Murali Pillai on Administration of Justice (Protection) (Amendment) Bill
Deceiving the court, abusing the court process by filing baseless claims for an improper purpose or launching multiple baseless court proceedings - these are acts of abuse that are clearly egregious. The impact can be very serious as people are forced to bear the financial and psychological burden for matters that should not be going to court while limited public and court resources are diverted away from other deserving and meritorious cases. Making the case for the Administration of Justice (Protection) (Amendment) Bill in Parliament on Wednesday (Nov 13), Minister of State for Law Murali Pillai warned that over time, trust in Singapore’s justice system will be eroded. “It is time to proactively act to safeguard the administration of justice in Singapore,” he said. The Bill will make it clear that egregious abuse of the court process will amount to contempt of court. Mr Murali pointed out that the Administration of Justice (Protection) Act already covers egregious abuse of process. However, the language of the current provision is broad. “We have decided that the legal position can be made clearer ... The amendments which we are proposing are therefore clarificatory in nature. They do not lower the current threshold for contempt of court,” he said. Besides providing legal clarity, the Government also wants to send a clear signal to deter abuse of the court process. The amendments will make it clear to the public and potential court users that egregious cases of abuse of process will amount to contempt of court and criminal sanctions. The new provisions apply to all court proceedings in Singapore, whether conducted by a self-represented person or a lawyer. They provide clearer signposting in setting out the types of conduct that would amount to contempt of court. For those who cause or abet others in contemptuous conduct before the courts, the usual levers of striking out and costs orders will not deter them, as they are not involved in the court proceedings, said Mr Murali. To deter such behaviour, the Bill provides that such acts will also be liable for contempt. “In developing these proposals, we are keenly aware of the need to strike a balance between the need to guard against abuse of process and the rights of litigants to ventilate genuine claims before the courts. Our policy intent is that litigants and lawyers who act with reasonable care and in good faith should not be penalised,” he said. The proposed amendments will help to ensure that Singapore has an effective justice system that is focused on enforcing the laws and resolving genuine disputes and that the processes are not weaponised or abused, he added.
Deceiving the court, abusing the court process by filing baseless claims for an improper purpose or launching multiple baseless court proceedings - these are acts of abuse that are clearly egregious. The impact can be very serious as people are forced to bear the financial and psychological burden for matters that should not be going to court while limited public and court resources are diverted away from other deserving and meritorious cases. Making the case for the Administration of Justice (Protection) (Amendment) Bill in Parliament on Wednesday (Nov 13), Minister of State for Law Murali Pillai warned that over time, trust in Singapore’s justice system will be eroded. “It is time to proactively act to safeguard the administration of justice in Singapore,” he said. The Bill will make it clear that egregious abuse of the court process will amount to contempt of court. Mr Murali pointed out that the Administration of Justice (Protection) Act already covers egregious abuse of process. However, the language of the current provision is broad. “We have decided that the legal position can be made clearer ... The amendments which we are proposing are therefore clarificatory in nature. They do not lower the current threshold for contempt of court,” he said. Besides providing legal clarity, the Government also wants to send a clear signal to deter abuse of the court process. The amendments will make it clear to the public and potential court users that egregious cases of abuse of process will amount to contempt of court and criminal sanctions. The new provisions apply to all court proceedings in Singapore, whether conducted by a self-represented person or a lawyer. They provide clearer signposting in setting out the types of conduct that would amount to contempt of court. For those who cause or abet others in contemptuous conduct before the courts, the usual levers of striking out and costs orders will not deter them, as they are not involved in the court proceedings, said Mr Murali. To deter such behaviour, the Bill provides that such acts will also be liable for contempt. “In developing these proposals, we are keenly aware of the need to strike a balance between the need to guard against abuse of process and the rights of litigants to ventilate genuine claims before the courts. Our policy intent is that litigants and lawyers who act with reasonable care and in good faith should not be penalised,” he said. The proposed amendments will help to ensure that Singapore has an effective justice system that is focused on enforcing the laws and resolving genuine disputes and that the processes are not weaponised or abused, he added.
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