Singapore

Enforcing Contracts in

Singapore

Listed below is a detailed summary of the efficiency of contract enforcement. It follows the evolution of a sale of goods dispute, tracking the time, cost and number of procedures involved from the moment the plaintiff files the lawsuit until actual payment.

The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.

  • Court Name (English): Singapore District Court, Subordinate Court
  • City: Singapore

About This Topic

To see indicator data for all economies, see the Enforcing Contracts page. To see how economies rank, see the Rankings page.

Indicator
Time (days) 150
Filing and service 6
Trial and judgment 118
Enforcement of judgment 26
Cost (% of claim) 25.8
Attorney cost (% of claim) 20.93
Court cost (% of claim) 2.8
Enforcement Cost (% of claim) 2.06
Procedures (number) 21
Filing and service
1      Plaintiff requests payment: Plaintiff or his lawyer asks Defendant orally or in writing to comply with the contract.
2      Plaintiff’s hiring of lawyer: Plaintiff hires a lawyer to represent him before the court.
*      Plaintiff’s filing of summons and complaint: Plaintiff files his summons and complaint with the court, orally or in writing.
*      Plaintiff’s payment of court fees: Plaintiff pays court duties, stamp duties, or any other type of court fee.
3      Registration of court case: The court administration registers the lawsuit or court case. This includes assigning a reference number to the lawsuit or court case.
4      First attempt at physical delivery: A first attempt to physically deliver summons and complaint to Defendant is successful in the majority of cases.
*      Proof of service: Plaintiff submits proof of service to court.
Trial and judgment
5      Defendant’s filing of defense or answer to Plaintiff’s claim: Defendant files a written pleading which includes his defense or answer on the merits of the case. Defendant's written answer may or may not include witness statements, expert statements, the documents Defendant relies on as evidence and the legal authori
6      Plaintiff’s written response to Defendant's defense or answer: Plaintiff responds to Defendant’s defense or answer with a written pleading. Plaintiff's answer may or may not include a witness statements or expert (witness) statements.
7      Filing of pleadings: Plaintiff and Defendant file written pleadings and submissions with the court and transmit copies of the written pleadings or submissions to one another. The pleadings may or may not include witness statements or expert (witness) statements.
8      Pre-trial conference on procedure: The judge meets with the parties to discuss procedural issues (for example which applications and motions parties intend to file, which documents parties intend to rely on, what will be presented as evidence the oral hearing or trial, etc.)
*      Discovery requests: Plaintiff and Defendant make requests for the disclosure of documents, attempting to force the other party to reveal potentially detrimental documents.
9      Request for oral hearing or trial: Plaintiff applies for the date(s) for the oral hearing or trial.
10      Pre-trial conference aimed at preparing for trial: The judge meets with parties to make practical arrangements for the trial (for example, the number of witnesses parties intend to call on during trial, how much time each party is given to present oral arguments etc.).
*      List of (expert) witnesses: The parties file a list of (expert) witnesses with the court. (see assumption 6-a)
11      Trial (prevalent in common law): The parties argue the merits of the case at (an) oral session(s) before the court. Witnesses and expert witnesses are questioned and cross-examined during trial.
12      Order for submission of final arguments: The judge sets the deadline for the submission of final factual and legal arguments.
*      Final arguments: The parties present their final factual and legal arguments to the court either by oral presentation or by a written submission.
13      Notification of judgment in court: The parties are notified of the judgment at a court hearing.
14      Registration of judgment: The court office registers the judgment after receiving a written copy of the judgment.
15      Appeal period: By law, Defendant has the opportunity to appeal the judgment during a period specified in the law. Defendant decides not to appeal. Judgment becomes final the day the appeal period ends.
16      Reimbursement by Defendant of Plaintiff's court fees: The judgment obliges Defendant to reimburse Plaintiff for the court fees Plaintiff has advanced, because Defendant has lost the case.
Enforcement of judgment
*      Plaintiff’s hiring of lawyer: Plaintiff hires a lawyer to enforce the judgment or continues to be represented by a lawyer during the enforcement of judgment phase.
*      Plaintiff’s request for enforcement order: Plaintiff applies to the court to obtain the enforcement order ('seal' on judgment).
17      Plaintiff’s advancement of enforcement fees: Plaintiff pays the fees related to the enforcement of the judgment.
*      Delivery of enforcement order: The court's enforcement order is delivered to a court enforcement officer or a (private) bailiff.
18      Plaintiff’s identification of Defendant's assets for attachment: Plaintiff identifies Defendant's assets for attachment.
19      Attachment: Defendant’s movable goods are attached (physically or by registering, marking or separating assets).
20      Report on execution of attachment: A court enforcement officer or private process server delivers a report on the attachment of Defendant's movable goods to the judge.
21      Sale through public auction: The Defendant’s movable property is sold at public auction.
22      Distribution of proceeds: The proceeds of the public auction are distributed to various creditors (including Plaintiff), according to the rules of priority.
23      Reimbursement of Plaintiff’s enforcement fees: Defendant reimburses Plaintiff's enforcement fees which Plaintiff had advanced previously.

Nature of Procedures 23
Electronic filing of court cases -1
Specialized commercial courts -1
Total Number of Procedures 21
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