[Webinar] An Overview of the Law and Practice of the Small Claims Tribunals

At the Inaugural Tribunals Conference in April 2022, the Honourable the Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon highlighted in his keynote address that tribunals are “an integral and indispensable part of our justice system”. Apart from the fact that tribunals in the State Courts deal with a “substantial portion of our justice system’s caseload”, they are often “the first and sometimes [the] only point of contact that ordinary members of the public will have with the justice system”.

The Small Claims Tribunals (“SCT”) were established in 1985 to provide a quick and inexpensive forum to resolve specific types of low-value disputes.  Over the years, both the monetary and subject matter jurisdictions of the SCT have expanded, allowing a much broader range disputes to be adjudicated at the SCT. The SCT facilitates access to justice by ensuring that the cost of bringing or defending a claim is kept low and that disputes are adjudicated expeditiously. Additionally, the flexible nature of proceedings and judge-led approach makes the SCT’s processes accessible to claimants. In this way, the SCT plays a crucial role in upholding the rule of law in Singapore.

In this webinar, we bring together experienced adjudicators from the SCT to share how the legislative framework and processes are designed to facilitate the resolution of disputes and provide an expeditious adjudicatory process. They will also highlight the common legal issues faced by the claimnants when navigating the SCT’s process, and the nature of disputes that are commonly heard by the SCT, including the trends that have been observed.

Through this webinar, lawyers will be better placed to discharge their professional responsibility of evaluating with their clients and advising them about alternative dispute resolution processes, including the filing of claims which fall within the jurisdiction
of the SCT.

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