The Family Justice Courts are the group of courts in Singapore that handle divorce, children’s matters, maintenance, family violence, adoption, probate and mental capacity applications. They consist of the Family Division of the High Court, the Family Courts, and the Youth Courts, and they operate under the Family Justice Act and the Family Justice Rules 2024.
If you have a hearing coming up, the two things worth knowing straight away are that most family hearings are short and administrative rather than dramatic, and that a large proportion of the process is designed to help you settle rather than to have a judge decide. What follows is how the system is put together and what a day there actually looks like.
How the courts are structured
Family Courts
This is where most people’s matters begin and end. The Family Courts hear divorce applications and the ancillary matters that follow (division of assets, maintenance, custody and care arrangements) along with maintenance applications under the Women’s Charter, personal protection order applications, adoption, and guardianship. Cases are heard by District Judges, and much of the procedural work is handled by Registrars.
Family Division of the High Court
The Family Division handles matters that are higher in value or complexity, certain international children’s cases including those under the Hague Convention on child abduction, more substantial probate matters, and appeals from decisions of the Family Courts. Whether a case starts here or in the Family Courts depends on the type of matter and, for asset disputes, the amounts involved.
Youth Courts
The Youth Courts deal with young persons below 16 who come into conflict with the law, and with care and protection proceedings for children who have been abused, neglected or are beyond parental control. Proceedings are closed and the emphasis is rehabilitative. This is a separate track from divorce: a child whose parents are divorcing does not go anywhere near the Youth Court.
The Family Justice Rules 2024 and what changed
The Family Justice Rules 2024 are the current procedural rules governing how family proceedings run. The most visible change for ordinary users is terminology. Proceedings now start with an Originating Application rather than a Writ, and the parties are the applicant and the respondent rather than plaintiff and defendant. You will still see the old words in older articles, court forms held by friends, and templates floating around online: treat them as legacy.
Beyond naming, the rules push toward earlier identification of the real issues, active case management by the court, and proportionality: the idea that the effort and cost spent on a case should match what is genuinely at stake. Judges have broad powers to direct how a case proceeds, including ordering parties to attend counselling or mediation, limiting the length of affidavits, and deciding some matters without an oral hearing.
Our walkthrough of the step-by-step divorce process follows these rules in sequence, and the documents you need to file covers what actually goes into a set of papers.
Therapeutic justice: the approach behind the process
Therapeutic justice is the framing the Family Justice Courts have adopted for family disputes. The premise is that a family case is not really a contest between two opponents (the parties will usually still have to deal with each other afterwards, particularly where children are involved) so the process should aim to resolve the problem with the least lasting harm, rather than simply crown a winner.
In practical terms it shows up as:
- Early referral to counselling and mediation rather than straight to trial.
- Judges actively narrowing issues at case conferences instead of letting every point run to a hearing.
- Discouraging inflammatory affidavits. Long recitations of a spouse’s failings rarely help and can be criticised by the court.
- A consistent focus on children’s welfare as the governing consideration in any decision affecting them.
If you go in expecting to prove your spouse is a bad person, you will find the court is not much interested. What it wants to know is what arrangement works going forward.
The Registry, e-filing and case administration
The Registry is the administrative engine of the courts. It accepts filings, issues hearing dates, processes applications and answers procedural queries. Registry staff can tell you what a form is, what stage your case is at, and what the next step is. They cannot tell you what to claim or whether your position is a good one: that is legal advice, and they are not permitted to give it.
Filing is electronic. Documents in family proceedings are filed through the courts’ electronic filing service, and there is a separate integrated family application system used for certain applications, particularly in the maintenance and protection order space. Terminals and assistance are available at the courts for people who cannot file from home. Fees apply for filings; amounts change, so check the current schedule on judiciary.gov.sg rather than relying on a quoted figure.
Keep every filing receipt and every notice of hearing. Cases are identified by a case number, and quoting it in any correspondence saves a great deal of time.
Court-based counselling and mediation
The courts run their own dispute resolution services, staffed by court family specialists (counsellors and psychologists) working alongside judge-mediators.
Where parents have a child below 21, the case will usually be directed into mediation and counselling early. Parents of children below 21 are also generally required to complete the mandatory co-parenting programme before proceeding. Sessions are confidential and without prejudice, meaning what is said in mediation cannot generally be used against you later, which is what makes frank discussion possible.
The child’s voice can be brought in where appropriate, through a court family specialist speaking to the child rather than the child being put in a courtroom or asked to choose a parent. Our guide to how mediation works in a Singapore divorce covers what to prepare and what to expect from a session.
What a hearing day looks like
Arrive early. Security screening at the entrance takes time, and you need to find the right floor and courtroom, both of which are on your notice of hearing and on the display screens in the building.
Most family hearings are heard in chambers, not in an open courtroom. Chambers hearings are closed to the public, held in a smaller room, and the judge does not wear robes for them. This is normal and protects the family’s privacy: it is not a sign that anything unusual is happening.
Expect waiting. Several matters are typically listed for the same time slot and taken in turn. A case conference may last ten minutes; a contested ancillary matters hearing runs much longer. Bring your documents, something to read, and clear your day rather than scheduling a meeting an hour later.
In the room
- Address the judge as “Your Honour”. Stand when the judge enters and leaves, and when speaking, unless told otherwise.
- Speak only when it is your turn. Do not interrupt your spouse or their lawyer, however wrong you think they are.
- Answer the question asked. Judges will cut off long narratives, and it is not personal.
- Phones off. Recording is prohibited.
- If you do not understand something, say so. Asking is far better than nodding and getting it wrong.
At the end you will usually be told what happens next: a further date, an order to file something by a deadline, or a referral to mediation. Write it down before you leave the building.
If you do not have a lawyer
Self-representation is common in the Family Justice Courts, and the system accounts for it. The Community Justice Centre operates at the courts to help self-represented persons: it offers information on court processes, help understanding documents, and referrals to legal clinics and other assistance. It is an independent charity working alongside the courts rather than part of them, and its help is free.
Alongside it, the Legal Aid Bureau under the Ministry of Law provides means-tested legal aid, and Pro Bono SG runs free legal clinics offering short consultations. Our guide to legal aid and low-cost help for divorce covers eligibility and how to apply.
Two habits make self-representation go much better. First, read every document the court sends you the day it arrives, not the week before the hearing: deadlines are real and missed ones cause avoidable problems. Second, keep an organised file: pleadings, affidavits, orders, correspondence, each in date order. Judges notice when a party is organised, and more importantly, you will find what you need when asked for it.
