59. Facts of which court must take judicial notice

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Amended

Last amended by an amending law of 2022. 2 amendments in all.

(1)

The court is to take judicial notice of the following facts:

(a)

all laws or rules having the force of law now or heretofore in force or hereafter to be in force in Singapore, including all Acts passed or hereafter to be passed by Parliament;

(b)

all Acts passed or hereafter to be passed by the legislature of any country within the Commonwealth;

(c)

articles of war for the armed forces of Singapore or any visiting forces lawfully present in Singapore;

(d)

the course of proceedings of Parliament and of the legislature of any country within the Commonwealth;

(e)

the election of the President and the appointment of any person to exercise the functions of the President;

(f)

the public seal, the seal of the President, the seals of all the courts in Singapore, the seals of notaries public, all seals that any person is authorised to use by any law in force for the time being in Singapore, and all seals of which English courts take judicial notice;

(g)

the appointment, accession to office, names, titles, functions and signatures of the persons filling for the time being any public office in Singapore, if the fact of their appointment to such office is notified in the Gazette;

(h)

the existence, title and national flag of every State or Sovereign recognised by the Government;

(i)

the ordinary course of nature, natural and artificial divisions of time, the geographical divisions of the world, the meaning of English words, and public festivals, fasts and holidays notified in the Gazette;

(j)

the countries in the Commonwealth;

(k)

the commencement, continuance and termination of hostilities between Singapore or any other part of the Commonwealth and any other country or body of persons;

(l)

the names of the members and officers of the court and of their deputies and subordinate officers and assistants, and also of all officers acting in execution of its process, and of all advocates and solicitors and other persons authorised by law to appear or act before it;

(m)

the rule of the road on land or at sea;

(n)

all other matters which it is directed by any written law to notice.

(2)

In all these cases, and also on all matters of public history, literature, science or art, the court may resort for its aid to appropriate books or documents of reference.

(3)

If the court is called upon by any person to take judicial notice of any fact, the court may refuse to do so unless such person produces any such book or document as it considers necessary to enable it to do so.