PART IX: DOCUMENTS AND AUTHORITIES FOR USE IN COURT

72. Electronic filing of documents and authorities for use in Court

• Documents for use in Court must be filed through the Electronic Filing Service

• Directions for electronic creation and filing of submissions, bundles of documents, bundles of authorities

73. Documents for use in trials in open Court

• Mode of filing documents

• Bundles of Documents

• Core bundle of documents

• Opening statements and closing submissions

• Bundle of authorities

• Failure to tender documents in the proper manner and time

74. Hearing in Chambers

75. Citation of judgments

• Use of judgments as authorities in submissions

• Use of judgments from foreign jurisdictions

• Citation practice

• The neutral citation system for local judgments

• Ancillary provisions

72. Electronic filing of documents and authorities for use in Court

Documents for use in Court must be filed through the Electronic Filing Service

(1) Subject to any Practice Directions in this Part to the contrary, all bundles and documents for use at any hearing must be filed through the Electronic Filing Service. These documents include written submissions, skeletal arguments, bundles of documents, bundles of pleadings, bundles of affidavits, core bundles and all opening statements. Cover pages are mandatory for all documents with a prescribed page limit. A table of contents is mandatory for all documents for which the prescribed page limit is 20 pages or higher. The cover page and table of contents are to be included in the page count for the purposes of determining whether a document is within the prescribed page limit (if any).

(2) In the event that it is not possible to file the documents in advance of the hearing, counsel may apply to the Judge or Registrar conducting the hearing for permission to use paper documents during the hearing. The paper documents may be printed on one side or both sides of each paper. The solicitor must explain why it was not possible to file the documents in advance of the hearing, and must give an undertaking to file using the Electronic Filing Service all the documents used at the hearing by the next working day after the hearing. Any document not filed using the Electronic Filing Service will not be included in the Court’s case file.

(3) Subject to the directions of the Court, solicitors may appear before the District Judge, Magistrate or Registrar with paper documents for an urgent hearing. The solicitors so appearing must give an undertaking to file all the documents used at the hearing using the Electronic Filing Service by the next working day after the hearing. Any document not filed using the Electronic Filing Service will not be included in the Court’s case file.

(4) Notwithstanding anything else in this Practice Direction, a party may choose not to file the bundle of authorities into the electronic case file and instead submit a hard copy of the bundle of authorities:

(a) The party shall still comply with paragraph (7) and the court may direct the party to file an electronic copy of the list of authorities (that corresponds to the table of contents of the hard copy of the bundle of authorities) through the Electronic Filing Service.

(b) The party using the hard copy of the bundle of authorities shall bear the onus of producing the bundle at every hearing at which it is required. The Court will neither retain nor undertake to produce for hearings the hard copy of the bundle.

(c) The judicial officer may, if he so chooses, retain the hard copy of the bundle of authorities for his own reference. The hard copy so retained will not however form part of the Court’s record in respect of the proceedings in which it was used.

Directions for electronic creation and filing of submissions, bundles of documents, bundles of authorities

(5) Written submissions or statements should be prepared in a text-searchable Portable Document Format (“PDF”) file and filed through the Electronic Filing Service, and adhere to the following format:

(a) All pages shall be paginated, with the first page (including the cover page) numbered as “Page 1” so that the page numbers of the hard copy correspond to the page numbers in the PDF version.

(b) The minimum font size to be used is Times New Roman 12 or its equivalent.

(c) The print of every page shall be double spaced.

(d) Every page shall have a margin on all four sides, each of at least 35mm in width.

(e) Where submissions are lengthy, appropriate headings and a table of contents should be included.

(6) The following directions shall apply to the preparation and filing of bundles of documents, save that in the case of filing the bundle of documents for trial in open Court, the requirements set out in Practice Direction 73(4) below will additionally apply:

(a) Index pages must be prepared. For documents that involve multiple volumes, a table of contents for all volumes must be placed at the beginning of Volume I, and each volume must contain its own table of contents.

(b) Bookmarks should be created in a PDF file for each such reference in the index. There should be as many bookmarks in that PDF file as there are references in the index to documents in that PDF file.

(c) The name given to each bookmark should be the same as the corresponding reference in the index.

(d) The various documents in the bundle should be arranged chronologically or in some logical order.

(e) The page number of each bundle must correspond to the page number in the PDF version of that bundle.

