Part 13: Court Hearings and Evidence

PART 13: COURT HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE For the complete documentation index, see llms.txt. Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending .md to page URLs; this page is available as Markdown.

PART 13: COURT HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE 13A: Conduct of Court Proceedings and Hearings-Related Matters 104. Attendance at hearings in the Family Justice Courts 105. Weekend / Public Holiday Duty Registrar and Judge at the Family Courts 106. Duty Registrar and Duty Magistrate 107. Request for urgent hearing before Duty Judge 108. Request for urgent hearing dates or urgent hearings prior to the filing of the application through the Electronic Filing Service 109. Requesting a hearing date through the Electronic Filing Service 110. Adjournment or vacation of hearing dates and part-heard cases 111. Absence of parties 112. Attendance of solicitors 113. Absence from Court on medical grounds 114. The Central Queue Management System and Central Display Management System 115. Precedence and preaudience of Senior Counsel 116. Court dress 117. Submissions and examination by leading and junior assisting solicitor 118. Applications under section 43(3) or 57(8) of the Adoption of Children Act 2022 or section 14 of the Guardianship of Infants Act 1934 119. Use of electronic and other devices 120. Publication of and reports and comments on Court cases 121. Production of record of hearing 122. Application for Court records and certification of transcripts for family matters 123. Access to case file, inspection, taking copies of documents and conducting searches 13B: Documents and Authorities for use in Court 124. Filing of documents and authorities for use in Court generally 125. Hearings in chambers 126. Formatting requirements and page limits for written submissions 127. Written submissions and bundles of authorities for special date hearings in the Family Division 128. Citation of written judgments 13C: Consents 129. Consent orders 13D: Evidence – Witnesses, Affidavits and Exhibits 130. Definitions 131. Witnesses 132. Giving of evidence by person outside Singapore through live video link or live television link in any proceedings (other than proceedings in a criminal matter) 133. Form of affidavits 134. Forms that are deemed to be affidavits 135. Non-documentary exhibits to affidavits 136. Documentary exhibits to affidavits 137. Affirming and signing of affidavits in Singapore before, and completing of attestation by, commissioner for oaths through live video link or live television link 138. Affirming of documents by persons who do not understand English, are illiterate or blind 139. Effect of non-compliance 140. Objections to the contents of affidavits of evidence-in-chief

104. Attendance at hearings in the Family Justice Courts To avoid doubt, the general rule is that all hearings in a Family Justice Court shall be heard in private pursuant to section 10(1) of the Family Justice Act 2014. Members of the public are not entitled to attend such hearings.

104. Attendance at hearings in the Family Justice Courts Notwithstanding sub-paragraph (1), a Family Justice Court may hear any matter or any part thereof in an open and public court, or by way of an open and public hearing, to which the public generally may have access, if the Court is satisfied that it is expedient in the interests of justice, or for other sufficient reason to do so.

104. Attendance at hearings in the Family Justice Courts Subject to any written law, the Court may, in its discretion, allow any person such as instructing solicitors, foreign legal counsel and parties to the matter, to attend any hearing in a Family Justice Court subject to space, security and the interests of justice. In exercising its discretion, the Court may consider a broad range of factors including:

104. Attendance at hearings in the Family Justice Courts the interest that the person seeking permission has in the matter before the Court; (b) the interests of the litigants; (c) the reasons for which such permission is sought; and (d) the Court’s interest in preserving and upholding its authority and dignity.&x20;

104. Attendance at hearings in the Family Justice Courts In allowing persons referred to in sub-paragraph (3) to attend hearings in a Family Justice Court, the Court may, at its discretion, impose the necessary conditions to be complied with.

105. Weekend / Public Holiday Duty Registrar and Judge at the Family Courts The Duty Judge at the Family Courts may hear an urgent application from 9.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays under the following circumstances:

105. Weekend / Public Holiday Duty Registrar and Judge at the Family Courts where the applicant, being a lawful guardian or parent of a child, is seeking to restrain or enjoin another party from taking the child out of jurisdiction without the consent of the applicant; (b) the child’s departure from Singapore is so imminent that it is too late for the application to be heard on the next working day; and (c) there is a strong likelihood that the child, once taken out of Singapore, will not return to Singapore.

105. Weekend / Public Holiday Duty Registrar and Judge at the Family Courts To request the urgent hearing of such an application, the applicant should contact the Weekend / Public Holiday Duty Registrar at 97241402 during the hours of 9.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.

