Access to Justice

The Rules of Court 2021 (ROC 2021) introduced a new civil procedure framework that modernises the litigation process in Singapore through new modes of commencement, interlocutory applications, and stages of proceedings. This framework has fundamentally changed each step of the process through which parties bring their civil matters to fruition in the SG Courts.

In the year leading up to the successful launch of this mammoth project on 1 April 2022, the State Courts’ Civil Justice Process Transformation Team (CJP Team) worked tirelessly to create a new foundation on which the efficient and effective rollout and operationalisation of ROC 2021 would be based.

All three of the CJP Team clusters worked together to:

• Formulate and provide the State Courts’ input on the draft ROC 2021, including but not limited to provisions relating to enforcement, court fees and appeals.
• Formulate the State Courts’ requirements for the eLitigation platform under ROC 2021, and test it to ensure smooth implementation.
• Conceptualise new operational frameworks, workflows and protocols necessary for achieving the new Ideals, as well as for managing and executing novel processes, created under ROC 2021.
• Create new forms, checklists and case digests to assist external stakeholders in their navigation of ROC 2021.
• Issue new Practice Directions providing necessary guidance to stakeholders of the State Courts on the civil processes introduced under ROC 2021.
• Restructure the existing Practice Directions, eLitigation platform and operations to manage the concurrent hearing of ROC 2014 and ROC 2021 matters.

A year-long preparation period preceded the implementation of ROC 2021 in the State Courts.

A Tailored and User-Centric ROC 2021 Framework

The State Courts deal with more than 80 per cent of cases filed in the SG Courts. Most of these are low-value claims where the principles of accessibility to justice and proportionality of costs bear particular significance.

As such, at each stage of the development and implementation process for ROC 2021, the CJP Team had to accommodate the specific needs and requirements of the State Courts’ caseload and their stakeholders. This meant making recommendations for—and thereafter operationalising adjustments to—the eLitigation platform, workflow processes and Practice Directions unique to the State Courts.

In particular, the CJP Team had to:

• Create nuanced, efficient and timely case management structures to bring into effect the new processes introduced in ROC 2021, bearing in mind the State Courts’ manpower constraints and high caseload.
• Introduce simple forms, checklists and processes (electronic or otherwise) to guide court users through the new civil processes as litigants-in-person or otherwise.
• Streamline processes and court fees to ensure proportionality of costs.