I. Making an Application for a Personal Protection Order (PPO)
a. Complaint Writing
You have to go to the Family Protection Centre of the Family Courts to apply for the order(s). Please bring your identity card, police or medical reports and previous court orders, if any. A Court Counsellor or a Court Interpreter will assist you with your application. The filing fee for the complaint is $1.
The Court Counsellor can link you with a social service agency for assistance or shelter if necessary.
b. Affirmation
After you have completed the application form, you will be brought before a Judge to affirm or swear your complaint. The Judge may ask you some questions before issuing summons and /or an Expedited Order (EO).
c. Return Date
After affirmation, you will be brought back to the Protection Order Services. There, you will be given a date to return to the Family Courts for the mention of your case in Court.
d. Issuance of Summons to Respondent
A process server from the Family Courts will serve the summons on the Respondent. You do not need to accompany the process server.
The attempt of service of the summons and EO will be usually served on the Respondent within 24 hours of your complaint. However, if your case is registered after 10am on a Saturday, the attempt of service of the summons and/or EO will only be carried out on the next working day.
For ordinary summons, i.e. without an EO, the summons will usually be served within a week from the date of the complaint.
e. Withdrawal
If you wish to withdraw your application after summons is served, you may only do so when your case is mentioned in Court.
II. Mention in Court
On the day that your case is to be mentioned in Court, please report to Family Court 1 at Level 1 of the Family Justice Courts building, located at No. 3 Havelock Square, and wait for your name to be called. If you do not appear within half an hour from the given time, your complaint will be truck off and the case closed.
If the Respondent does not attend Court on the given date and time, a warrant for his arrest will be issued on the same day. After the warrant is executed on the Respondent, you will be notified of the next case to be mentioned.
When both parties are present and the Respondent admits to the complaint and consents to a PPO, the Judge will make a PPO. If not, the Judge may direct that both parties attend a counselling session on the same day or give both parties an appointment to see a Court Counsellor on another date.
If the Judge does not direct counselling, the Judge will direct parties to prepare 3 sets of their required documents such as medical reports and photographs for the injuries.
At the counselling session, the Court Counsellor will discuss the complaint with you and the Respondent. The Court Counsellor will also assist you and the Respondent to see the effects of violence, alternatives to violence and address other issues in your relationship. You may also be referred to a social service centre for assistance. At the end of the counselling session, you will be brought to see the Judge. Depending on the outcome of the counselling session, protection orders can be made if Respondent now consents to PPO or the case can be fixed for hearing if otherwise. The next court date will be written in the appointment slip.
- Mandatory Counselling
Apart from the orders you have applied, you, the Respondent, and your children can also be ordered to attend mandatory counselling. You and/ or the Respondent will assigned to a social service agency administered by the Ministry of Social & Family Development (MSF). The Court will fix a review date in about six months time to review the progress of the counselling.
III. Court Trial
You may engage a lawyer to represent you at the hearing. If you are unable to afford a lawyer, you can seek assistance from the Legal Aid Bureau. However, before deciding whether you need a lawyer, you can approach the Community Justice Centre (CJC) located at Level 3 of the Family Justice Courts building for more information. Alternatively, if you wish to seek free legal advice, you may apply for CJC's legal clinic at Level 1 of the State Courts building.
On the day of the hearing, you should bring the required documents that has been submitted and exchanged at the mentions session and to bring the witness(es). that you have informed the mentions Court that you will be calling as a witness. The hearing judge may not allow your additional witnesses to testify if you have not informed the mentions Court of the witnesses that you wish to call.