105. Weekend / Public Holiday Duty Registrar and Judge at the Family Courts The Duty Registrar will only arrange for the hearing of the application before the Duty Judge if the applicant satisfies the Duty Registrar that the case meets all the criteria stipulated in sub-paragraph (1) and the application is so urgent that it cannot be heard the next working day. The Duty Registrar or Duty Judge may also give directions for the urgent hearing to take place remotely or, alternatively, with parties attending in person at any place as directed.

105. Weekend / Public Holiday Duty Registrar and Judge at the Family Courts The Duty Registrar or the Duty Judge may, in lieu of filing, direct the applicant to tender the application and supporting documents by email or in hard copies. In this case, the applicant is to provide a signed undertaking that all documents (including the originating application if applicable) will be filed the next available working day. Where the Duty Registrar or the Duty Judge directs the applicant to provide hard copies of the relevant documents, the applicant must bring three copies each of the application, the supporting affidavit and the appropriate draft orders of Court (Form 115 of Appendix A of these Practice Directions) for the hearing of the application without notice. Parties are strongly encouraged to print on both sides of each piece of paper where hard copies are tendered.

105. Weekend / Public Holiday Duty Registrar and Judge at the Family Courts To avoid doubt, every applicant must comply with paragraph 100 of these Practice Directions.

106. Duty Registrar and Duty Magistrate The duties of the Duty Registrar are to:

106. Duty Registrar and Duty Magistrate hear applications without notice or by consent provided that the application has been filed in the Electronic Filing Service; (b) grant approval for any matter pertaining to the administration of the Registry, including giving early or urgent dates and allowing inspection of files; (c) sign and certify documents; and (d) sign documents to effect sale and transfer of matrimonial assets.

106. Duty Registrar and Duty Magistrate The duties of the Duty Magistrate shall include the examination of complainants when they file a Magistrate’s Complaint.

106. Duty Registrar and Duty Magistrate The duty hours are as follows:

106. Duty Registrar and Duty Magistrate Only solicitors or litigants (if they are not legally represented) may appear before the Duty Registrar.

106. Duty Registrar and Duty Magistrate Except where the attendance of the solicitor is required under sub-paragraph (7), the filing of the relevant documents will be sufficient for the Duty Registrar to dispose of any application or matter. Documents will be returned to the solicitor through the Electronic Filing Service to the inbox of the law firm’s computer system or through the service bureau.

106. Duty Registrar and Duty Magistrate All documents which are not required to be filed using the Electronic Filing Service must be duly stamped before presentation to the Duty Registrar for his or her signature and / or decision.

106. Duty Registrar and Duty Magistrate The solicitor’s attendance is compulsory only:

106. Duty Registrar and Duty Magistrate when he or she is requesting an early or urgent date for a hearing before the Registrar or Judge; (b) when an application or document is returned with the direction “solicitor to attend”; or (c) when his or her attendance is required by any provision of law.

106. Duty Registrar and Duty Magistrate A solicitor may, if he or she wishes to expedite matters, attend before the Duty Registrar even if his or her attendance is not ordinarily required.

106. Duty Registrar and Duty Magistrate A solicitor or a litigant who is not legally represented (collectively, “parties”) who wishes to attend before a Duty Registrar and to refer him or her to documents filed must either:

106. Duty Registrar and Duty Magistrate file the documents at least 1 hour before attending before the Duty Registrar, so that the documents would already be in the electronic case file for the Duty Registrar’s reference. Parties should as far as possible only attend before the Duty Registrar after they have received notification from the Court that the documents have been accepted. Parties should also check with the Registry that the documents have been routed to the Duty Registrar before attending before the Duty Registrar; or (b) attend before the Duty Registrar with the hard copy documents. The Duty Registrar will require the relevant party to give an undertaking to file all the documents by the next working day before dealing with the matter.

106. Duty Registrar and Duty Magistrate Attendance before the Duty Registrar will be by video conferencing, unless otherwise directed.

106. Duty Registrar and Duty Magistrate A solicitor or a litigant who is not legally represented (collectively, “parties”) who wishes to attend before a Duty Registrar by way of video conferencing must:

106. Duty Registrar and Duty Magistrate email the Registry at (for matters filed through the IELS such as injunctions, extension of time etc.) or (for maintenance and personal protection matters under the Women’s Charter 1961, the Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1975 or the Vulnerable Adults Act 2018); or &x20;

file a letter of request via the Electronic Filing Service.

