Parliament passes law clarifying court contempt threshold

These amendments are clarifactory and do not lower current thresholds.

The parliament has passed a law clarifying the threshold at which egregious abuse of the court process constitutes contempt of court, aimed at protecting the judicial system and the administration of justice.

Minister of State for Law Murali Pillai explained that the bill follows instances of process abuse in the country, with repeated court warnings being insufficient. The government saw the need to act to safeguard the judicial process.

The bill amends the 2016 Administration of Justice (Protection) Act, which consolidated the law of contempt of court. This amendment clarifies the types of conduct that qualify as contempt and aims to deter court process abuses, refining the broad language previously used to cover such conduct.

Contemptuous behaviour now explicitly includes court proceeding that the person knows or should have known involves a deception on the court, is fictitious, or constitutes a mere sham. It also covers court cases known to be groundless or without foundation, particularly if used for ulterior motives.

To constitute contempt, both manifest groundlessness and improper purpose must be present. Another category involves successive or multiple proceedings that are clearly baseless.

These provisions extend to all court proceedings in Singapore, regardless of whether parties are self-represented or have legal counsel. Pillai emphasised that the amendments clarify existing standards without reducing the threshold for contempt of court.