Singapore Country Report Enforcement of Civil Judgments

Transcription

1 Singapore Country Report Enforcement of Civil Judgments I. OVERVIEW OF REGIME FOR ENFORCEMENT OF CIVIL JUDGMENTS IN SINGAPORE 1. Singapore s Report is a summary of her existing regime for the enforcement of judgments and orders made in civil proceedings. The scope of this Report will include enforcement of the following types of judgments and orders in Singapore, which shall be referred to as civil judgments : a. Judgments and orders of Singapore Courts, which are the Court of Appeal of Singapore, the High Court of Singapore (including the Singapore International Commercial Court 1 ), the State Courts of Singapore (comprising the District Court, Magistrate s Court and Small Claims Tribunal) and the Family Justice Courts of Singapore. Judgments and orders of tribunals in Singapore may also be enforced as though they were rendered by domestic Courts, where the constituting statute of the tribunal so permits; and b. Judgments and orders of foreign Courts, where they satisfy the requirements to be recognised and enforced in Singapore 2. For completeness, this Report will also address the enforceability of civil judgments rendered by Singapore Courts in foreign jurisdictions. 2. The enforcement regime for civil judgments in Singapore is primarily governed by the Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Cap. 322) ( SCJA ), the State Courts Act (Cap. 321) ( SCA ), the Rules of Court (Rev Ed 2014) and the Family Justice Rules The modes of enforcement are generally the same for all civil judgments, save that there is some variation for judgments of the Family Justice Courts Where the judgment debtor voluntarily complies with the civil judgment, Court intervention is not necessary. Where the judgment debtor refuses or is unable to comply, judgment creditors retain control over and responsibility for the tracing of the judgment debtor s assets and in deciding which modes of enforcement to employ against the judgment debtor. The Courts have power to authorise judgment creditors to employ several mechanisms in aid of enforcement on their application, with such mechanisms requiring varying degrees of supervision from the Courts. These will be described in greater detail in Chapter III below. 1 See Chapter VI below. 2 See Chapter V below. 3 Judgments of the Family Justice Courts are enforced in accordance with the Family Justice Rules The Family Justice Rules 2014 remain largely similar to the Rules of Court in relation to enforcement. The main difference is that the Family Justice Rules 2014 provides for additional modes of enforcement for maintenance orders made under the Women s Charter. There is also minor variation in the procedures for certain modes of enforcement e.g. garnishee proceedings. Ministry of Law 100 High Street #08-02 The Treasury Singapore E OneMinLaw@mlaw.gov.sg T F

2 II. ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS IN SINGAPORE 4. Where the judgment creditor chooses to enforce the civil judgment by way of a writ of execution or an order of committal, the execution process must be carried out by the following individuals as authorised under the SCJA or SCA: a. Sheriff of the Supreme Court and his officers: The Sheriff (who is the Registrar) and his officers are officers of the Supreme Court. The SCJA confers power and imposes duties on them to execute judgments and writs of execution given to them by the Supreme Court, and to arrest and receive all persons or property committed to the custody of the Supreme Court. As public functionaries the Sheriff and his officers primarily owe a duty to the Court, but at the same time they must have regard to the interests of both the judgment creditors and debtors in carrying out the execution process. While the judgment creditors pay attendance fees for the work of the Sheriff or his officers, such fees are payable to the Supreme Court rather than to the Sheriff himself. b. Bailiffs of the State Courts: The Bailiffs are officers of the State Courts. The SCA confers powers and duties on the Bailiffs which are identical to the Sheriff. While the judgment creditors pay attendance fees for the work of the Bailiffs, such fees are payable to the State Courts rather than to the Bailiffs themselves. c. Authorised Bailiffs: The Registrar of the Supreme Court and Registrar of the State Courts each have the power to authorise solicitors or their employees to exercise the powers and duties of a Sheriff / Bailiff for a particular period or occasion, although limited to execution of a writ of seizure and sale for movable property only. Pursuant to these powers, a Panel of Authorised Bailiffs is presently maintained by the State Courts, and a judgment creditor may choose to engage one of the Authorised Bailiffs to execute his judgment rather than the Court Bailiff. The judgment creditor or Authorised Bailiff files a request for appointment to the Registrar, who will exercise his discretion to appoint the Authorised Bailiff on a case-by-case basis. The judgment creditor is liable to pay the Authorised Bailiff directly and the fees payable are prescribed in the Rules of Court. A person who is authorised by the SCJA or SCA to carry out enforcement of civil judgments will be referred to as a Bailiff or Bailiffs in this Report. 5. The SCJA and SCA confer power on the Bailiffs to effect entry into any building in order to effect a writ of execution, and to use reasonable force as necessary to do so. As such, a Bailiff is permitted to break open the outer door of commercial premises to effect entry, but not for private premises. A Bailiff is also not permitted to force his way into the premises if he is resisted he should instead cite the judgment debtor for contempt or for obstruction of the Bailiff. The judgment creditor or his representative is generally required to be in attendance during execution. 6. The Bailiffs are not liable to be sued for carrying out their duties in execution or for any damage caused when effecting execution, unless they knowingly acted in excess of the authority conferred on them. 2