106. Duty Registrar and Duty Magistrate The email or letter of request should contain the following information:

106. Duty Registrar and Duty Magistrate the case number; (b) if there is no case number assigned, the name(s) of the parties and names of the solicitor and law firm(s) acting for such parties; (c) explain briefly the nature of the application and directions sought from the Duty Registrar; (d) the time and date that parties wish to attend before the Duty Registrar; (e) whether parties wish to send in any documents via the Electronic Filing Service ahead of the hearing or during the hearing before the Duty Registrar; (f) whether parties wish to tender any hard copy documents ahead of the hearing before the Duty Registrar; (g) the name(s) of all the parties who will be attending the hearing before the Duty Registrar, and the email address and telephone number of these parties.&x20;

106. Duty Registrar and Duty Magistrate If parties wish to tender any hard copy documents ahead of the hearing before the Duty Registrar, parties should as far as possible provide the hard copies and ensure that they have been placed before the Duty Registrar sufficiently far in advance before the scheduled hearing. Parties should check with the Registry that the documents have been placed before the Duty Registrar before the scheduled hearing. Parties are strongly encouraged to print on both sides of each piece of paper where hard copies are tendered.

106. Duty Registrar and Duty Magistrate In the event physical attendance before the Duty Registrar is allowed, solicitors or litigants who are not legally represented should email the Registry with the information set out at sub-paragraph (12) prior to attending before the Duty Registrar.

106. Duty Registrar and Duty Magistrate When dealing with the ancillary matters, the Court may grant orders under section 31 of the Family Justice Act 2014 empowering the Registrar to sign the documents to effect the sale and transfer of matrimonial assets. These orders fall into two categories:

106. Duty Registrar and Duty Magistrate an order empowering the Registrar to sign the relevant documents without further notice to the party whom the Registrar is signing the documents on behalf of (“Category A orders”); and (b) an order empowering the Registrar to sign the relevant documents only in the event of a default by a party in signing the relevant documents (“the other party”) despite written notification to him / her to sign the relevant documents (“Category B orders”).

106. Duty Registrar and Duty Magistrate Applications to obtain the signature of the Registrar pursuant to Category A orders and Category B orders shall be made before the Duty Registrar in the Family Justice Courts. The documents to be signed by the Duty Registrar shall contain the following endorsements:

106. Duty Registrar and Duty Magistrate Solicitors shall furnish the following documents to the Duty Registrar when making such applications:

106. Duty Registrar and Duty Magistrate For Category A orders: (i) The sealed copy of the order of Court empowering the Registrar to sign the relevant documents; and (ii) A duplicate copy of each of the documents to be signed by the Registrar, which will be retained by the Court. (b) For Category B orders: (i) The documents set out in sub-paragraphs (17)(a)(i) and (ii). (ii) An affidavit stating the details of the written notification(s) sent to the other party and showing the other party’s default in signing the relevant documents.

106. Duty Registrar and Duty Magistrate The sealed copy of the order of Court empowering the Registrar to sign will be returned after the signing of the documents.

107. Request for urgent hearing before Duty Judge Request for urgent hearing before Duty District Judge or Assistant Registrar of the Family Justice Courts

107. Request for urgent hearing before Duty Judge Save for attendances before the Duty Registrar or Duty Magistrate listed in paragraph 106 of these Practice Directions, sub-paragraphs (1) to (7) apply to all other requests for urgent hearing (including applications without notice) before the Duty District Judge or Assistant Registrar.

107. Request for urgent hearing before Duty Judge An applicant requesting for an urgent hearing before a Duty District Judge or Assistant Registrar is required to file the request through the Electronic Filing Service. The request should be accompanied by the completed Form 134 of Appendix B of these Practice Directions. A copy of Form 134 should be served on each respondent to the application at the time of filing, unless the application is an application without notice and service of Form 134 would or might defeat the purpose of the application. The Registry will update the applicant or parties (whichever applicable) on the outcome of the request.

107. Request for urgent hearing before Duty Judge The applicant should prepare skeletal submissions for the urgent hearing before the Duty District Judge, and file the skeletal submissions at the same time as Form 134. A copy of the skeletal submissions should be served on each respondent to the application at the time of filing, unless the application is an application without notice and service of the skeletal submissions would or might defeat the purpose of the application.

