10. The principal Rules are amended by inserting, immediately after rule 174, the following Part:“PART 10A Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act |
Definitions and application |
174A.—(1) In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires —“Act” means the Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act (Cap. 169); |
“Register” means the register kept by the Registrar under rule 174C for the purposes of the Act; |
“Registrar” means the registrar of the Family Justice Courts, and includes the deputy registrar or any assistant registrar of the Family Justice Courts; |
“Singapore maintenance order” means a maintenance order made by a court in Singapore, and includes a provisional order made by a court in Singapore and confirmed under section 4(6) of the Act by a competent court in a reciprocating country. |
(2) Expressions used in this Part which are used in the Act have the same meanings in this Part as in the Act. |
(3) This Part applies to all proceedings under the Act, whether such proceedings are commenced before, on or after 1 January 2017. |
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174B. For the purposes of the Act and this Part, the prescribed officer is —(a) | a District Judge, or a Magistrate, who is designated under section 13(1) of the Family Justice Act 2014 (Act 27 of 2014) as a judge of the Family Court; or | (b) | a Registrar. |
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174C. The Registrar must —(a) | keep, in such form as the Registrar thinks fit, a register for the purposes of the Act; and | (b) | cause such particulars as the Registrar considers necessary to be entered in the register. |
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Application for transmission of Singapore maintenance order to reciprocating country |
174D. An application under section 3(1) of the Act for a Singapore maintenance order to be sent to a reciprocating country must be made —(a) | by or on behalf of the payee under the Singapore maintenance order; and | (b) | in the same manner, and in accordance with the same procedure, as an application for a summons is made and heard under the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 68). |
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Content of and undertaking to pay expenses for application for transmission of Singapore maintenance order |
174E.—(1) An application under section 3(1) of the Act for a Singapore maintenance order to be sent to a reciprocating country must —(a) | if there are arrears under the Singapore maintenance order, contain a statement of the arrears and the manner in which the amount in arrears is calculated; | (b) | specify the date on which the Singapore maintenance order was made; | (c) | contain such particulars as are known to the payee under the Singapore maintenance order of the whereabouts of the payer under the order; | (d) | specify any matters likely to assist in the identification of the payer; and | (e) | be accompanied by a recent photograph of the payer, if such a photograph is available to the payee. |
(2) The application mentioned in paragraph (1) must also be accompanied by —(a) | a copy of the Singapore maintenance order; | (b) | an undertaking by the payee to be responsible personally for such expenses, as may be incurred and where requested by the responsible authority in the reciprocating country, for the service of the Singapore maintenance order on the payer under the order; and | (c) | any other document for the purpose of enforcement of the Singapore maintenance order in the reciprocating country. |
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(3) The payee must, on receiving notification from the Registrar of the amount of the expenses in paragraph (2), pay that amount to such person as the Registrar may direct. |
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Complaint under section 4 of Act |
174F. A complaint under section 4(1) of the Act against a person residing in a reciprocating country must be made in the same manner, and in accordance with the same procedure, as an application for a summons is made and heard under the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 68). |
Undertaking to pay expenses for complaint under section 4 of Act |
174G.—(1) A complaint made under section 4(1) of the Act against a person residing in a reciprocating country must be accompanied by —(a) | an undertaking by the complainant to be responsible personally for such expenses, as may be incurred and where requested by the responsible authority in the reciprocating country, for the service of a provisional order, made by a court in Singapore upon hearing that complaint, on the payer under the order; and | (b) | any other document for the purpose of confirmation of the provisional order in the reciprocating country. |
(2) The complainant must, on receiving notification from the Registrar of the amount of the expenses in paragraph (1), pay that amount to such person as the Registrar may direct. |
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Applications under sections 5 and 9 of Act |
174H. The following applications must be made in the same manner, and in accordance with the same procedure, as an application for a summons is made and heard under the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 68):(a) | an application under section 5 of the Act for the variation or revocation of a Singapore maintenance order; | (b) | an application under section 9 of the Act for the variation or revocation of a maintenance order registered in a Singapore court. |
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Undertaking to pay expenses for application under section 5 of Act |
174I.—(1) An application under section 5 of the Act to vary a Singapore maintenance order must be accompanied by —(a) | an undertaking by the applicant to be responsible personally for such expenses, as may be incurred and where requested by a court in the reciprocating country concerned, for the service of a provisional order, made by a court in Singapore upon hearing the application, on the payer under the order; and | (b) | any other document for the purpose of confirmation of the provisional order in the reciprocating country. |
(2) The applicant must, on receiving notification from the Registrar of the amount of the expenses in paragraph (1), pay that amount to such person as the Registrar may direct. |
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Authentication of documents setting out or summarising evidence |
174J. A document setting out or summarising any evidence required by section 4(5)(b), 5(4) or 9(5) of the Act to be authenticated must be authenticated by a certificate, signed by the court before which the evidence was given, that —(a) | the document is the original document setting out or summarising that evidence; or | (b) | the document is a true copy of that original document. |
