All small claims will now have to be filed online: State Courts

SINGAPORE — Those who want to resolve transaction disputes by filing a small claim will now have to do so online, as the old way of filing a case by heading down to the Small Claims Tribunals is no longer available. 

This comes under the first phase of the State Courts’ Community Justice and Tribunals System (CJTS), which was launched on Monday (July 10).

With this e-filing system, those who submit a claim can also do the following online: Negotiate for a settlement, select their court date, obtain a court order and make payments. 

The parties involved will be able to view documents submitted by each other and monitor their case developments through the portal.

In a press statement on Monday, the State Courts said that these functions would “reduce errors in filing, increase the likelihood of settling a dispute on (the claimants’) own terms, and save some time to attend court in order to resolve a small claims dispute”.

Filing a claim, for instance, may now be reduced to as little as 15 minutes.

Individuals can access the CJTS with their SingPass (the password-enabled portal to government e-services), while corporate entities can do so with their CorpPass.

The system will be progressively expanded to accommodate cases involving the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals and the Employment Claims Tribunals from the first quarter of next year.

The Small Claims Tribunals, which are part of the State Courts, hear claims not exceeding S$10,000. Previously, the process was conducted in a largely manual fashion. Parties would have to go to court in person to file their claim and submit the relevant documents in hard copy. They would then have to attend mediation and tribunal hearings, before a tribunal order can be made. 

This order is of the same force and effect as an order of a Magistrate’s Court, and may be enforced accordingly.

The State Courts said that among its tribunals, the Small Claims Tribunals see a higher volume of more than 10,000 cases per year.

Giving an example of how the system may help with efficiency, it said: “When a settlement offer is made by the respondent, the claimant will receive a notification to log on to consider the offer or make a counter offer.”

If an amicable settlement has been reached through e-negotiation, the parties may apply online for a tribunal order directly from the system without having to go to court, it added.

If the parties are unable to reach a settlement via the CJTS, the case will then proceed to the consultation and hearing stages of the small claims process in court.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story said those filing small claims can now do it online instead of making a physical trip down to the court. This is incorrect. All small claims have to be filed online from Monday (July 10). We are sorry for the error.