107. Request for urgent hearing before Duty Judge If, due to urgency, the applicant is unable to file or serve Form 134 and / or the skeletal submissions before attending before the Duty District Judge, the applicant should provide a copy each of Form 134 and the skeletal submissions to each respondent to the application when the parties attend before the Duty District Judge. Each such copy of Form 134 or the skeletal submissions must be a hard copy, if the parties attend before the Duty District Judge physically, or in soft copy, if the parties attend before the Duty District Judge by live video or live television link. Thereafter, Form 134 and the skeletal submissions should be filed as soon as possible and, in any event, no later than the next working day after the attendance before the Duty District Judge, unless the Court directs otherwise. If any respondent does not attend before the Duty District Judge, Form 134 and the skeletal submissions should be served on that respondent as soon as possible after the hearing before the Duty District Judge, unless the Court directs otherwise.

107. Request for urgent hearing before Duty Judge In cases of extreme urgency where the applicant is unable to comply with the requirement to file or provide a copy of the skeletal submissions by the time of the urgent hearing before the Duty District Judge, the applicant should seek dispensation of that requirement and the supporting reasons for the dispensation request should be included in Form 134 filed pursuant to sub-paragraph (2).

107. Request for urgent hearing before Duty Judge The applicant’s skeletal submissions should contain the following:

107. Request for urgent hearing before Duty Judge the relevant facts; (b) the applicable law; (c) the reason(s) for requesting an urgent hearing; and (d) a summary of arguments.

107. Request for urgent hearing before Duty Judge The applicant’s skeletal submissions must be in the following format:

107. Request for urgent hearing before Duty Judge all pages (including, where applicable, the cover page, table of contents, separator sheets and exhibit sheets) must be paginated such that the printed page numbers correspond to the page numbers in the soft copy Portable Document Format (PDF) version of the document that is filed through the Electronic Filing Service, the page number must be inserted at the top right hand corner of the page, and, where there are multiple volumes, each separate volume must start at page 1, and every page in that volume must be numbered consecutively; (b) the skeletal submissions should not exceed 10 pages (excluding the cover page and backing page); (c) except for content reproduced from case authorities, textbook or other commentaries, other documents filed in Court, and extracts of transcripts, which may be in Times New Roman 10 or its equivalent, the minimum font size used must be Times New Roman 12 or its equivalent; (d) the print of every page must be double-spaced, except for the following, which may be single-spaced: (i) cover pages and tables of contents; (ii) paragraph and section headings or sub-headings; (iii) content reproduced from case authorities, textbook or other commentaries, and other documents filed in Court; and (iv) extracts of transcripts; (e) every page must have a margin on all 4 sides, each of at least 35mm in width; and (f) parties are strongly encouraged to print on both sides of each piece of paper where hard copies are tendered.

107. Request for urgent hearing before Duty Judge In the event that a request is for an urgent hearing before a Judge of the Family Division, unless otherwise directed, sub-paragraphs (2) to (7) shall apply save that references to the Duty District Judge shall be read as references to the Judge of the Family Division.

108. Request for urgent hearing dates or urgent hearings prior to the filing of the application through the Electronic Filing Service Solicitors requesting an urgent hearing before the Duty Registrar or Duty District Judge, or an urgent hearing date, in respect of an application that has not yet been filed through the Electronic Filing Service, shall submit a hard copy of the proposed application and any supporting affidavit to the Duty Registrar or Duty District Judge for the Court’s retention and shall give an undertaking to file the application and supporting affidavit using the Electronic Filing Service by the next working day. Any document not filed using the Electronic Filing Service will not be included in the Court’s electronic case file.

109. Requesting a hearing date through the Electronic Filing Service When filing applications through the Electronic Filing Service, solicitors may be permitted to make a request for a preferred hearing date for any interlocutory application to be heard before a Registrar.

109. Requesting a hearing date through the Electronic Filing Service Solicitors should confer with all parties to the application before selecting a preferred hearing date. Solicitors arguing the application for all parties should be available to attend the hearing on the date selected.

109. Requesting a hearing date through the Electronic Filing Service In the event that it is not possible to confer with the opposing solicitors on a preferred hearing date, whether due to the nature or urgency of the application or otherwise, solicitors must select a date when the solicitors arguing the application for the applicant will be available.

109. Requesting a hearing date through the Electronic Filing Service Solicitors are reminded to satisfy the requirements of paragraph 52(4) of these Practice Directions.

