The Supreme Court of Singapore hears criminal motions. These consist of a wide range of applications such as:
- Applications for bail
- Reviews of decisions made by the State Courts or an Appellate Court
- Requests to introduce additional evidence on appeal
- Requests for extensions of time to file a Notice or Petition of Appeal
- Requests to refer to the Court of Appeal a question of law of public interest
Criminal motion vs criminal appeal
A criminal appeal is typically only brought against a judgment, sentence, or order. Either the accused or the prosecution may file an appeal in the event they are dissatisfied with the court’s decision.
A criminal motion is different and could possibly be filed even during criminal proceedings which have yet to be concluded.
How to file a motion?
Criminal motions would typically be filed with either the General Division of the High Court or the Court of Appeal.
Applications are submitted via eLitigation and must include two documents — a Notice of Motion and an affidavit in support.
Notice of Motion form
This is set out in Forms 72 to 75 in the Schedule of the Criminal Procedure Rules 2018. The exact form to be used would depend on what application is being made.
The relevant forms are as follows:
- Form 72: All other applications.
- Form 73: Variation of bail.
- Form 74: Extension of time to file an appeal or any other applications.
- Form 75: Permission to adduce further evidence.
You would typically have to disclose:
- The details of your case (case number, date, parties involved).
- The nature of your application (e.g. extension of time to file a Notice of Appeal, variation of bail).
Supporting affidavit
This is a signed statement made under oath explaining the reasons for the application being brought. Christians would swear to the truth of the statement while others would affirm the same.
These affidavits typically include the documentary evidence a party would be relying on in the application. Depending on what the application is for, certain forms in the Supreme Cout Practice Directions may also need to be enclosed.
What happens after filing a motion?
Once the Notice of Motion is filed, the court will fix a hearing date.
There must usually be at least 7 days between the service of the Notice of Motion on the Respondent to the application and the hearing date fixed by the Court.
The court may give such directions as it deems fit. This may include adjourning the hearing, granting or dismissing the application.
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