Singapore legislation
Regulation 5
Regulation 5
Service of expert’s report
Subregulation 1
In this rule —
Definition
“CCD offence” means an offence to which the criminal case disclosure procedures apply under section 159 or 211A of the Code;
Definition
“Code Date”, in relation to a trial or other proceeding, means —
the last day of the period mentioned in section 166(1) or (4) or 218(1) or (4) of the Code (called in this rule the relevant provisions), as the case may be, for the service of the items mentioned in the relevant provisions; or
if the time for the service of the items mentioned in the relevant provisions is extended or further extended for a further period under section 223 of the Code — the last day of that further period;
Definition
“engaging party”, in relation to a trial or other proceeding, means the prosecution or the accused (as the case may be) who engages the services of an expert with the intention to admit the expert’s report at the trial or proceeding;
Definition
“Service Date”, in relation to a trial or other proceeding, means the earlier of the following:
one month after the later of the following dates:
the date on which the engaging party receives the expert’s report;
the date on which the accused is charged with the offence for which the trial or proceeding is to be held;
2 months before the date of commencement of the trial or the hearing of the proceeding.
Subregulation 2
The engaging party must serve the expert’s report on all other parties to the trial or proceeding —
in the circumstances described in item (i) or (ii) of the following table — by the Code Date, but subject to section 166(3)(a) or 218(3)(a) of the Code, as the case may be;
in the circumstances described in item (iii) or (iv) of the following table and if the Code Date is later than the Service Date — by the Code Date; and
in any other case — by the Service Date.Manner by which engaging party gives notice of intention to admit expert’s report at trial Type of trial at which expert report is sought to be admitted(i)By including the expert’s report in the list of exhibits in the Case for the Prosecution or the Case for the Defence, as the case may be A trial at which only CCD offences are to be tried(ii)By including the expert’s report in the list of exhibits in the Case for the Prosecution or the Case for the Defence, as the case may be A joint trial involving both CCD offences and other offences, and the expert’s report relates to at least one CCD offence(iii)By giving notice under section 231 of the Code after the Case for the Prosecution or the Case for the Defence (as the case may be) is served A trial at which only CCD offences are to be tried(iv)By giving notice under section 231 of the Code after the Case for the Prosecution or the Case for the Defence (as the case may be) is served A joint trial involving both CCD offences and other offences, and the expert’s report relates to at least one CCD offence
Subregulation 3
Where the engaging party has served the expert’s report in accordance with the timelines and service requirements in paragraph (2), all other parties to the trial or proceeding must, within one month after the date on which the expert’s report is served, indicate to the engaging party if they will seek a second opinion, or challenge the expert’s report, or do both.
Subregulation 4
The timelines mentioned in paragraph (2) for an engaging party to serve an expert’s report and the timeline for another party to make the indication mentioned in paragraph (3) may be varied —
by the court on its own motion or upon an application made by the engaging party or that other party, as the case may be; or
with the consent of all parties to the trial or proceeding and the approval of the court.
Subregulation 5
Without limiting the court’s discretion under paragraph (4)(a), the court when deciding if the timelines for the service of an expert’s report should be varied, may consider whether the expert’s report was prepared in response to another party’s expert’s report.
Subregulation 6
This rule does not apply to any expert’s report described in the Schedule.