Part I: INTRODUCTION

1. Citation and commencement.

2. Applicability of Practice Directionss

3. Citation of legislation in proceedings

4. Calculation of time

5. Updating

6. Forms

7. Business of the Registry

1. Citation and commencement

These Practice Directions may be cited as the State Courts Practice Directions 2021 and come into operation on 1 April 2022.

2. Applicability of Practice Directions

(1) These Practice Directions shall apply to civil proceedings commenced in the State Courts on or after 1 April 2022 unless otherwise provided for in these Practice Directions.

(2) These Practice Directions do not apply to Tribunal / Simplified POHA Proceedings, unless the Practice Direction expressly provides that it will apply to such proceedings.

(3) In these Practice Directions:

(a) Tribunal Proceedings means:

(i) proceedings before the Small Claims Tribunals under the Small Claims Tribunals Act 1984 (“SCTA”);

(ii) proceedings before the District Court under sections 38 or 42 of the SCTA and rules 20F or 28A of the Small Claims Tribunals Rules (“SCT Rules”);

(iii) applications to the District Court for leave to appeal to the General Division of the High Court under section 38 of the SCTA or for a stay of execution pending appeal under section 42 of the SCTA and rules 20F or 28A of the SCT Rules;

(iv) proceedings before the Employment Claims Tribunals under the Employment Claims Act 2016 (“ECA”);

(v) proceedings before the District Court under sections 7, 23 and 24 of the ECA and rules 25 and 33 and Part 9 of the Employment Claims Rules 2017 (“EC Rules”);

(vi) applications to the District Court for the registration or setting-aside of a settlement agreement, for leave to appeal to the General Division of the High Court or for a stay of execution pending appeal, under sections 7, 23 and 24 of the ECA respectively and rules 25 and 33 and Part 9 of the EC Rules;

(vii) proceedings before the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals under the Community Disputes Resolution Act 2015; and

(b) Simplified POHA Proceedings means simplified proceedings before the Protection from Harassment Court as defined in the Supreme Court of Judicature (Protection from Harassment) Rules 2021.

(4) The State Courts Practice Directions, as in force immediately before the coming into effect of these Practice Directions, shall continue to apply to civil proceedings commenced in the State Courts before 1 April 2022.

(5) To the extent that these Practice Directions are applicable to criminal proceedings in the State Courts, they shall for the avoidance of doubt apply regardless of when such criminal proceedings were commenced.

3. Citation of legislation in proceedings

(1) Where legislation is cited in these Practice Directions, the citation shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be read to refer to the version of that legislation currently in force.

(2) In these Practice Directions, any reference to a repealed provision of any written law is a reference to that provision as in force immediately before the date the provision is repealed.

(3) Any reference to “Rules of Court 2021” is a reference to the Rules of Court 2021 as in force on or after 1 April 2022.

4. Calculation of time

Unless otherwise stated, the provisions in the Rules of Court 2021 relating to the calculation of time apply to the calculation of time in these Practice Directions.

5. Updating

(1) Any addition or amendment to these Practice Directions will be notified on the Singapore Courts’ website at https://www.judiciary.gov.sg. The Practice Directions will be updated on the date the addition or amendment takes effect.

(2) The complete and updated Practice Directions can be downloaded from the Singapore Courts website at https://www.judiciary.gov.sg.

6. Forms

(1) The forms specified by number in these Practice Directions are set out in Appendix A1 to these Practice Directions.

(2) The forms specified by number in the Rules of Court 2021 are set out in Appendix A2 to these Practice Directions.

(3) The forms are to be used where applicable, with such variations as the circumstances of the case may require.

7. Business of the Registry

(1) Pursuant to Order 26, Rules 1 and 2 of the Rules of Court 2021, the business of the Registry is governed by the Rules of Court 2021 and these Practice Directions.

(2) For the avoidance of doubt, any instruction manuals which may be issued from time to time by the Government are not applicable to the business of the Registry.