(7) The following directions apply to the preparation and filing of bundles of authorities:

(a) A party using a hard copy of the bundle of authorities for a hearing may be directed to file the list of authorities (that corresponds to the table of contents of the hard copy of the bundle of authorities) into the case file through the Electronic Filing Service.

(b) The bundle of authorities shall have a table of contents immediately after the first title page. Where the bundle of authorities consists of more than one volume, each volume shall have a table of contents clearly indicating the authorities that are contained in that volume. The first volume shall contain a complete table of contents of all volumes of the bundle.

(c) The items in the table of contents shall be numbered sequentially, and arranged in the following order – statutes in alphabetical order of the title, subsidiary legislation in alphabetical order of the title, cases in alphabetical order of the case name, secondary materials (such as textbooks and articles) in alphabetical order of the last name of the author, and any other materials in alphabetical order of the title or last name of the author as is appropriate.

(d) The table of contents shall contain a concise statement of the relevance of each authority to the specific issues before the Court. The relevance of each authority shall be succinctly expressed and comprise no more than three sentences. The statement shall be set out immediately after the name of the case. For example:

Cartier International BV v Lee Hock Lee and another application [1992] 3 SLR 340

Relevance: Where the Court is asked to punish an alleged contemnor by incarceration, the charge against him must be proved to the high standard required in a criminal charge.

Rickshaw Investments Ltd and another v Nicolai Baron von Uexkull [2007] 1 SLR(R) 377

Relevance: Choice of law considerations are relevant even when determining the natural forum to hear a dispute.

(e) A bookmark should be created in the PDF file for each authority in the bundle. The name given to each bookmark should be the same as the table of contents.

(f) The bundle of authorities must be paginated consecutively at the top right hand corner of each page. Each separate volume must start at page 1, and every page in that volume must be numbered consecutively. The page number of each bundle must correspond to the page number in the PDF version of that bundle.

(g) If a hard copy is prepared:

(i) the bundle of authorities must be properly bound with plastic ring binding or plastic spine thermal binding. The rings or spines should be red for claimants/appellants and blue for defendants/respondents with a transparent plastic cover in front and at the back.

(ii) The bundle of authorities must have flags to mark out the authorities. Such flags must bear the appropriate indicium by which the authority is referred to. Flags must be spaced out evenly along the right side of the bundle so that as far as possible they do not overlap one another.

(8) For proceedings using the Electronic Filing Service, a bundle of documents may be created online and filed through the Electronic Filing Service. The electronic bundle must be created in PDF. The electronic bundle may contain the following:

(a) documents in the electronic case file; and

(b) documents that have been uploaded into the electronic case file by solicitors or other persons given access to the shared folder in the electronic case file.

73. Documents for use in trials in open Court

(1) This Practice Direction shall apply to trials in open Court.

(2) Order 9, Rule 25(9) of the Rules of Court 2021 requires the affidavits of evidence-in-chief of all witnesses or other affidavits, the bundles of documents and the opening statements to be filed and served as directed by the Court. Parties are to note that the timeline given pursuant to the Court’s directions under Order 9, Rule 25(9) of the Rules of Court 2021 is to be adhered to strictly, and that the timeline will apply to the filing of the documents into the electronic case file and, if applicable, the submission of the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM (containing the documents in Portable Document Format (PDF)) to the Registry.

Mode of filing documents

(3) The opening statement, the affidavits of the evidence-in-chief of all witnesses or other affidavits, and the bundle of documents must be filed in Court as separate documents using the Electronic Filing Service, and, if required, each of the opening statement, the affidavits of the evidence-in-chief of all witnesses or other affidavits, and the bundle of documents in Portable Document Format (PDF) stored on optical media (CD-ROM or DVD-ROM) may be tendered to the Registry. The documents must comply with the provisions of this Practice Direction.

(4) The parties may tender the documents referred to at paragraph (3) above to the Registry in hard copy. The hard copy must tally in all respects with the soft copy, and the page numbers of the hard copy must correspond to the page numbers in the Portable Document Format (PDF) version. Parties should adhere as far as possible to the guidelines set out on the eLitigation website at https://www.elitigation.sg on the resolution to be used when scanning documents into PDF.

Bundles of Documents

(5) Under Order 9, Rule 25(10) of the Rules of Court 2021, parties are required to file and serve bundles of documents which must contain:

(a) the last pleading (which incorporates all the previous pleadings);

(b) the orders of the Court given at the case conferences which are relevant for the trial; and

(c) the documents which the parties are relying on at the trial, separating them into sections for documents of which authenticity is not in dispute and documents of which authenticity is in dispute.