3 III. MODES OF ENFORCEMENT IN SINGAPORE 7. The regime for enforcement of civil judgments in Singapore is relatively Court-centric, in that an order of Court is required for the judgment creditor to proceed with most modes of enforcement. The modes of enforcement are concurrent and cumulative. 8. The modes of enforcement available to the judgment creditor are dependent on the subject matter of the judgment to be enforced, and these are summarised in Annex A. The procedure for applying for and effecting each mode of enforcement in the Rules of Court is summarised below, and is applicable to all civil judgments made in High Court and the State Courts. The procedure for judgments made in the Family Justice Courts is separately governed by the Family Justice Rules, although they are materially similar to the Rules of Court. Enforcement of civil judgments is subject to a limitation period of 12 years from the date of pronouncement. 9. Enforcement Conference. The Court may of its own motion or on request of any party convene an Enforcement Conference after commencement of any execution proceedings and direct any party to appear before it, so that the Court may give any directions and orders for just, expeditious and economical disposal. (a) Examination of Judgment Debtor 10. Examination of judgment debtor is a mechanism to aid the judgment creditor in garnering information to aid in enforcement of the judgment, rather than a mode of execution in itself. The judgment creditor may apply to the Court for an order requiring the judgment debtor to attend a hearing for oral examination on his assets and means or any other matters relevant to enforcement, or for an order that the judgment debtor produce any relevant books and documents in his possession. Where the judgment debtor is a body corporate, any officer may be summoned. 11. If the Court allows the application, the Order for Examination is personally served on the examination witness together with a questionnaire. The completed questionnaire is filed, and if the questionnaire is completed to the judgment creditor s satisfaction the witness may be discharged without need for an examination hearing. If not, the judgment creditor may proceed with further examination of the judgment debtor at the examination hearing. (b) Stop Notice and Stop Orders 12. A stop notice allows a person claiming to be beneficially entitled to an interest in any securities (including Government stocks) to be notified of any proposed transfer or payment of those securities. The judgment creditor must apply for a stop notice and thereafter serve it on the Accountant-General or the company (as the case may be), who shall not register the transfer of any stock or make a payment of any dividend or interest without first serving a notice informing the judgment creditor of the request for transfer or payment. 3

