prohibiting Disposal of Assets in Singapore)
• Form 12 (Form of Record of Appeal)
• Form 13 (Form of Core Bundle)
• Form 14 (Form of Supplemental Core Bundle)
• Form 14B (Form Showing Lack of Means)
• Form 16 (Bill of Costs for Contentious Business – Trials)
• Form 17 (Bill of Costs for Contentious Business other than Trials)
• Form 18 (Bill of Costs for Non-contentious Business)
• Form 19 (Notice of Dispute)
• Form 27 (Appeals Information Sheet)
• Form 30 (Undertaking that Appeal Bundles Do Not Contain Sealed or Unredacted Documents)

  52. deletion of Form 25 (Schedule of Assets) under Appendix A;
  53.  introduction of new Forms under Appendix A:

• new Form 12A (Form of Supplemental Record of Appeal)
• new Form 31A (Submissions for Application for Leave to Appeal against a Decision of the General Division (Applicant))
• new Form 31B (Submissions for Application for Leave to Appeal against a Decision of the General Division (Respondent))
• new Form 32A (Submissions for Applications for Leave to Appeal against a Decision of the Appellate Division (Applicant))
• new Form 32B (Submissions for Application for Leave to Appeal against a Decision of the Appellate Division (Respondent))

54. amendments to Waiting Periods under Appendix B;
55. amendments to Sample Bills of Costs under Appendix C;
56. amendments to Guidelines for Party-and-Party costs awards in the Supreme Court of Singapore under Appendix G;
57. amendments to Registrar, Deputy Registrar, Divisional and Deputy Divisional Registrars, and Senior Assistant Registrars under Appendix H;
58. amendments to Protocol for Medical Negligence Cases in the General Division of the High Court under Appendix J.

The amendments will take effect on 2 January 2021 and will be reflected at https://epd.supremecourt.gov.sg/ from 2 January 2021.