Where directed by the Court, the plaintiff’s solicitors are to prepare a table in the manner and form set out in Form 20 of Appendix A1 to these Practice Directions. The table seeks to provide an overview of the parties’ positions reflected in the last pleading (which incorporates all the previous pleadings).

(6) The bundles of documents must be prepared in an electronic format. The contents of the bundle of documents must be agreed on between all parties as far as possible. If there are other documents, the relevance of which is uncertain, these documents should be included and any objections taken before the trial Judge. Only documents which are relevant or necessary for the trial may be included in the bundles. In cases where the Court is of the opinion that costs have been wasted by the inclusion of unnecessary documents, the Court will have no hesitation in making a special order for costs against the relevant party. No bundle of documents is necessary in cases where parties are not relying on any document at the trial.

(7) The following directions apply to the electronic creation of bundles of documents:

(a) An index of contents of each bundle in the manner and form set out in Form 21 or 22 of Appendix A1 of these Practice Directions must also be prepared. Bookmarks should be created in the Portable Document Format (PDF) file for each such reference in the index. There should be as many bookmarks in the PDF file as there are references in the index to documents in that PDF file.

(b) The name given to each bookmark should be the same as the corresponding reference in the index.

(c) It is the responsibility of the solicitors for all parties to agree and prepare a bundle of agreed documents. The scope to which the agreement extends must be stated in the index sheet of the bundle of agreed documents. If the parties are unable to agree on the inclusion of certain documents, those documents on which agreement cannot be reached must be prepared by the party that intends to rely on or refer to those documents. It is the responsibility of the solicitors for the party filing the bundle of documents under Order 9, Rule 25(10) of the Rules of Court 2021 to separate the documents into sections for documents of which authenticity is not in dispute and documents of which authenticity is in dispute and to indicate in the index sheet the documents of which authenticity is in dispute and by whom. Apart from the above, the various PDF documents should be arranged chronologically or in some logical order.

(d) The page number of each printed volume of the bundle of documents must correspond to the page number in the Portable Document Format (PDF) version of that volume of the bundle. Each separate volume must start at page 1, and every page must be numbered consecutively.

(8) The following directions apply to hard copies tendered to the Registry or the Court:

(a) The bundles of documents should be paginated consecutively throughout at the top right hand corner and may be printed on one side or both sides of each page. Each separate volume must start at page 1, and every page in that volume must be numbered consecutively.

(b) Where the bundle of documents consists of more than 1 volume:

(i) the index of contents of all volumes of the bundle of documents must be placed at the beginning of Volume I; and

(ii) each volume must have an index of contents indicating the documents that are contained in that volume.

(c) The documents in the bundles should:

(i) be firmly secured together with plastic ring binding or plastic spine thermal binding. The rings or spines should be red for claimants and blue for defendants with a transparent plastic cover in front and at the back;

(ii) have flags to mark out documents to which repeated references will be made in the course of hearing. Such flags must bear the appropriate indicium by which the document is indicated in the index of contents. Flags must be spaced out evenly along the right side of the bundle so that, as far as possible, they do not overlap one another; and

(iii) be legible. Clear and legible photocopies of original documents may be exhibited instead of the originals. The originals must be made available for inspection by the other parties or the Judge upon request.

(d) Where originals and copies of documents are included in 1 bundle, it should be stated in the index which documents are originals and which are copies.

(9) Additional documents tendered in Court that are not part of the Bundle of Documents must be filed using the Electronic Filing Service in accordance with Practice Direction 72(2).

Core bundle of documents

(10) In addition to the bundles of documents required to be filed and served under Order 9, Rule 25(9) of the Rules of Court 2021, parties should endeavour to file a core bundle of documents for trial, unless one is clearly unnecessary. This core bundle should comprise only the most important documents that are relevant to the hearing in question, or which will be repeatedly referred to in the course of the hearing.

(11) The documents in the core bundle of documents should not only be paginated but should also be cross-referenced to copies of the documents included in the main bundles. The core bundle of documents must be prepared in an electronic format and tendered to the Court in a loose-leaf file which can easily have further documents added to it if required.

