Part VI: INJUNCTIONS AND CERTAIN OTHER APPLICATIONS

53. Applications for injunctions

54. Injunctions prohibiting the disposal of assets and search orders

• Applications for search orders

55. Documents in support of applications without notice for injunctions (including injunctions prohibiting the disposal of assets) and search orders

56. Applications for production against network service providers

53. Applications for injunctions

(1) Order 13, Rule 1(3) of the Rules of Court 2021 provides that an application for the grant of an injunction may be made by Originating Application without notice (if no originating process has been issued) or summons without notice, supported by an affidavit stating the urgency and explaining why the defendant should not be informed about the application and the merits of the application.

(2) Any party applying for an injunction without notice (including an injunction prohibiting the disposal of assets) must give notice of the application to the other concerned parties prior to the hearing. The notice may be given by way of facsimile transmission or electronic mail, or, in cases of extreme urgency, orally by telephone. Except in cases of extreme urgency or with the permission of the Court, the party must give a minimum of 2 hours’ notice to the other parties before the hearing. The notice should inform the other parties of the date, time and place fixed for the hearing of the application and the nature of the relief sought. If possible, a copy of the originating process, the summons without notice or the originating application without notice (if no originating process has been issued yet) and supporting affidavit(s) should be given to each of the other parties in draft form as soon as they are ready to be filed in Court. At the hearing of the application without notice, in the event that some or all of the other parties are not present or represented, the applicant’s solicitors should inform the Court of:

(a) the attempts that were made to notify the other parties or their solicitors of the making of the application;

(b) what documents were given to the other parties or their solicitors and when these documents were given; and

(c) whether the other parties or their solicitors consent to the application being heard without their presence.

(3) The directions set out in paragraph (2) need not be followed if the giving of the notice to the other parties, or some of them, would or might defeat the purpose of the application without notice. However, in such cases, the reasons for not following the directions should be clearly set out in the affidavit prepared and filed in support of the application without notice.

54. Injunctions prohibiting the disposal of assets and search orders

(1) Applicants for injunctions prohibiting the disposal of assets and search orders are required to prepare their orders in accordance with the following Forms in Appendix A2 to these Practice Directions:

(a) Form 24: Injunction prohibiting disposal of assets in Singapore;

(b) Form 25: Injunction prohibiting disposal of assets worldwide; and

(c) Form 26: Order to allow entry and search of premises.

(2) Any departure from the terms of the prescribed Forms should be justified by the applicant in his supporting affidavit(s).

(3) The applicant should undertake not to inform any third party of the proceedings until after the return date.

(4) Wherever practicable, applications should be made sufficiently early so as to ensure that the Judge has sufficient time to read and consider the application in advance.

Applications for search orders

(5) Form 26 of Appendix A2 to these Practice Directions states that the search order must be served by a supervising solicitor and carried out in his presence and under his supervision. The supervising solicitor should be an experienced solicitor who is not a member or employee of the firm acting for the applicant and who has some familiarity with the operation of search orders. The evidence in support of the application should include the identity and experience of the proposed supervising solicitor.

(6) Where the premises are likely to be occupied by an unaccompanied woman, at least one of the persons attending on the service of the order should be a woman.

(7) Where the nature of the items removed under the order makes this appropriate, the applicant will be required to insure them.

55. Documents in support of applications without notice for injunctions (including injunctions prohibiting the disposal of assets) and search orders

(1) Without prejudice to the requirements stated in Practice Directions 53 and 54, in order to assist the Court hearing applications without notice for injunctions (including injunctions prohibiting the disposal of assets) and search orders, an applicant must include in the affidavit prepared in support of the application the following information under clearly defined headings:

(a) reason(s) the application is taken out without notice, including whether the applicant believes that there is a risk of dissipation of assets, destruction of evidence or any other prejudicial conduct;

(b) urgency of the application (if applicable), including whether there is any particular event that may trigger the dissipation of assets, destruction of evidence or any other prejudicial conduct;

(c) factual basis for the application, including the basis of any belief that there will be dissipation of assets, destruction of evidence or any other prejudicial conduct, whether there have been any past incidents of the opponent dissipating assets, destroying evidence or engaging in any other prejudicial conduct, and whether there is any evidence of dishonesty or bad faith of the opponent;

(d) factual basis for any reasonable defences that may be relied on by the opponent;

(e) whether the applicant is aware of any issues relating to jurisdiction, forum non conveniens or service out of Singapore, and, if so, whether any application relating to these issues has been or will be made;

(f) an undertaking to pay for losses that may be caused to the opponent or other persons by the granting of the orders sought, stating what assets are available to meet that undertaking and to whom the assets belong; and

(g) any other material facts which the Court should be aware of.

(2) Without limiting Practice Direction 72(3), an applicant must prepare and file skeletal arguments on the points to be raised at the hearing of the application without notice. At the hearing, the applicant must give a copy of the skeletal arguments to the Court and to any opponent present.

(3) The Court may also require the applicant to prepare a note of the hearing setting out the salient points and arguments canvassed before the Court and may order such a note to be served together with the Court documents on any opponent who is not present at the hearing or within a reasonable time after the service of the Court documents.

56. Applications for production against network service providers

(1) This Practice Direction applies to an application made under Order 11, Rule 11 of the Rules of Court 2021 —

(a) by or on behalf of an owner or exclusive licensee of copyright material against a network service provider for information relating to the identity of a user of the network service provider’s primary network who is alleged to have infringed the copyright in the material in relation to an electronic copy of the material on, or accessible through, the network service provider’s primary network; or

(b) by or on behalf of the performer of a performance against a network service provider for information relating to the identity of a user of the network service provider’s primary network who is alleged to have made an unauthorised use of the performance in relation to an electronic recording of the material on, or accessible through, the network service provider’s primary network.

(2) An application referred to in paragraph (1) above must be made in Form 15 in Appendix A2 to these Practice Directions.

(3) If an applicant requires an urgent hearing date, the onus shall lie on the applicant to attend before the Duty Registrar to highlight the nature of the application and to request that the application be fixed for hearing on an urgent basis.