Singapore International Commercial Court Rules 2021

ORDER 9

CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE

General matters (O. 9, r. 1)

1.—(1) A case management conference will be held as provided in these Rules or at any time the Court thinks appropriate.

(2) At the first case management conference, the Court may determine the adjudication track and give consequential directions, including on alternative dispute resolution.

(3) At a case management conference, the Court may make any order or give any direction to achieve the General Principles in Order 1, Rule 3.

Conduct of case management conferences (O. 9, r. 2)

2.—(1) Unless the Court otherwise directs —

(a)	a case management conference must be conducted as an oral hearing;
(b)	lead counsel or counsel fully instructed on the matter must attend at a case management conference; and
(c)	parties represented by counsel are not required to attend a case management conference.

(2) The Court may, in consultation with the parties, give directions on the use of suitable technology to facilitate the communication between the parties and the Court in relation to case management and other matters.

(3) A party may apply to the Court for a case management conference to be convened, by way of a letter —

(a)	stating the reasons for the application; and
(b)	stating whether the other parties consent or object to the application, and the reasons for the objections, if any.

(4) If the parties are of the view that attendance at a case management conference may be dispensed with and that any directions may be given by the Court on paper, any party may apply to the Court at least 7 working days before a case management conference by way of a letter —

(a)	stating that all parties consent to the dispensation of attendance;
(b)	confirming that the parties have considered and discussed all the relevant issues and have brought to the Court’s attention anything that may be unusual;
(c)	setting out information and explanations about any steps that had been taken in relation to alternative dispute resolution;
(d)	setting out any agreement between the parties in connection with the conduct of the trial or hearing on the merits or the proceedings prior thereto; and
(e)	setting out any directions which the parties wish to seek from the Court.

Preparation for case management conferences (O. 9, r. 3)

3. Prior to a case management conference, the parties must —

(a)

attempt to agree on the matters to be discussed at that case management conference, including but not limited to —

(i)	the adjudication track for the determination of the dispute and any proposed modifications to the track;
(ii)	the conduct of the proceedings leading up to the trial or hearing on the merits of the proceedings, including the use of technology in the management and disclosure of electronic documents; and
(iii)	the conduct of the trial or hearing on the merits of the proceedings;

(b)

attempt to identify the real issues in dispute, and any preliminary issues;

(c)

consider the possibility of alternative dispute resolution, and be prepared to inform the Court of the suitability of the case for alternative dispute resolution, including but not limited to —

(i)	whether the parties previously attempted alternative dispute resolution;
(ii)	whether parties are amenable to making a genuine attempt at alternative dispute resolution;
(iii)	whether there are other related disputes and the possibility of a global settlement;
(iv)	whether the parties are seeking specific court-ordered remedies;
(v)	whether the parties have interests that cannot be satisfied by court‑ordered remedies; and
(vi)	whether the parties are in a subsisting commercial relationship the preservation of which is important; and

(d)

unless the Court otherwise directs, submit a Case Management Bundle or updated Case Management Bundle (as the case may be) at least 7 working days prior to the case management conference.

Case Management Bundle (O. 9, r. 4)

4.—(1) Unless the Court otherwise directs, the Case Management Bundle must be prepared or updated (as the case may be) by the claimant in consultation with the other parties.

(2) The Case Management Bundle must contain the most recent versions of the following:

(a)

the Claimant’s Statement and each Defendant’s Statement;

(b)

the pleadings, memorials and witness statements which have been filed pursuant to the applicable adjudication track;

(c)

a Case Management Plan in Form 16, which must be prepared or updated (as the case may be) based on the latest information that is available;

(d)

a Pre-Hearing / Pre‑Trial Timetable in Form 17, based on the latest information that is available;

(e)

a List of Issues in Form 18, which —

(i)	identifies the principal issues in a structured manner;
(ii)	does not supersede the pleadings, memorials, or witness statements; and
(iii)	if approved by the Court, may be amended or revised only with the Court’s permission.

(3) Where the Court has directed that the proceedings are to lead to a trial of the case, the Case Management Bundle must additionally contain the following:

(a)	a Trial Checklist in Form 19, which must be prepared or updated (as the case may be) by each party to the case, based on the latest information that is available;
(b)	a Trial Timetable in Form 20.

(4) The parties must endeavour to prepare an agreed Case Management Plan, Pre‑Hearing / Pre‑Trial Timetable, List of Issues and Trial Timetable to the extent possible, but if the parties are unable to agree, the claimant must prepare or update the document (as the case may be) and the other parties must provide comments on the document.

Alternative dispute resolution (O. 9, r. 5)

5.—(1) Where parties are agreeable to alternative dispute resolution, the Court may make directions to facilitate the parties’ attempt at alternative dispute resolution.

(2) Where the parties are not agreeable to alternative dispute resolution, the Court may —

(a)	direct that alternative dispute resolution be reconsidered at a subsequent time; or
(b)	make any order necessary to facilitate the amicable resolution of the dispute.

(3) If the parties reach a settlement through alternative dispute resolution, the Court may record a consent order on the terms of the settlement.

Compliance with case management directions (O. 9, r. 6)

6.—(1) Where all parties consent, any party may apply to the Court by way of letter as soon as practicable for a variation or an amendment of any direction, stating the reasons for the application and exhibiting a draft consent order signed by all parties.

(2) Where a party is unable to comply with any direction, that party must inform the Court of the same by way of letter as soon as practicable, and seek further directions on the management of the case.

(3) Where a party fails to comply with any direction, the other party may, after informing the non‑complying party of its intention to do so, apply to the Court by way of letter as soon as practicable, to seek further directions on the management of the case.

(4) Where any non-compliance with directions may result in a postponement or vacation of the dates fixed for the trial or hearing on the merits of the proceedings, the Court may give further directions, including but not limited to —

(a)	directing parties to comply with expedited timelines so that the case may proceed on the dates fixed for the trial or hearing on the merits of the proceedings;
(b)	directing that a first tranche of the trial or hearing on the merits of the proceedings proceed on one or more issues at the fixed dates, and for the remaining issues to be determined at a later tranche of the trial or hearing on the merits of the proceedings;
(c)	fixing new dates for the trial or hearing on the merits of the proceedings at the earliest available dates and giving the necessary consequential directions, where the postponement or vacation of the fixed dates cannot be avoided; and
(d)	imposing costs or other sanctions for non‑compliance with any directions.

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