4 13. However, a stop notice only gives the judgment creditor the opportunity to assert his rights over the securities, and does not prohibit actual transfer or payment. To prevent transfer, a judgment creditor who claims to be beneficially entitled to an interest in the securities may separately apply for a stop order to prohibit the Accountant-General or company from registering the transfer of securities or from paying the dividend or interest. (c) Writ of Execution 14. A writ of execution is a direction from the Courts to the Bailiffs to perform their duties in the execution of judgments. It is valid for 12 months at the first instance, although this may be extended on application. Leave of the Court is required before a judgment creditor may issue a writ of execution under certain prescribed circumstances, such as where 6 years or more have lapsed since the judgment or where there has been change in the parties entitled or liable to execution under the judgment. 15. A writ of execution is deemed issued when the Registrar signs, seals and dates the writ. The date of issue of the writ of execution determines the priority of competing writs. There are 3 types of writs of execution, which are described below. (i) Writ of Seizure and Sale 16. A monetary judgment may be enforced by way of a writ of seizure and sale ( WSS ) for the judgment debtor s movable property, immovable property and/or securities. The WSS is the most commonly filed writ of execution in Singapore. 17. Movable property. Leave of the Court is not required before the issuance of a WSS for immovable property. On the appointment date, the Bailiff will enter the judgment debtor s premises and seize movable property as directed by the judgment creditor or his representative, although certain items such as daily essentials and tools of trade are exempt from seizure. A Notice of Seizure must be filed and given to the judgment debtor for any property seized. If property is removed from the judgment debtor s premises, an inventory of property removed must be given to the judgment debtor. The judgment debtor then has 7 days to satisfy the debt or come to a negotiated settlement, failing which the seized property will be sold via public auction by the Bailiff or an authorised auctioneer (where the value exceeds S$2000). Notice of the sale must be posted at the place of the intended sale at least 7 days before the date of sale. 18. Securities. Leave of the Court is not required before the issuance of a WSS for securities. Seizure of stock which the judgment debtor is beneficially entitled to is made by Notice of Seizure signed by the Bailiff attaching such stock. Upon receiving the Notice, no transfer of the stock or any interest may be registered or effected unless directed or executed by the Bailiff. The judgment debtor must also hand over to the Bailiff any indicia of title relating to the stock. Seized stock may then be sold through a broker. 4

5 19. Immovable property. Unlike movable property and securities, an order for seizure of immovable property is required before a WSS of immovable property can be issued. The judgment creditor registers the order for seizure in the applicable land register, following which the Bailiff will serve the order and Notice of Seizure on the judgment debtor. Sale of the immovable property may only take place upon expiration of 30 days from the date of registration of the order. The conditions of sale are settled by the Bailiff or his solicitor, although in practice the execution creditor will request that the Bailiff appoint an auctioneer and set out his proposed conditions of sale. The judgment debtor may apply to Court for postponement of the sale if he can raise the monies leviable under the order. A WSS cannot be issued for a property which the judgment debtor is one of the joint tenants of, or for properties under the purview of the Housing and Development Act (Cap. 129) (i.e. public housing in Singapore). (ii) Writ of Possession 20. A judgment for possession of immovable property may be enforced by way of a writ of possession ( WOP ). The WOP may be combined with a WSS for sale of the immovable property. Leave of the Court is required to issue a WOP, except in mortgage actions where the position of all occupiers is already known. To obtain leave, the judgment creditor must satisfy the Court that every occupier of the immovable property has received notice of the proceedings, such that every occupier has had reasonable opportunity to apply to Court for any relief he or she may be entitled to. Following the issue of the WOP, the Bailiff will take possession of the immovable property and may in doing so evict persons who are not entitled to continue in occupation. (iii) Writ of Delivery 21. A judgment for delivery up of movable property may be enforced by way of a writ of delivery (which gives the judgment debtor the option to retain the property by paying its assessed value) or a writ of specific delivery (which does not give such option). The writ of delivery / specific delivery may be combined with a WSS. Leave of the Court may be required depending on the circumstances: a. If the judgment was for delivery of movable property without the option of paying its assessed value, the judgment creditor may issue a writ of specific delivery without obtaining leave of the Court; b. If the judgment was for delivery of movable property with the option of paying its assessed value, the judgment creditor may issue a writ of delivery without obtaining leave of the Court. However, if the judgment creditor wishes to obtain a writ of specific delivery, he must apply for an order of Court to issue the same. 22. If the movable property to be delivered up is not in the custody of the judgment debtor, it is his duty to take proper steps to make effective the delivery to the judgment creditor. If not, the judgment creditor may issue a WSS to enforce payment of the assessed value of the movable property. 5

