Dispute Resolution

Court Proceedings in New Normal: Successful Application for Leave for Both Foreign Factual and Expert Witnesses to Testify via Video-Link

While Singapore has settled well into the present "new normal" of Phase Two of reopening the economy, travel restrictions and other preventative measures are still largely in place, and may continue to be in place for the foreseeable future. Yet the wheels of justice must continue to turn. Access to justice (fundamental to the rule of law) must continue to be provided by an agile legal system. In circumstances where foreign witnesses are unable to physically attend trial, what considerations will the courts take into account when deciding whether to grant leave for them to give evidence via video-link?

To put matters in context, giving evidence by video-link is, per se, not a new issue. Guiding principles have been established in legislation and earlier cases over the last three decades. However, how such principles are to be applied against the backdrop of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is a novel point. Necessity is the mother of invention, and so courts worldwide have devised creative but legally sound solutions that do not cause prejudice to any party.

In the lead up to a recent civil trial (currently part-heard and resuming in late October), conducted entirely remotely, Gregory Vijayendran SC, Kevin Tan, Devathas Satianathan, and Low Weng Hong from Rajah & Tann Singapore's dispute resolution team successfully obtained leave from the Singapore High Court for the Defendant's foreign factual and expert witnesses to give evidence by video-link in a contested application. This was despite the Plaintiff's strenuous objections.

This Update elucidates the considerations that the Court took into account when granting such leave.