Frequently Asked Questions

The Family Justice Courts aim to empower families to resolve their disputes holistically focusing on the future and as far as possible with less acrimony and stress. From 1 October 2014, the following changes will be implemented:

• Judges will take a more pro-active role in directing the pace and conduct of court proceedings.
• Cases will be managed with different timelines depending on their complexity and urgency.
• Court procedures will be streamlined and filing of documents simplified to help litigants-in-person navigate the system more easily.
• The Court may, where necessary, appoint a Court Friend to assist the litigant-in-person.
• The Court would have power to direct parties to attend counselling and/or mediation to resolve their disputes for all cases that are brought before the Court.

In any family proceedings involving children, the best interest of the child is paramount. From 1 October 2014, the following initiatives will help bring this to the fore:

• Parties undergoing divorce proceedings with at least one child below 21 years of age must attend counselling and/or mediation. The change is in line with theamendment of the Women's Charter in 2011 to make counselling and/or mediation mandatory for all parties with at least one child below 21 years of age, when they commence divorce proceedings.
• Apart from divorce cases, the Court may direct parties to attend counselling and mediation sessions in all other cases involving children, e.g. guardianship and child custody, child protection, children beyond parental control, and other cases handled by the Youth Courts.
• When a case has to be adjudicated, the Court can appoint a Child Representative to provide a voice for the child and an additional perspective for consideration.

The Judge can assist the parties by taking the lead and controlling the pace of the proceedings. The Judge will take a more proactive role in each case. This will include assessing if the dispute can be resolved amicably and considering options such as mediation and counselling. If the dispute cannot be resolved amicably, the Judge will identify the relevant issues, and direct parties to address the issues. The Judge will determine the manner in which evidence is produced and admitted, regulate the filing of court documents and may, in appropriate cases, appoint a Child Representative or order expert assistance from social and psychological service professionals. In urgent cases, the Judge may place the case on an expedited track.

Cases will be managed according to their complexity and urgency and may be assigned to different timelines for disposal. If necessary the same judge may be assigned to a case from start to finish for holistic resolution of the dispute.

The Court may, at any stage of proceedings, refer an unrepresented litigant to the Community Justice Centre (CJC) or other pro-bono agency for the assignment of a Court Friend to assist him. It is up to the litigant whether or not he wishes to accept the referral.
The Court Friend may provide practical and emotional support to the litigant, such as:

1. Providing information on court procedure and processes.
2. Providing emotional and moral support during the court processes.
3. Taking notes of court proceedings and organizing documents for use in court.
4. The Court Friend is not allowed to provide legal advice and/or represent the litigant in court.

Interested persons may contact the Community Justice Centre for more details on how to become a volunteer.

The Court has power to direct parties to attend counselling and/or mediation to resolve their disputes for all cases that are brought before the Court.

In particular, for cases involving children -

• Parties undergoing divorce proceedings with at least one child below 21 years of age must attend counselling and/or mediation. The change is in line with the amendment of the Women's Charter in 2011 to make counselling and/or mediation mandatory for all parties with at least one child below 21 years of age, when they commence divorce proceedings.
• Apart from divorce cases, the Court may direct parties to attend counselling and/or mediation sessions in all other cases involving children, e.g. guardianship and child custody, child protection, children beyond parental control, and other cases handled by the Youth Courts.

The Court's approach is to treat the interest of the child as paramount in dealing with disputes involving children. We have, in the past, appointed amicus curiae to look into various child issues. Our counsellors and psychologists have also worked closely with children to secure their best interests.

While parents generally want the best for their children, in the heat of a divorce or child custody battle, they may unwittingly take positions or make arrangements that are not beneficial for their children. The Family Justice Courts take different approaches for dealing with cases involving children. Trained professionals from the Family Justice Courts may also work with the parents to elicit the needs of the children without the children being present, or interview the children directly to help them articulate their concerns, fears and wishes, so as to reduce the trauma that the children may experience from their parents' divorce. The feedback from the session with the children is brought back to the parents to help them better understand their children's needs, thereby enabling the parents to move from an adversarial to a collaborative stance in negotiating the future parenting arrangement.

A child needs to be heard and listened to by their parents, mental health and legal professionals, and ultimately the judges who decide their case in their best interest. Focusing on the needs of the children in the divorce proceedings and child-related proceedings can also reduce the intensity and duration of the conflict between the parents. This leads to better relationships between parents and their children.

The Child Focused Resolution Centre (CFRC) programme has been quite successful so far in helping divorcing couples focus on the best interests of their children, in resolving child custody issues and impressing upon parents the importance of co-operation and collaboration in their roles as co-parents going forward. The CFRC programme covers all divorce cases with children below 21 years of age.

The decision to revise the operating hours on Saturdays was done following a review of the utilisation of the Court’s resources in the past years. Given the small number of court users who make use of our services on Saturday, FJC Registry will be closed on Saturdays wef. 1 August 2018. 

No. However, the new operating hours allows FJC to optimize its current resources to better serve court users during the workweek.

In case of urgent warrant cases, SPF will contact the duty Court Officer who will in turn activate the rest of the registry staff who are on standby to deal with these cases.

Applicants for maintenance and protection orders can continue to access  the iFAMS system at https://ifams.gov.sg  to prepare their online application for maintenance and protection orders and proceed to their choice of designated agencies or FJC on any weekday to complete the application process. Applicants will need to have an active SingPass ID and Password to access iFAMS.

You are advised to lodge a police report so that action can be taken immediately by the police in appropriate cases.