Opening statements and closing submissions

(12) A proper opening statement is of great assistance to the Court as it sets out the case in a nutshell, both as to facts and law. It is intended to identify both for the parties and the Judge the issues that are, and are not, in dispute. It enables the Judge to appreciate what the case is about, and what he or she is to look out for when reading and listening to the evidence that will follow. The need for brevity is emphasised as opening statements that contain long and elaborate arguments, and citations from and references to numerous authorities, do not serve this purpose:

(a) Opening statements will be required from all parties in all originating claims in the State Courts, except where otherwise provided for in these Practice Directions or as directed by the Court.

(b) All opening statements must include the following:

(i) the nature of the case generally and the background facts insofar as they are relevant to the matter before the Court and indicating which facts, if any, are agreed;

(ii) the precise legal and factual issues involved are to be identified with cross- references as appropriate to the pleadings. These issues should be numbered and listed, and each point should be stated in no more than one or two sentences. The object here is to identify the issues in dispute and state each party’s position clearly, not to argue or elaborate on them;

(iii) the principal authorities in support of each legal proposition should be listed, while the key documents and witnesses supporting each factual proposition should be identified;

(iv) where there is a counterclaim or third party action, the opening statement must similarly address all issues raised therein; and

(v) an explanation of the reliefs claimed (if these are unusual or complicated).

(c) In cases where the Court is of the opinion that costs or hearing days have been wasted by a poorly drafted opening statement, the Court will have no hesitation in making a special order for costs against the relevant party.

(d) The following format must be adhered to when preparing opening statements:

(i) all pages must be paginated, with the first page numbered as “Page 1” so that the page numbers of the hard copy correspond to the page numbers in the Portable Document Format (PDF) version;

(ii) the minimum font size to be used is Times New Roman 12 or its equivalent;

(iii) the print of every page must be double spaced;

(iv) each page may be printed on one side or both sides; and

(v) every page must have a margin on all four sides, each of at least 35mm in width.

(e) Opening statements should not exceed 25 pages (including the cover page, table of contents and all annexes and appendices). All opening statements must include a cover page and a table of contents. Parties are to note that where the Court allows the prescribed page limit to be exceeded, fees are payable under the Fourth Schedule to the Rules of Court 2021.

(f) Opening statements may be amended at trial, but counsel will be expected to explain the reasons for the amendments.

Bundle of authorities

(13) In addition to the documents required to be filed and served under Order 9, Rule 25(9) of the Rules of Court 2021, the Court may direct parties to file and serve bundles of authorities.

Failure to tender documents in the proper manner and time

(14) At the trial of the cause or matter, an adjournment may be ordered if:

(a) the above documents or any of them were not filed and served within the prescribed time or in the prescribed manner or at all; or

(b) one party seeks to tender any of the above documents or supplements thereto except for supplements to the opening statement at the trial of the cause or matter.

(15) If an adjournment is ordered for any of the reasons set out in paragraph (14) above, the party who has failed to file or serve his documents within the prescribed time or at all or who seeks to tender a document or supplement thereto except for supplements to the opening statement may be ordered by the Court to bear the costs of the adjournment.

74. Hearing in Chambers

(1) In all hearings in chambers before a Judge or Registrar, counsel shall submit their written submissions, bundles of documents and their own bundle of authorities as appropriate for the hearing. The requirements of Practice Directions 72 and 73 shall, with the necessary modifications, be complied with in this regard, save that any bundles to be relied on at a contested special date hearing shall be filed and served no later than 1 working day in advance of the hearing and hard copies of any bundles may (if necessary) be submitted at the hearing itself before the Judge or Registrar, as the case may be, unless the court directs otherwise.

(2) The written submissions filed by parties shall, subject to such page limits as may be provided for in the Rules of Court 2021, set out as concisely as possible:

(a) the circumstances out of which the application arises;

(b) the issues arising in the application;

(c) the contentions to be urged by the party filing it and the authorities in support thereof; and

(d) the reasons for or against the application, as the case may be.

75. Citation of judgments

(1) Counsel who wish to cite a judgment as authority in support of their oral or written submissions shall adhere to the following directions. These directions are intended to provide guidance to advocates and solicitors as to (a) the extent to which it is necessary to deploy both local and foreign judgments in support of their case; and (b) the practice of citing such judgments.