6 (d) Garnishee Proceedings 23. Monetary judgments may be enforced by attaching debts owed to the judgment debtor by a third party (known as the garnishee). Very often, the garnishee is a bank. There are 2 stages in the procedure for obtaining a garnishee order. The judgment creditor applies for a provisional garnishee order for attachment of the debt and to show cause, which is served on the garnishee and the judgment debtor. If the garnishee does not attend the hearing to show cause or does not dispute the debt due from him to the judgment debtor, the Court can proceed to make a final garnishee order. A final garnishee order may be enforced against the garnishee in the same way as any other monetary judgment. 24. If a third person claims to be entitled to the debt sought to be attached, the Court may order that the third person attend before the Court and state the nature of his claim. The Court may then summarily determine the issue between the claimants and make the appropriate orders. (e) Equitable Execution through Appointment of Receiver 25. Monetary judgments may be enforced by an order for equitable execution through appointment of a receiver, where the Court is satisfied that it is just or convenient that the appointment be made. The judgment creditor has to apply to Court for such appointment, and would in general have to satisfy the Court that legal execution has been exhausted or would be futile. The Court may include an interim injunction ancillary or incidental to such order, to restrain the judgment debtor assigning, charging or otherwise dealing with the property in question until after the hearing for appointment. Such appointments are rarely used in Singapore nowadays. (f) Order of Committal 26. An order of committal is used to punish for contempt of Court. In the context of civil proceedings, contempt of Court is committed where: (a) a civil judgment requires a person to do an act within a time specified in the original judgment (or in a supplementary order specifying such time) and the person refuses or neglects to do it within that time; or (b) a civil judgment requires a person to abstain from doing an act and the person nevertheless does the act. An order of committal may be a custodial sentence or a fine. Where the judgment debtor is a body corporate, the order of committal may be enforced against any director or officer. As a general principle, an order of committal is the remedy of last resort and would only be exercised after other options have been exhausted. 27. An order for committal for non-compliance of civil judgments may only be made where certain pre-conditions have been fulfilled. Enforcement cannot be obtained unless the original judgment and, where applicable, the supplementary order specifying the period the required act was to be done, is served personally on the judgment debtor with a penal notice prominently endorsed on it. 6

7 28. The procedure for obtaining an order of committal is in two stages. First, leave must be obtained to make the application for an order of committal. After leave to apply is granted, the actual application for contempt can be made and a hearing is conducted to determine the issue. If the Court makes an order of committal, the judgment creditor should serve the order of committal and warrant for committal on the Bailiff and the warden of the prison for their action. The Court has power to suspend the execution of the committal order. (g) Specific Modes of Enforcement 29. Specific modes of enforcement are available for certain types of civil judgments or in certain situations under the Women s Charter (Cap. 353), Debtors Act (Cap. 73) and Distress Act (Cap. 84), which are not available for general civil judgments. 30. The additional modes of enforcement available for maintenance orders made under the Women s Charter are particularly unique. The introduction of these additional modes of enforcement in the Women s Charter is a recent development in Singapore, primarily to address the problem of persons who default on periodic payments to their spouses or children under maintenance orders, whether because they are unwilling or unable to make such payment. 31. The modes of enforcement unique to maintenance orders under the Women s Charter are: a. Attachment of earnings order. The Court may order the judgment debtor s employer to make payment of his salary to the judgment creditor instead. The employer is under a duty to comply with the order and non-compliance amounts to an offence under the Women s Charter; b. Lodging of a report to a designated creditor bureau. The designated creditor bureau may accordingly provide the information in the report on the judgment debtor s credit payment history to its members; c. Order to furnish security against any future default in maintenance payments by means of a banker s guarantee; d. Direct the amount to be levied in the manner by law provided for levying fines imposed by a Magistrate s Court and/or up to 1 month s imprisonment for each default in payment. Unlike general civil judgments, it is not necessary to follow the procedure for obtaining an order of committal before a fine or imprisonment may be imposed; e. Order to attend financial counselling; and f. Community service order. IV. RESOLVING DISPUTES ARISING OUT OF ENFORCEMENT IN SINGAPORE 32. Disputes potentially arise between the judgment creditor, judgment debtor, third parties and/or the Bailiff during enforcement proceedings, in particular the execution process. The method by which common disputes are managed and resolved in Singapore is described below. 7

