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294 Singapore Academy of Law Journal (2003) 6.4.2 Civil suit filed and ancillary matters pending in courts of different jurisdictional limits---the High Court and the Family Court 125 6.4.2.1 Power to transfer matters from High Court to Family Court and vice versa 205 Only the High Court has the power to transfer a matter from the High Court to the Family Court, and vice versa. The High Court’s power comes from Section 18 (Powers of High Court) of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Cap. 322) (“SCJA”): “18. —(1) The High Court shall have such powers as are vested in it by any written law for the time being in force in Singapore. (2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the High Court shall have the powers set out in the First Schedule. (3) The powers referred to in subsection (2) shall be exercised in accordance with any written law or Rules of Court relating to them.” First Schedule Transfer of proceedings 10. Power to transfer any proceedings to any other court or to or from any subordinate court, and in the case of transfer to or from a subordinate court to give any directions as to the further conduct thereof, except that this power shall be exercised in such manner as may be prescribed by Rules of Court. 206 There are specific provisions in the Subordinate Courts Act (Cap. 321) (“SCA”) governing the transfer of cases to and from the High Court, however. Section 18 of the SCJA must be read together with these specific provisions. As stated in the case of Ong Pang Wee and Ors v Chiltern Park Development Pte Ltd: 126 125 The position if the civil suit was filed in the Magistrate’s Court is dealt with in Section 6.4.3 below. 126 [2003] SGCA 9
15 SAcLJ Matrimonial Assets and the 3 rd Party 295 “..the scope of the High Court’s power to transfer proceedings from a lower court to itself cannot be determined by looking only at the SCJA. In fact it would be wrong to do so as s 18(3) provides that the powers ‘shall be exercised’ in accordance with written law. Parliament had therefore intended the High Court to have regard to other applicable written laws before exercising the power to transfer proceedings to itself and to act in a manner that was ‘in accordance with’ or consistent with those provisions in so doing. In this case, the applicable written law is the SCA and the High Court can only exercise its powers of transfer of proceedings as provided for in this Act.” (per Judith Prakash J, , at paragraph 14) 6.4.2.2 Civil Suit filed in High Court to be heard by Family Court—Transfer down from High Court 207 An example of a case where this was done is Chia Kin Tuck v Leong Choon Kum and Anor (Suit 1665 of 1999). On 7 May 1998, the wife had commenced divorce proceedings against the husband in Divorce Petition No. 1621 of 1998. A decree nisi was granted on 7 January 2000, and the ancillary matters were adjourned to be heard in chambers. The husband then filed a suit (i.e. Suit 1665 of 1999) in the High Court on 24 November 1999 against the wife and a 3 rd party for the return of a sum of $1 million which he alleged had been given to the wife to be deposited into two bank accounts for the purpose of meeting his sons’ educational expenses, and which had been wrongfully transferred to the account of the 3 rd party. The husband had applied to stay the ancillary matters proceedings until the High Court suit was disposed of. This application was granted by the Family Court. On appeal by the wife, the High Court ordered the High Court suit to be transferred to the Family Court, to be heard by the same judge dealing with the ancillary matters 127 . 208 The provision governing the transfer of suits from the High Court to the Family Court is Section 37 SCA (“Section 37”): General power to transfer from High Court to District Court 37. —(1) In any action commenced by way of writ of summons in the High Court in the exercise of its original civil jurisdiction, 127 Order made on 23 October 2000. No judgment was written. A new suit number was given for the transferred suit—DC(T) 600872 of 2000
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