Lawyers in Singapore are pushing back against proposals from two commissions that would cap their fees based on the amount claimed in the civil suit.
A report in the Straits Times said about 1,000 lawyers attended a Law Society of Singapore townhall on Nov. 12 to raise their concerns over these proposals with Law Minister K Shanmugam and Indranee Rajah, Second Minister for Finance and Education.
According to a recommendation by the Civil Justice Commission (CJC), set up by Shanmugam to improve the average citizen’s access to justice, legal costs in civil suits should be fixed, and tied to a claim amount. The recommended maximum sums allowed for professional fees are S$6,000 ($4,350) for a S$60,000 claim, S$148,000 for a S$10 million claim, and S$723,000 for a S$200 million claim.
The Ministry of Law’s website includes the following suggestions from the CJC:
- The use of scale legal costs and to emphasise the principle that in general, solicitor-and-client costs should be equal to party-and-party (P&P) costs.
- Scale legal costs will apply between party and party unless parties otherwise agree or the court otherwise orders in a special case. Where parties opt out of the scale for P&P costs, they may agree on whatever they deem fit
Another report from the Civil Justice Review Committee (CJRC), set up by the Law Ministry, also recommended ways to enhance judicial control over the court process, among other things.
The points were listed on a public consultation exercise posted on the website on Oct. 26. The consultation period will end on Nov. 30.
To contact the editorial team, please email ALBEditor@thomsonreuters.com.