110. Adjournment or vacation of hearing dates and part-heard cases Before any party makes a request through the Electronic Filing Service to the Court for an adjournment or vacation of any hearing, he or she should seek the consent of the other party or parties to the matter. Unilateral requests made without first seeking the consent or views of the other party or parties to the matter will not be entertained, except in the most exceptional circumstances.

110. Adjournment or vacation of hearing dates and part-heard cases The request electronic form should be filed through the Electronic Filing Service at least 7 working days before the hearing, setting out the reasons for the requested adjournment or vacation of the hearing. For hearings relating to proceedings to which Part 3 of the Family Justice (General) Rules 2024 applies, the request electronic form should be filed through the Electronic Filing Service at least 5 working days before the hearing.

110. Adjournment or vacation of hearing dates and part-heard cases If the consent of all other parties to the matter is obtained, a letter stating that all parties have consented to the requested adjournment or vacation of hearings may be attached to the request electronic form. However, this does not mean that the request will be granted as a matter of course. The Court will still evaluate the merits of the request before making its decision.

110. Adjournment or vacation of hearing dates and part-heard cases If the consent of one or more of the other parties is not obtained, the letter should set out the reasons for the other parties’ objections, or explain why the consent of one or more of the other parties cannot be obtained. Any relevant correspondence between the parties should also be attached to the request electronic form. The Court will then evaluate the contents of the request and the relevant correspondence before deciding whether the requested adjournment or vacation of hearings should be allowed.

110. Adjournment or vacation of hearing dates and part-heard cases In any other case, parties must attend before the Court to make an application for an adjournment. See also paragraph 112 of these Practice Directions.

110. Adjournment or vacation of hearing dates and part-heard cases Where the reason for an adjournment is a conflict of court dates, the following information relating to both court cases must be stated in the letter attached to the request electronic form:

110. Adjournment or vacation of hearing dates and part-heard cases the case number; (b) the date and time of the hearing; (c) the nature of hearing; (d) the date when the applicant was informed of the hearing date or agreed to accept the hearing date (e.g. date of Registrar’s Notice or date of case conference or court mentions when the date was taken); (e) in the event the family proceedings hearing date was fixed earlier, whether the court subsequently giving the same hearing date was informed of the family proceedings hearing already fixed; and (f) in the event the family proceedings hearing date was fixed later, whether the Family Justice Courts was informed of the earlier hearing date and the reasons for the earlier date.

110. Adjournment or vacation of hearing dates and part-heard cases The directions in sub-paragraphs (8) and (9) apply to trials only.&x20;

110. Adjournment or vacation of hearing dates and part-heard cases Subject to any directions of the Court, when a case is adjourned, the Registrar will assign such days as are available for the hearing of the case, and solicitors will be expected to take the dates at short notice.

110. Adjournment or vacation of hearing dates and part-heard cases In the event that the hearing of a case is not concluded within the number of days allotted, the Court may direct the hearing of the case to continue beyond the allotted time, rather than adjourning the case part-heard to another date. Solicitors for parties in all cases should therefore be prepared to continue with the hearing of the matter despite the fact that the time originally allotted may have expired.

111. Absence of parties Where an application has been struck off by reason of any party being absent, the Registrar may direct that the matter be restored by way of summons.

112. Attendance of solicitors Save in the most exceptional and unforeseen circumstances, and so long as the firm of solicitors remains on record, a member of the firm must attend all proceedings in respect of the cause or matter in which the firm is acting, even if it does not intend to oppose the orders sought by the other side. The practice of asking the opposing solicitor to mention the matter on one’s behalf is not acceptable.

112. Attendance of solicitors Subject to sub-paragraph (3), the Court may however allow a solicitor appearing in any cause or matter to mention for solicitors for all other parties provided that:

112. Attendance of solicitors the solicitor obtains confirmation of his or her authority to mention on their behalf for the purpose of the hearing; and (b) parties have agreed on the order sought.

112. Attendance of solicitors However, where an adjournment of the hearing date of any cause or matter is sought, solicitors for all parties must attend the hearing. See also paragraph 110 of these Practice Directions.

112. Attendance of solicitors Solicitors appearing in any cause or matter should be punctual in attending Court, as delay in the commencement of the hearing leads to wastage of judicial time. Appropriate sanctions may be imposed for solicitors who do not arrive for hearings on time.

