Simpler terms to be used in family law cases as part of key changes

SINGAPORE - The terms used in family law cases will be simplified, so that it is easier for the public to understand what they mean.

For example, “ex parte” will now be described as “without notice”, and “leave of court” will be known as “permission of court”.

Such nomenclature changes are one of the major amendments to the Family Justice Rules 2014, the Family Justice Courts announced in a statement on Wednesday.

The Family Justice Rules regulate and prescribe the procedure and the practice to be followed in all proceedings in the Family Justice Courts.

A Family Justice Courts spokesman told The Straits Times the use of specific new terms is also aimed to “dilute the adversarial nature of civil litigation” in family disputes.

For example, the plaintiff will be described as the applicant, and the defendant will be known as the respondent.

The Family Justice Courts spokesman added: “In the same vein, most family proceedings will no longer involve the filing of a claim or a counterclaim. Instead, the parties are to submit an originating application and a cross application.”

Some lawyers have noted that the terminology conveys a certain impression or comes with emotional baggage. For example, the defendant may feel he or she has to defend against some wrongdoing.

Another significant change in the Rules is that the simplified track for divorce proceedings will also be expanded to cover proceedings for judicial separation. This will benefit more couples and encourage them to settle their marital disputes early, the Family Justice Courts spokesman said. 

In a judicial separation, a married couple is legally separated but not divorced. In contrast, a divorce ends the marriage legally.

Under the new rules, couples who have agreed on the grounds for divorce or judicial separation can file under the simplified track, even though they have not agreed on ancillary matters such as child custody and maintenance.

This is a departure from the current process, where couples have to agree on both the grounds for divorce and the ancillary matters before they can file under the simplified track.

The Family Justice Courts said of the change: “This will allow parties to expedite and obtain their orders relating to dissolution of marriage on an uncontested basis, moving on to focus on the ancillary matters.”

Lawyer June Lim said that Catholic or Christian couples who find it hard to reconcile their faith with filing for divorce – as their faiths generally frown on divorce – are one group who opt to file for a judicial separation. 

In doing so, they are legally separated and if they later decide to reconcile, they just need to rescind the judgment for judicial separation. But the downside is that neither party can remarry unless they go on to file for a divorce, she said.

However, judicial separation cases are uncommon.

The Family Justice Courts said an average of 12 applications for judicial separation were filed each year from 2018 to 2022.

The amendments to the Family Justice Rules 2014 come after a comprehensive review, and are in line with recommendations made in the Report of the Committee to Review and Enhance Reforms in the Family Justice System and the judiciary’s vision to enhance access to justice, the Family Justice Courts statement said.

The new Rules will also be simplified and streamlined, and they will come into effect in the first quarter of 2024.

In her speech at the Family Conference on Wednesday morning, Family Justice Courts Presiding Judge Debbie Ong stressed the need for therapeutic justice, as she has seen many children caught in the crossfire of their parents’ fight – affecting the child’s well-being.

She also stressed that judges should manage a case in ways that reduce acrimonious litigation. The Family Justice Courts has been promoting therapeutic justice, which is a non-adversarial process that seeks to solve problems and help parents to learn to manage their conflicts and engage in co-parenting.

She said: “If the child’s welfare is paramount, how can parents be permitted to act in ways that hurt the child’s interests?... But we are very empathetic to the parents’ challenges in this very difficult stage in life, and we put in place therapeutic interventions to support them.”

She also urged family lawyers to advise their clients not to be “calculative and inflammatory” in their approach to the divorce, such as over the division of matrimonial assets. She recommended the broad-brush approach.

“Many significant forks in life’s road occur during the course of a marriage… How can a court conduct a mathematical forensic accounting exercise of a marriage, and hope to be ‘pinpoint-accurate’ in assessing exactly how much each spouse contributed to the marriage?” she said.

“To be that accurate, the court should have to conduct a forensic exercise of what occurred in every single day of the parties’ 30-year marriage, so that the exercise is fair and not focused only on selected aspects or incidents in the marriage. 

“If this is impossible, then the broad-brush approach must be the approach that leads to the most just and equitable division.”