PART 1 | Citation and commencement |
| 1. These Rules are the Supreme Court of Judicature (Protection from Harassment) Rules 2021 and come into operation on 1 June 2021 at 12.01 a.m. |
2.—(1) In these Rules, unless the context otherwise requires —| “Act” means the Protection from Harassment Act (Cap. 256A); |
| “applicable fee”, in relation to any matter, means the fee specified in the First Schedule for that matter; |
“appropriate Form”, in relation to any purpose in simplified proceedings, means the current version of the form required for that purpose set out —| (a) | on the Internet website of the electronic filing service; or | | (b) | in the practice directions; |
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“claim” means a claim under section 11 of the Act and an application for any of the following orders:| (a) | a protection order; | | (b) | an expedited protection order; | | (c) | a mandatory treatment order; | | (d) | a false statement order; | | (e) | an interim false statement order; |
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| “Corppass” means the identity authentication service, known as Singapore Corporate Access, by which an entity authenticates its identity in order to carry out an online transaction with the Government or a statutory board; |
| “Corppass credential” means any username, password or 2‑factor authentication detail required to authenticate, using Corppass, the identity of an entity; |
| “Court” means a Protection from Harassment Court; |
| “electronic filing service” means the electronic filing and case management service established under rule 7; |
| “expedited protection order” means an order made under section 13 of the Act; |
| “false statement order” means a correction order, a disabling order, a general correction order, a stop publication order or a targeted correction order; |
| “intended relevant party”, in relation to any PH proceedings, means any person against whom a claim is made, or an order is sought, in the PH proceedings; |
| “interim false statement order” means an interim disabling order, an interim notification order, an interim stop publication order or a targeted interim notification order; |
| “judge” means a Protection from Harassment Court Judge; |
“proper address” means —| (a) | in the case of a natural person, the person’s usual or last known address or the business address of the person’s solicitor; or | | (b) | in the case of an entity, its registered or principal office or, if none exists, its last known place of business or its solicitor’s address; |
[S 193/2022 wef 01/04/2022] |
| “Protection from Harassment proceedings” or “PH proceedings” means Part 3 proceedings as defined in section 2(1) of the Act; |
| “protection order” means an order made under section 12 of the Act; |
“relevant party” —| (a) | in relation to an order under the Act, has the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Act; and | | (b) | in relation to an award under section 11 of the Act, means an individual or entity against which the award is made; |
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| “Rules of Court” means the Rules of Court 2021 (G.N. No. S 914/2021); [S 193/2022 wef 01/04/2022] |
| “simplified proceedings” means proceedings to which Part 2 applies; |
| “Singpass” means the identity authentication service, known as Singapore Personal Access, by which an individual authenticates the individual’s identity in order to carry out an online transaction with the Government or a public body; |
| “Singpass credential” means any username, password, 2‑factor authentication detail required to authenticate, using Singpass, the identity of an individual; |
| “standard proceedings” means proceedings to which Part 3 applies; |
| “working day” means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday. |
(2) In these Rules, unless the context otherwise requires, the following words have the meanings given by section 2(1) of the Act:| “author”, “communication”, “correction order”, “court”, “disabling order”, “entity”, “general correction order”, “interim disabling order”, “interim notification order”, “interim stop publication order”, “internet intermediary”, “offending communication”, “Protection from Harassment Court”, “Protection from Harassment Court Judge”, “publish”, “related person”, “Registrar”, “statement”, “stop publication order”, “targeted correction order” and “targeted interim notification order”. |
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| (3) In these Rules, any reference to a numbered form is a reference to the form bearing the corresponding number set out in the Second Schedule. |
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3.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2), (3) and (4), Part 2 applies to a claim or counterclaim commenced in the Protection from Harassment Court on or after 1 June 2021 and PH proceedings arising from such a claim or counterclaim (called in this rule the relevant proceedings). (2) Part 2 does not apply if —| (a) | the relevant proceedings include any claim under section 11 of the Act for damages exceeding $20,000; | | (b) | there are more than 5 respondents in the relevant proceedings; | | (c) | there is more than one claimant in the relevant proceedings; | | (d) | the claim is commenced more than 2 years after any cause of action in the claim accrued; or | | (e) | any proceedings other than PH proceedings are to be heard with the relevant proceedings. |
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(3) Part 2 does not apply to —| (a) | PH proceedings commenced in the General Division of the High Court, the Family Justice Court or a District Court (other than a Protection from Harassment Court) under section 16I of the Act; | | (b) | a claim under section 11 of the Act commenced in the Magistrate’s Court under section 16I of the Act; | | (c) | PH proceedings refiled in accordance with Part 3 pursuant to a direction under paragraph (4); | | (d) | enforcement proceedings arising from PH proceedings; or | | (e) | committal proceedings arising from PH proceedings. |
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| (4) A Protection from Harassment Court may discontinue PH proceedings commenced under Part 2 and direct the PH proceedings to be refiled in the Protection from Harassment Court in accordance with Part 3. |
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4.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2) and rule 6, Part 3 applies to —| (a) | PH proceedings commenced on or after 1 June 2021 under section 16I of the Act; and | | (b) | PH proceedings mentioned in sub‑paragraph (a) that are subsequently transferred under section 16J of the Act or any other written law. |
| (2) Part 3 does not apply to PH proceedings in the Protection from Harassment Court to which Part 2 applies under rule 3. |
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| 5. Part 5 applies in relation to PH proceedings to which Part 2 applies under rule 3 or PH proceedings to which Part 3 applies under rule 4, unless the court directs otherwise. |
| Rules do not apply to Family Justice Courts |
| 6. These Rules do not apply to any proceedings in the Family Justice Courts, unless otherwise expressly provided. |
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