113. Absence from Court on medical grounds If:

113. Absence from Court on medical grounds any party to proceedings; (b) any witness; (c) any solicitor; or (d) any officer or other person appointed by the Public Prosecutor to act as a Deputy Public Prosecutor or an Assistant Public Prosecutor in carrying out any of the duties of the Public Prosecutor under the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 or under any other written law,

113. Absence from Court on medical grounds Any medical certificate tendered to the Court under sub-paragraph (1) must:

113. Absence from Court on medical grounds state the name and Medical Council or Dental Council Registration Number of the medical practitioner or dental practitioner who issued the certificate; (b) state the name of the hospital or clinic at which the certificate was issued; (c) state the contact details of the medical practitioner or dental practitioner and also of the hospital or clinic; (d) be signed by the medical practitioner or dental practitioner or, if the medical certificate is electronically generated, state that no signature is required; (e) contain a statement to the effect that the person in respect of whom the certificate is issued is medically unfit to attend Court, and specify the date(s) on which the person is medically unfit to attend Court; (f) contain a diagnosis of the person in respect of whom the certificate is issued accompanied by a brief description of the symptom(s) and condition(s) forming the basis for the statement in sub-paragraph (2)(e) above (unless the diagnosis cannot or should not normally be disclosed); and (g) bear the date on which the certificate was issued and, where this date differs from the date of consultation, clearly disclose the difference.

113. Absence from Court on medical grounds If any information specified in sub-paragraph (2) is not stated in the medical certificate itself, such information must be included in a memorandum attached to the medical certificate. This memorandum must:

113. Absence from Court on medical grounds state the name and Medical Council or Dental Council Registration number of the medical practitioner or dental practitioner who issued the certificate; (b) state the name of the hospital or clinic at which the certificate was issued; and (c) be signed by the medical practitioner or dental practitioner or, if the memorandum is electronically generated, state that no signature is required.

113. Absence from Court on medical grounds All information and details in any medical certificate or memorandum must be clearly and legibly printed.

113. Absence from Court on medical grounds If any requirement set out in sub-paragraphs (2) to (4) is not complied with, the Court may reject the medical certificate and decline to excuse the attendance of the person in respect of whom the medical certificate was issued. The Court may then take any action it deems appropriate.

113. Absence from Court on medical grounds The Court may, if it deems fit, take steps to contact the medical practitioner or dental practitioner who appears to have issued a medical certificate for the purpose of authenticating the medical certificate and, where necessary, the person in respect of whom the medical certificate is issued must provide such assistance to the Court as may be necessary to facilitate such authentication.

113. Absence from Court on medical grounds This paragraph applies to all proceedings in the Family Justice Courts.

114. The Central Queue Management System and Central Display Management System The Central Queue Management System (CQMS) is used for hearings and conferences in the Family Justice Courts except the following:

114. The Central Queue Management System and Central Display Management System Youth Courts; (b) Mentions in the Family Courts; (c) Trials in the Family Courts; and (d) Open court hearings in the Family Courts.

114. The Central Queue Management System and Central Display Management System When taking queue numbers at the CQMS kiosk, solicitors are to indicate they are ready for hearing by taking the queue number for the opposing party.

114. The Central Queue Management System and Central Display Management System The Judge or Registrar has the full discretion to manage the queue and call cases in the CQMS in a manner which he or she deems fit.

114. The Central Queue Management System and Central Display Management System Senior Counsel will continue to be given the precedence and the right of preaudience in accordance with paragraph 115 of these Practice Directions.

114. The Central Queue Management System and Central Display Management System If a hearing or conference is being conducted in the Supreme Court building, solicitors shall use the Central Display Management System as set out in the Supreme Court Practice Directions 2021.

115. Precedence and preaudience of Senior Counsel By virtue of section 31 of the Legal Profession Act 1966 and existing custom and usage, Senior Counsel are given precedence and the right of preaudience.

115. Precedence and preaudience of Senior Counsel In order to give substance to the principle of precedence and preaudience to Senior Counsel, Senior Counsel who intend to appear before Judges or Registrars for summonses hearings should inform the Registrar in writing not later than 2 clear days before the scheduled hearing date. Matters involving Senior Counsel will thereafter be listed first, in the order of their precedence. If Senior Counsel do not appear at the time their matters come on for hearing according to the list, they will have to wait for their turn in accordance with their queue numbers given by the Central Queue Management System in the Family Justice Courts, subject to the Judge’s or Registrar’s overriding discretion.