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Method of transmission of documents to reciprocating country |
174K. Any document required by section 5(4) or 9(5) of the Act to be sent to a court in a reciprocating country must be sent to that court by post. |
Consideration for revocation of maintenance orders |
174L.—(1) For the purposes of section 5(9) of the Act, the court in Singapore, which made a maintenance order that is to be confirmed by a competent court in a reciprocating country, must serve on the person on whose application the maintenance order was made a notice —(a) | that sets out the evidence received or taken, as the case may be, for the purpose of proceedings relating to the confirmation of the maintenance order; | (b) | that informs the person that it appears to the court in Singapore that the maintenance order ought not to have been made; and | (c) | that informs the person that if the person wishes to make representations with respect to the evidence set out in the notice, the person must send a written notice to the Registrar of the person’s intention to do so, accompanied by any further evidence that the person wishes to adduce. |
(2) Where the Registrar receives a written notice under paragraph (1)(c) from the person on whose application the maintenance order was made, the Registrar must —(a) | fix a date for the hearing of further evidence; and | (b) | send to that person a written notice of the date fixed. |
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Registration of orders other than provisional orders |
174M.—(1) Where a certified copy of a maintenance order (not being a provisional order) is received under section 6(3) of the Act, the order must be registered by means of an entry in the Register.(2) Where the court makes or confirms an order which is required under section 7(5) or 9(10) of the Act to be registered, the order must be registered by means of an entry in the Register. |
(3) Every order registered under paragraph (1) or (2) must specify the section of the Act under which the order is registered. |
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Transmission of order varying or revoking maintenance order to which section 5 of Act applies |
174N.—(1) Where a court in Singapore makes an order (not being a provisional order) varying a maintenance order to which section 5 of the Act applies, the Registrar must send a written notice of the making of the order —(a) | to the Minister; and | (b) | where the order is made in the circumstances in section 5(3)(a) or (b) of the Act, to the court in the reciprocating country which would, if the order had been a provisional order, have had power to confirm the order. |
(2) Where a court in Singapore revokes a maintenance order to which section 5 of the Act applies, the Registrar must send a written notice of the revocation —(a) | to the Minister; and | (b) | to the court in the reciprocating country which confirmed or has power to confirm that maintenance order, or in which the order is registered for enforcement, as the case may be. |
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Transmission of order confirming maintenance order under section 7 of Act |
174O. Where a court in Singapore confirms an order under section 7(2) of the Act, the Registrar must send a written notice of the confirmation to the court in the reciprocating country which made the order. |
Transmission of order varying or revoking registered order under section 9 of Act |
174P. Where a court in Singapore makes an order under section 9 of the Act (not being a provisional order) varying or revoking a registered order, the Registrar must send a written notice of the making of the order to the court in the reciprocating country which made the registered order. |
Notice to be given to Minister where order is registered |
174Q. After an order is registered under section 6(3) or 7(5) of the Act, the Registrar must send a written notice of the registration to the Minister. |
Notice to be given to payer where order is registered or cancelled |
174R.—(1) After an order is registered under section 6(3), 7(5) or 9(10) of the Act, the Registrar must send a written notice to the payer under the order —(a) | stating that the order has been registered; and | (b) | stating the person to or through whom the Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Regulations 2016 (G.N. No. S 611/2016) require the sums due under the registered order to be paid. |
(2) Where the registration of an order is cancelled under section 10(1) of the Act, the Registrar must send a written notice of the cancellation to the payer under the order. |
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Procedure for taking evidence in Singapore at request of court in reciprocating country |
174S.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), where a request under section 14 of the Act is made by or on behalf of a court in a reciprocating country for the taking in Singapore of the evidence of a person residing in Singapore —(a) | the evidence must be taken in the same manner as if that person were a witness in proceedings on a summons; | (b) | if the evidence is to be taken orally, the evidence must be recorded in writing and read to the person who gave the oral evidence, and that person must sign the written record of the evidence; | (c) | if the evidence is to be recorded on an audio recording system approved by the Registrar, a transcript of the official record of hearing of that evidence must be prepared; and | (d) | the court by which the evidence of any person is so taken must certify in writing —(i) | if sub‑paragraph (b) applies, that the evidence was taken by that court; or | (ii) | if sub‑paragraph (c) applies, the authenticity of the transcript of the official record of hearing. |
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(2) Where the request under paragraph (1) includes a request that the evidence be taken in a particular manner, the court by which the evidence is taken must, so far as circumstances permit, comply with that request. |
(3) Any certification or transcript mentioned in paragraph (1)(d) must be sent to the court in the reciprocating country by or on behalf of which the request was made. |
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Payment of sums due under registered order |
174T. Where the court is informed under regulation 4(3) of the Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Regulations 2016 (G.N. No. S 611/2016) of the manner in which the sums due under a registered order are to be paid to the person to whom those sums are due, the court may make such order relating to the payment of those sums to that person, or the manner in which those sums are to be paid, as the court thinks fit.”. |
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