Singapore legislation
Section 39
Section 39
Family Justice Rules
(1)
The Family Justice Rules Committee constituted under section 46(1) of the Family Justice Act 2014 may make Family Justice Rules —
to regulate and prescribe the procedure and practice to be followed in respect of proceedings under this Act; and
to provide for costs and fees of such proceedings, and for regulating any matter relating to the costs of such proceedings.
(2)
Without limiting subsection (1), the Family Justice Rules may make provision —
as to the manner and form in which proceedings are to be commenced;
as to the persons entitled to be notified of, and be made parties to, the proceedings;
for enabling the court to appoint a suitable person to act in the name of, or on behalf of, or to represent the person to whom the proceedings relate;
for enabling an application to the court to be disposed of without a hearing;
for enabling the court to proceed with, or with any part of, a hearing in the absence of the person to whom the proceedings relate;
for enabling or requiring the proceedings or any part of them to be conducted in private and for enabling the court to determine who is to be admitted when the court sits in private and to exclude specified persons when it sits in public;
as to what may be received as evidence (whether or not admissible apart from the Family Justice Rules) and the manner in which it is to be presented;
for the enforcement of orders made and directions given in the proceedings;
for regulating matters relating to the costs of those proceedings, including prescribing scales of costs to be paid to legal or other representatives;
as to the way in which, and funds from which, fees and costs are to be paid;
for charging fees and costs upon the estate of the person to whom the proceedings relate, if such charge does not cause any interest of the person in any property to fail or determine or to be prevented from recommencing;
for the payment of fees and costs within a specified time of the death of the person to whom the proceedings relate or the conclusion of the proceedings.
(3)
The Family Justice Rules may, instead of providing for any matter, refer to provision made or to be made about that matter by practice directions issued for the time being by the registrar of the Family Justice Courts.