Use of judgments as authorities in submissions

(2) Counsel who cite a judgment must state the proposition of law that the judgment establishes and the parts of the judgment that support that proposition. Such statements should not excessively add to the length of the submissions but should be sufficient to demonstrate the relevance of that judgment to the argument made. Where counsel wish to cite more than two judgments as authority for a given proposition, there must be a compelling reason to do so, and this reason must be provided by counsel in the submissions.

(3) The Court will also pay particular attention to any indication in the cited judgment that the judgment (a) only applied decided law to the facts of the particular case; or (b) did not extend or add to the existing law.

Use of judgments from foreign jurisdictions

(4) Judgments from other jurisdictions can, if judiciously used, provide valuable assistance to the Court. However, where there are in existence local judgments which are directly relevant to the issue, such judgments should be cited in precedence to foreign judgments. Relevant local judgments will be accorded greater weight than judgments from foreign jurisdictions. This will ensure that the Courts are not unnecessarily burdened with judgments made in jurisdictions with differing legal, social or economic contexts.

(5) In addition, counsel who cite a foreign judgment must:

(a) draw the attention of the Court to any local judgment that may be relevant to whether the Court should accept the proposition that the foreign judgment is said to establish; and

(b) ensure that such citation will be of assistance to the development of local jurisprudence on the particular issue in question.

Citation practice

(6) Counsel who cite a judgment must use the official series of the law report(s) or, if the official series is not available, any other law report series in which the judgment was published. Counsel should refrain from referring to (or including in the bundle of authorities) copies of judgments which are printed out from electronic databases, unless (a) such judgments are not available in any law report series; or (b) the print-outs are the exact copies of the judgments in the law report series.

The following are examples of law reports that should be used for citation:

Jurisdiction	Law Reports (in order of preference)
(a) Singapore	1. Singapore Law Reports (2010 - ) (SLR current series) 2. Singapore Law Reports (Reissue) (SLR(R)) 3. Singapore Law Reports (1965-2009) (SLR 1965-2009) 4. Malayan Law Journal (MLJ)
(b) Malaysia	Malayan Law Journal (MLJ)
(c) England & Wales	1. Law Reports published by the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting (eg, Queen’s Bench (QB), Appeal Cases (AC), Chancery (Ch), Family (Fam), Probate (P)) 2. Weekly Law Reports (WLR) 3. All England Law Reports (All ER)
(d) Australia	1. Commonwealth Law Reports (CLR) 2. Australian Law Reports (ALR)
(e) Canada	1. Supreme Court Reports (SCR) 2. Federal Court Reports (FC) 3. Dominion Law Reports (DLR)
(f) New Zealand	New Zealand Law Reports (NZLR)

Counsel should, where possible, make specific citations by referring to the paragraph number of the judgment, and not to the page number of the judgment or report. For consistency, square brackets ([xx]) should be used to denote paragraph numbers. The paragraph mark (¶) should no longer be used.

The neutral citation system for local judgments

(7) A neutral citation is a Court-approved system of citation which is independent of the series of law reports or other publication, and unique to each written judgment. Each written judgment from a particular level of Court is assigned a sequential number, starting from 1 at the beginning of each calendar year. The application of the system is as follows:

(a) Cases reported in the Singapore Law Reports shall be cited using their Singapore Law Reports citations, in priority to their neutral citations.

(b) Unreported decisions shall be cited using their neutral citations

COURT DESIGNATORS

Court	Neutral citation
Singapore Court of Appeal	SGCA
Singapore High Court (Appellate Division)	SGHC(A)
Singapore High Court (before 2 January 2021) or Singapore High Court (General Division) (on or after 2 January 2021)	SGHC
Singapore High Court Registrar (before 2 January 2021) or Singapore High Court (General Division) Registrar (on or after 2 January 2021)	SGHCR
District Court	SGDC
Magistrate’s Court	SGMC

EXAMPLE AND EXPLANATION

ABC Co Pte Ltd v XYZ Co Ltd [2021] SGDC 25, at [3], [8].

Year of the decision [2021]

Level of Court SGDC (Singapore District Court)

Sequential Number 25 (twenty-fifth written judgment rendered by the District Courts in 2003)

Paragraph Number(s) Paragraphs 3 and 8 of the judgment

Ancillary provisions

(8) The Court in exercising its discretion as to costs may, where appropriate in the circumstances, take into account the extent to which counsel has complied with this Practice Direction in the citation of judgments before the Court.

(9) It will remain the duty of counsel to draw the attention of the Court to any judgment, not cited by an opponent, that is adverse to the case being advanced.