The Treaty on Judicial Assistance in Civil and Commercial Matters (中华人民共和国和新加坡共和国关于民事和商事司法协助的条约) (“Treaty“) between Singapore and the People’s Republic of China (“PRC“) provides for the mutual provision of judicial assistance by both countries and sets out the applicable procedure for such requests.
In the recent case of Kiri Industries Ltd v Senda International Capital Ltd and another (Fan Jing, non-party) [2024] SGHC(I) 7, the Singapore International Commercial Court considered an examination order that had been obtained by the plaintiff in the Singapore courts against the defendant company and two of its officers who were non-parties and foreign nationals resident in PRC. On application by the defendant company and one of the officers (“Applicants“), the Court set aside an order giving the plaintiff leave to serve the examination order on the two officers in Hong Kong and PRC, as well as an order for substituted service of the examination order. In reaching its decision, the Court highlighted the importance of observing the channels set out in the Treaty when it comes to the service of orders or the taking of evidence in PRC, as the plaintiff’s failure to utilise these channels was a major factor in the setting aside of the service orders.
The Applicants were successfully represented in this application by Toh Kian Sing SC, Mark Cheng, Priscilla Soh, Darren Lim, and Ryan Mao of Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP.
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