8 33. Setting aside execution. A judgment debtor may apply to Court to set aside execution if it was improperly issued (e.g. where the judgment debtor had already satisfied the judgment debt) even after execution is levied. 34. Stay of execution. A judgment debtor may apply to Court for stay of execution of the judgment on grounds of matters which have occurred after judgment, for example where an appeal has been filed and execution would render an appeal nugatory. Where a WSS has been issued for enforcement, the judgment debtor may apply to Court for a stay of execution of the WSS on a number of grounds, including where the judgment debtor is able to pay by instalments or the judgment debtor is entirely unable to pay. An order of committal arising from enforcement may also be suspended, as explained above. 35. Disputes over ownership of property seized for execution. Where a third party claims to own property which has been seized for enforcement and the execution creditor disputes the claim, the Bailiff or the third party may issue interpleader proceedings for the Court to decide ownership of the seized property. 36. Disputes over Bailiff s actions in execution process. The Bailiffs are required to act in accordance to the law, and is not to abuse or exceed their authority in the process of effecting writs of execution. As such, any person aggrieved by a Bailiff s actions may apply to Court for an order that the Bailiff show cause for his actions. Further, Bailiffs continue to be liable to criminal or civil proceedings where they act outside the scope of the immunity conferred on them under the SCJA / SCA. V. RECOGNITION AND ENFORCEMENT OF FOREIGN JUDGMENTS IN SINGAPORE AND SINGAPORE JUDGMENTS IN FOREIGN JURISDICTIONS 37. A foreign judgment which satisfies the relevant requirements may be enforceable in Singapore, either by way of common law enforcement, or pursuant to the Reciprocal Enforcement of Commonwealth Judgments Act (Cap. 264) ( RECJA ) and the Reciprocal Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act (Cap. 265) ( REFJA ). Similarly, a Singapore judgment may be enforceable in a foreign jurisdiction through the common law regime or under a reciprocal enforcement regime as encapsulated under the RECJA or REFJA. (a) Common Law 38. A foreign in personam judgment for a fixed or ascertainable sum of money may generally be enforced in Singapore by way of common law enforcement. This involves commencing a fresh action in a Singapore court to enforce a fresh obligation (created by the foreign judgment) to pay the judgment debt. It does not involve suing afresh on the underlying cause of action. There is also no requirement for there to be a treaty arrangement between the countries of the court where the original judgment was made and that where enforcement is sought, nor any proof of reciprocity of treatment of judgments. 8

9 39. For the purposes of common law enforcement, the judgment to be enforced must generally satisfy the following requirements: a. The judgment may be from either a superior or inferior court, but it must be from a competent court of law; b. The judgment must be final and conclusive; c. The Singapore Court must have international jurisdiction over the party sought to be bound. 40. Enforcement may be refused if: a. Enforcement would be contrary to the fundamental public policy of the enforcing court; b. The judgment was obtained by fraud or in breach of principles of natural justice; c. The judgment would conflict with an earlier judgment from the enforcing court or an earlier foreign judgment recognised by the enforcing court; d. Enforcement would amount to the direct or indirect enforcement of foreign penal, revenue or other public law The principles outlined above also apply generally to the common law enforcement of Singapore judgments in foreign common law jurisdictions 5. As such, judgments of superior and inferior Singapore courts may be enforced in foreign common law jurisdictions, provided the relevant requirements are met. (b) Statutory Regime 42. Singapore s statutory regime is encapsulated in the RECJA and REFJA. The RECJA and REFJA are modelled closely after the UK s Administration of Justice Act 1920 and Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1933 respectively. 43. The RECJA and REFJA provide for the registration and enforcement of judgments obtained in the superior courts of countries gazetted under the respective statutes. Although the RECJA and REFJA are not entirely identical 6, both schemes allow foreign judgments to be registered in Singapore without having to commence a fresh court action, whereupon it will become enforceable as if it were a judgment of the Singapore courts. Registration involves the judgment creditor filing an originating summons with the High Court, supported by an affidavit exhibiting a copy of the foreign judgment and stating relevant particulars. Once leave has been granted to register the foreign judgment, the judgment creditor shall extract the order and serve the same upon the judgment debtor together with a notice of registration. Upon the lapse of the period stated on the notice during which the judgment debtor is entitled to apply to set aside the registered judgment, the judgment creditor may then proceed to finalise the 4 Halsbury s Law of Singapore Vol 6(2) (LexisNexis, 2013) ( Halsbury s Singapore ) at [75.209] 5 These include jurisdictions such as the UK, Australia, Canada and Hong Kong SAR. While there may be slight variations between the common law principles applied in some jurisdictions, this paper focuses on the generally applicable principles. 6 A detailed comparison of the RECJA and REFJA can be found at Annex B. 9

