Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters enters into force for Singapore

19 December 2023

On 1 December 2023, the Hague Convention of 15 November 1965 on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters (“Convention”) entered into force for Singapore.

The Convention simplifies and streamlines processes for service of judicial and extrajudicial documents in civil and commercial matters across borders. It provides a main channel of transmission between contracting parties, where documents to be served can be forwarded by a competent authority or judicial officer of the sending contracting state to the designated central authority of the receiving contracting state, without the involvement of diplomatic or consular authorities. The Convention preserves flexibility to use alternative channels to the extent permitted by the receiving contracting state. Amendments have been made to the Rules of Court 2021, the Singapore International Commercial Court Rules 2021, and the Family Justice Rules 2014 to implement the obligations under the Convention.

As the Ministry of Law (“MinLaw”) explains, the implementation of the Convention will go towards ensuring that Singapore legal proceedings are not challenged or stayed due to invalid service, and the Singapore judgment that is subsequently issued may be recognised or enforced outside Singapore. This would, in turn, provide greater legal certainty for Singapore litigants to enforce their rights in foreign jurisdictions more efficiently and effectively.

Service out of Singapore where Convention applies

Where the Convention applies, service of judicial documents out of Singapore may be effected through one of the following channels:

  • The main transmission channel under the Convention, which involves:
    • the filing of the prescribed documents (which includes a request for service, a sealed copy of the document, a summary of the document to be served, and any necessary translations); and
    • the sending of the prescribed documents by the Registrar to the central authority of the contracting state in which the documents are to be served; or
  • to the extent permitted by the Convention and not objected to by the receiving contracting state, any of the existing channels for service out of Singapore.

Service of foreign documents in Singapore where Convention applies

Where the Convention applies, service of foreign judicial and extrajudicial documents in Singapore may be effected only through:

  • the main transmission channel under the Convention; or
  • if there are exceptional circumstances, the indirect diplomatic channel referred to in article 9, paragraph 2 of the Convention.

It should be noted that Singapore has lodged two declarations:

  • In accordance with article 8, paragraph 2 of the Convention, Singapore has declared that it is opposed to the direct service of judicial documents upon persons within its territory through foreign diplomatic or consular agents, unless the documents are to be served upon a national of the state from which the documents originate.
  • Singapore objects to the service of judicial and extrajudicial documents within its territory by the methods of transmission set out in article 10 of the Convention, namely: (a) postal channels, (b) direct communication between judicial officers, officials or other competent persons of the state of origin and the state of destination, and (c) direct communication between a person interested in a judicial proceeding and a judicial officer, official or other competent persons of the state of destination.

Where the main transmission channel is used, the documents required by the Convention must be sent by the competent authority or judicial officer of the sending contracting state to MinLaw, which is Singapore’s designated central authority under the Convention.

Reference materials

The press release is available on the MinLaw website www.mlaw.gov.sg.

The following materials are available on Singapore Statutes Online sso.agc.gov.sg: