SINGAPORE: Governments in Singapore and around the world have been introducing safeguards against a phenomenon dubbed "lawfare".
This involves a party advancing judicial claims to pressure or intimidate others, or for other ulterior motives.
In late January, an Administration of Justice (Protection) (Amendment) Bill came into effect in Singapore, to make clear that egregious cases of such abuse of process will amount to contempt of court, which is punishable under the law.
And earlier in February, a non-governmental organisation was set up by National University of Singapore Associate Professor Ben Leong. Called Lionheart Advocates, it aims to support those facing frivolous lawsuits.
An application made in court without legal basis or merit can be considered one.
Lawyer Lau Kah Hee told CNA that in civil suits, an applicant suing for substantial damages without suffering any losses could be considered as taking up a frivolous lawsuit.
"The court process should only be invoked for cases that have a reasonable legal basis or merit. Filing a frivolous lawsuit would therefore constitute an abuse of court process," the co-founder and director of BC Lim & Lau LLC said.
Lawyer Darren Tan said a person advancing a claim that was baseless - doomed to fail from the outset - would also be abusing the court process. So would using it for an improper purpose, such as to oppress or harass the other party instead of seeking redress.
"A frivolous lawsuit wastes precious judicial resources, which could be better utilised for other meritorious cases," said the deputy managing director at Invictus Law Corporation.
Filing fictitious claims to delay proceedings also constitutes an abuse of process.
Criminal lawyer Josephus Tan, managing director at Invictus, raised the example of an offender who files an appeal without raising anything new in arguments.
"It's like a second bite at the cherry, to try the same arguments with a different crop of audience," he said.
Another example would be someone who makes repeated applications for permission to appeal even after exhausting all avenues, Mr Lau said.
In one such example, a drug offender, Mohammad Farid Batra, filed three post-appeal applications in a bid to delay proceedings - so that he would become ineligible for caning upon turning 50 years old.
20:00 Min
In Parliament on Wednesday (Nov 13), Minister of State for Law Murali Pillai responded to clarifications sought by Members on the Administration of Justice (Protection) (Amendment) Bill. The Bill was passed in the House.
During his speech at the second reading of the Administration of Justice (Protection) (Amendment) Bill, Minister of State for Law Murali Pillai pointed out that Singapore has had notable cases of egregious abuse of process.
He did not give any numbers. CNA has asked the Singapore judiciary for statistics.
Mr Lau said such cases were relatively rare, though he has noticed more in recent years. Mr Darren Tan said they were "not uncommon" and can stem in particular from those who advance or resist claims without legal representation and legal training.
Mr Josephus Tan suggested that the number of cases could be increasing along with better public awareness of legal avenues. "People are becoming litigious because they're becoming more legally savvy," he said.
Social media and the ease of information access online have helped, and the advance of artificial intelligence might make such occurrences even more commonplace, Mr Josephus Tan said.
He noted how people have been able to navigate the legal landscape and conduct legal proceedings in the absence of any legal training.
"The whole process will be readily accessible to the layperson. The trade-off is that we have a more litigious society."
In passing the related amendment Bill, the Singapore government said it would strike a balance between the rights of individuals to air genuine claims in court, and the need to guard against abuse of process.
Those who act with reasonable care and in good faith would not be penalised, it added.
In response to questions from Members of Parliament, Mr Pillai said that even if a case were found to be without merit, this would not immediately amount to contempt of court under the changes.
Such cases would continue to be dealt with by being struck out, and by imposing cost orders - asking losing parties to pay the cost of using the court.
Other "abusive factors" must be present: For example, if a claim was made for an improper purpose, or if it was filed multiple times or successively without any basis.
In crafting the amendments, authorities looked at past examples, including a case which led to the court setting out categories of abuse of process. The authorities then specified even narrower categories, to ensure the new law only captured egregious cases as contempt.
At the same time, the amendments do not lower the threshold for contempt of court, meaning that cases still have to meet previously set standards.
Mr Lau, the lawyer, said it would be feasible and useful to formulate general principles preventing the abuse of court processes - but that each case had to be examined on its own merits as well.
Mr Josephus Tan said the Bill was timely in light of more of such cases occurring as well as previous legislation that made justice more accessible to the man on the street.
These include the Court Dispute Resolution Tribunal - where a person can file a dispute claim against a neighbour - and the Protection from Harassment Court - where an individual can file applications to curb acts of harassment.
The latter can also strike out baseless claims and impose costs on the party making them.
"On one hand, they are trying to balance the rights of individuals, there are a group of people who cannot afford lawyers. It is also their constitutional right to choose to defend themselves. You need to empower this group of people," said Mr Josephus Tan.
"But on the other hand, you also need to prevent another group of people ... from abusing (the system)."
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This involves a party advancing judicial claims to pressure or intimidate others, or for other ulterior motives.
In late January, an Administration of Justice (Protection) (Amendment) Bill came into effect in Singapore, to make clear that egregious cases of such abuse of process will amount to contempt of court, which is punishable under the law.
And earlier in February, a non-governmental organisation was set up by National University of Singapore Associate Professor Ben Leong. Called Lionheart Advocates, it aims to support those facing frivolous lawsuits.
Related:
What's a frivolous lawsuit?
An application made in court without legal basis or merit can be considered one.
Lawyer Lau Kah Hee told CNA that in civil suits, an applicant suing for substantial damages without suffering any losses could be considered as taking up a frivolous lawsuit.
"The court process should only be invoked for cases that have a reasonable legal basis or merit. Filing a frivolous lawsuit would therefore constitute an abuse of court process," the co-founder and director of BC Lim & Lau LLC said.
Lawyer Darren Tan said a person advancing a claim that was baseless - doomed to fail from the outset - would also be abusing the court process. So would using it for an improper purpose, such as to oppress or harass the other party instead of seeking redress.
"A frivolous lawsuit wastes precious judicial resources, which could be better utilised for other meritorious cases," said the deputy managing director at Invictus Law Corporation.
Filing fictitious claims to delay proceedings also constitutes an abuse of process.
Criminal lawyer Josephus Tan, managing director at Invictus, raised the example of an offender who files an appeal without raising anything new in arguments.
"It's like a second bite at the cherry, to try the same arguments with a different crop of audience," he said.
Another example would be someone who makes repeated applications for permission to appeal even after exhausting all avenues, Mr Lau said.
In one such example, a drug offender, Mohammad Farid Batra, filed three post-appeal applications in a bid to delay proceedings - so that he would become ineligible for caning upon turning 50 years old.
20:00 Min
In Parliament on Wednesday (Nov 13), Minister of State for Law Murali Pillai responded to clarifications sought by Members on the Administration of Justice (Protection) (Amendment) Bill. The Bill was passed in the House.
How common are such lawsuits?
During his speech at the second reading of the Administration of Justice (Protection) (Amendment) Bill, Minister of State for Law Murali Pillai pointed out that Singapore has had notable cases of egregious abuse of process.
He did not give any numbers. CNA has asked the Singapore judiciary for statistics.
Mr Lau said such cases were relatively rare, though he has noticed more in recent years. Mr Darren Tan said they were "not uncommon" and can stem in particular from those who advance or resist claims without legal representation and legal training.
Mr Josephus Tan suggested that the number of cases could be increasing along with better public awareness of legal avenues. "People are becoming litigious because they're becoming more legally savvy," he said.
Social media and the ease of information access online have helped, and the advance of artificial intelligence might make such occurrences even more commonplace, Mr Josephus Tan said.
He noted how people have been able to navigate the legal landscape and conduct legal proceedings in the absence of any legal training.
"The whole process will be readily accessible to the layperson. The trade-off is that we have a more litigious society."
Related:
How to balance access against misuse?
In passing the related amendment Bill, the Singapore government said it would strike a balance between the rights of individuals to air genuine claims in court, and the need to guard against abuse of process.
Those who act with reasonable care and in good faith would not be penalised, it added.
In response to questions from Members of Parliament, Mr Pillai said that even if a case were found to be without merit, this would not immediately amount to contempt of court under the changes.
Such cases would continue to be dealt with by being struck out, and by imposing cost orders - asking losing parties to pay the cost of using the court.
Other "abusive factors" must be present: For example, if a claim was made for an improper purpose, or if it was filed multiple times or successively without any basis.
In crafting the amendments, authorities looked at past examples, including a case which led to the court setting out categories of abuse of process. The authorities then specified even narrower categories, to ensure the new law only captured egregious cases as contempt.
At the same time, the amendments do not lower the threshold for contempt of court, meaning that cases still have to meet previously set standards.
Mr Lau, the lawyer, said it would be feasible and useful to formulate general principles preventing the abuse of court processes - but that each case had to be examined on its own merits as well.
Mr Josephus Tan said the Bill was timely in light of more of such cases occurring as well as previous legislation that made justice more accessible to the man on the street.
These include the Court Dispute Resolution Tribunal - where a person can file a dispute claim against a neighbour - and the Protection from Harassment Court - where an individual can file applications to curb acts of harassment.
The latter can also strike out baseless claims and impose costs on the party making them.
"On one hand, they are trying to balance the rights of individuals, there are a group of people who cannot afford lawyers. It is also their constitutional right to choose to defend themselves. You need to empower this group of people," said Mr Josephus Tan.
"But on the other hand, you also need to prevent another group of people ... from abusing (the system)."
Want an issue or topic explained? Email us at digitalnews [at] mediacorp.com.sg. Your question might become a story on our site.
Continue reading...