10 registration of the judgment, and thereafter levy execution upon the same, as he would a normal Singapore Court judgment. 44. Both the RECJA and REFJA only provide for the reciprocal enforcement of money judgments from superior courts of gazetted countries 7. While the RECJA does not affect a judgment creditor s right to elect between common law enforcement or enforcement by registration, judgments to which the REFJA applies must be enforced pursuant to REFJA only and not by way of common law enforcement. 45. In terms of the grounds of refusal, both RECJA and REFJA largely mirror the principles of common law, i.e. the original court must have jurisdiction, the judgment must not be procured by fraud, the enforcement of the judgment must not be against the public policy of the enforcing court. 46. The RECJA and REFJA are predicated upon reciprocity, although the reciprocity requirements are framed slightly different under each statute. Under the RECJA, the Law Minister must, in deciding whether to extend application of RECJA to a foreign country, be satisfied that reciprocal provisions have been legislated in that country. The reciprocity requirement under the REFJA, on the other hand, requires the Law Minister to enter into bilateral or multilateral treaties to provide for the substantial reciprocity of treatment. Thus, Singapore judgments may be enforced in the courts of the countries gazetted under the RECJA and REFJA, pursuant to the same broad principles outlined above. (c) 2005 Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements 47. Singapore signed the Hague Convention of 30 June 2005 on Choice of Court Agreements ( the Convention ) on 25 March This marks a critical step for Singapore to become a party to the Convention. The Convention comes into force once at least two contracting States have ratified, accepted, approved or acceded to the Convention. In this regard, the Convention will come into force on 1 October 2015, pursuant to the European Union depositing its instrument of approval on 11 June Mexico was the first State to accede to the Convention on 26 September The Convention seeks to rectify the difficulties surrounding choice of court agreements (also known as forum selection clauses or jurisdiction clauses ) not always being respected across jurisdictions due to conflicting national rules and practice. The objective of the Convention is to ensure the effectiveness of such choice of court agreements between parties to international commercial transactions, and to secure the enforcement of foreign judgments rendered pursuant to these agreements. In this way, businesses can engage in cross-border activities with greater certainty on where disputes will be litigated and where judgments can be enforced, thereby creating a more conducive legal environment to international trade and investments. At the same time, the Convention also provides sufficient safeguards for governmental interests 7 The countries recognised under the RECJA are the UK, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Windward Islands, Pakistan, Papau New Guinea, Brunei Darussalam and India (except the states of Jammu and Kashmir). The jurisdiction recognised under the REFJA is Hong Kong SAR. 10

11 and for rendering and enforcing courts. The Convention relies on three basic rules to give effect to choice of court agreements: a. The chosen court must in principle hear the case; b. Any court not chosen must in principle decline to hear the case; c. Any judgment rendered by the chosen court must be recognised and enforced in other Contracting States, except where a ground of refusal applies. 49. Singapore is fully supportive of the aims of the Convention and hopes that in time more countries, especially in the region, will sign onto the Convention to reap its benefits. VI. ENFORCEMENT OF SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL COURT JUDGMENTS 50. The Singapore International Commercial Court ( SICC ) was launched on 5 January 2015 as a specialist forum for international commercial disputes. The SICC is a division of the High Court of Singapore and is a superior court of law. The SICC s jurisdiction is primarily consensual. Unlike a conventional Singapore court, SICC cases are adjudicated by a panel of experienced judges comprising specialist commercial judges from Singapore and international judges from both civil law and common law traditions. Parties to SICC proceedings may also be represented by registered foreign lawyers. 51. SICC judgments are enforced in Singapore and in foreign jurisdictions in the same manner as judgments of the High Court of Singapore. The enforcement regime for civil judgments described in this Report thus applies to SICC judgments in equal measure. 52. In addition, the enforceability of SICC judgments in foreign jurisdictions is enhanced via the following: a. The SCJA provides that parties who have agreed to submit to the SICC s jurisdiction shall, subject to any express provision in the agreement to the contrary, be considered to have: (i) agreed to carry out any SICC judgment without undue delay; and (ii) waived any recourse to any court or tribunal outside Singapore against any SICC judgment, and the enforcement of such judgment. b. Parties are encouraged to include a model SICC dispute resolution clause in their agreement, which deems parties to have waived their right to defend against an action based on an SICC judgment in any jurisdiction. 11

12 VII. IMPROVING THE ENFORCEMENT REGIME FOR CIVIL JUDGMENTS IN SINGAPORE 53. Singapore is committed to ensuring that its regime for the enforcement of civil judgments is effective, efficient and accessible. To that end, Singapore continuously reviews its regime to identify potential areas of improvement. 54. In addition, Singapore is presently reviewing its statutory regime for the reciprocal enforcement of judgments with a view to enhancing Singapore s framework for crossborder enforcement of judgments. Singapore will also work together with the international community to strengthen the framework for cross-border enforcement of judgments at the multilateral and regional level. 12

13 Annex A - Modes of enforcement available for each type of civil judgment Type judgment Payment money of of Writ of Writ of Writ of Garnishee Appointment Order of Other modes of enforcement seizure and possession delivery Order of receiver committal sale Possession of immovable property Delivery up of movable property Doing / abstaining from doing an act Maintenance orders under Women s Charter Attachment of earnings order Lodgement of report to credit bureau Furnish banker s guarantee Fine and/or imprisonment Community service order Order for financial counselling 13

14 Annex B - Comparison of RECJA and REFJA RECJA REFJA SIMILARITIES TYPES OF JUDGMENTS RECOGNITION OF COURTS PROCEDURE COMMON DEFENCES Final and conclusive money judgments only (but note different definitions of money judgment ), non-money judgments are not included. Superior courts only Judgment creditor to apply for leave to register the foreign judgment. Upon registration, judgment may be directly enforced as a local judgment upon registration Original court s lack of jurisdiction, fraud, public policy GEOGRAPHICAL JURISDICTION PERSONAL JURISDICTION TYPES OF MONEY ORDERS ENFORCEABLE LIMITATION PERIOD UNIQUE DEFENCES COMMON LAW ACTION DIFFERENCES Australia, Brunei, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom Utilises the common law approach to presence and residence for corporations Court judgments in civil proceedings for the payment of a fixed sum Arbitral awards which have become enforceable in the same manner as a court judgment in the country where it was made. Application for registration must be made within 1 year after the date of judgment (or such longer time as may be allowed by the Court) Not just and convenient for foreign judgment to be registered. Available for actions that can be brought under RECJA Hong Kong SAR Imposes a test of principal place of business or having an office or place of business through which the transaction in dispute was effected. Court judgments in civil proceedings for the payment of a fixed sum Orders in criminal proceedings for the payment of a sum of money in respect of compensation or damages Application for registration must be made within 6 years after the date of judgment The judgment has been wholly satisfied The judgment could not be enforced by execution in the country of the original court There is a prior conflicting judgment by a competent court the rights under the foreign judgment are not vested in the party applying for registration Unavailable for actions that can be brought under REFJA 14