What Singapore Courts Actually Awarded in Costs

What the reported Singapore court record shows about litigation costs — drawn from 0 reported judgments that addressed costs.

As of , 0 reported Singapore judgments in this corpus carry a costs disposition — recomputed live.

What do Singapore courts actually award in costs?

Across 0 reported Singapore judgments in this corpus that addressed costs, the court recorded an award of costs in 0 and stated a specific sum in 0. Costs are awarded at the court's discretion under the Rules of Court 2021 and generally follow the event — the losing party is ordered to pay part of the successful party's legal costs. These figures describe the reported court record; they are not a measure of any lawyer's or firm's quality, and are information rather than legal advice.

What is the difference between party-and-party and indemnity costs?

Party-and-party costs are what the losing party is ordered to pay the successful party. Under the Rules of Court 2021 they are assessed on the standard basis unless the court directs otherwise: only costs that were reasonably incurred and reasonable in amount are allowed, and any doubt is resolved in favour of the paying party. A standard-basis award therefore indemnifies part, not all, of the successful party's actual legal spend, and is usually lower than the sum a lawyer bills the client. Indemnity costs are a more complete measure the court may order in defined circumstances — for example where a party's conduct in the litigation warrants it, or where a contract or a rule provides for it. On the indemnity basis all costs are allowed except those that were unreasonably incurred or unreasonable in amount, and any doubt is resolved in favour of the receiving party. Indemnity-basis awards are generally higher than standard-basis awards for the same work.

Does the losing party pay the winner's legal costs in Singapore?

Usually, in part. Under the Rules of Court 2021 costs are at the court's discretion and generally follow the event, so the losing party is ordered to pay the successful party's costs. On the standard basis those costs indemnify only part of the actual legal spend, because only reasonable costs are allowed and doubt is resolved for the paying party. The court can order no costs, or costs on the indemnity basis, depending on the circumstances. This is information about the court record, not legal advice.

How reported costs decisions break down

Across the 0 reported judgments that addressed costs, 0 stated a specific sum. Each judgment is counted once, by the operative disposition the court recorded.

Disposition Reported judgments What it means

Costs by track: appeals and first-instance matters

Appellate costs orders and first-instance costs orders are recorded separately, because the courts approach them differently.

Track Reported judgments Stated a sum
first-instance 572 329
appeal 173 144

Costs dispositions by court

Which courts recorded costs orders, and how those orders broke down. Awarded means the court ordered one party to pay another's costs.

Court Costs judgments Awarded
High Court (General Division) (SGHC) 329 208
High Court (Appellate Division) (SGHC(A)) 89 75
Court of Appeal (SGCA) 68 55
High Court (Family Division) (SGHCF) 65 30
High Court Registrar (SGHCR) 61 47
Singapore International Commercial Court (SGHC(I)) 43 30
Family Court (SGFC) 38 26
District Court (SGDC) 20 12
Court of Appeal (International) (SGCA(I)) 16 13
Magistrate Court (SGMC) 8 5
Small Claims Tribunals (SGSCT) 6 3
Community Disputes Resolution Tribunal (SGCDT) 1 0
Employment Claims Tribunals (SGECT) 1 1

Costs by practice area

The reported areas where costs were addressed most often. Follow an area to see who appears in its reported cases and what the courts recorded.

Practice area Costs judgments Stated a sum
Civil Procedure 263 181
Family Law 104 59
Contract 79 39
Insolvency Law 72 39
Arbitration 61 41
Tort 51 26
Companies 40 24
Trusts 34 26
Damages 33 17
Legal Profession 26 19
Land 23 17
Conflict of Laws 22 15
Building and Construction Law 18 9
Equity 18 13
Evidence 17 10

How costs are measured: the three bases

When a court awards costs it also decides how they are measured. The reported record shows all three bases in use.

Party-and-party costs (standard basis)

Party-and-party costs are what the losing party is ordered to pay the successful party. Under the Rules of Court 2021 they are assessed on the standard basis unless the court directs otherwise: only costs that were reasonably incurred and reasonable in amount are allowed, and any doubt is resolved in favour of the paying party. A standard-basis award therefore indemnifies part, not all, of the successful party's actual legal spend, and is usually lower than the sum a lawyer bills the client.

Indemnity costs

Indemnity costs are a more complete measure the court may order in defined circumstances — for example where a party's conduct in the litigation warrants it, or where a contract or a rule provides for it. On the indemnity basis all costs are allowed except those that were unreasonably incurred or unreasonable in amount, and any doubt is resolved in favour of the receiving party. Indemnity-basis awards are generally higher than standard-basis awards for the same work.

Fixed costs

Fixed costs are a single sum the court sets for the matter, or for a stage of it, rather than leaving the amount to later assessment. Fixing costs is common on appeals and interlocutory applications: the court states the sum in its order, often described as 'all-in' or with disbursements dealt with separately. A fixed sum reflects the court's assessment of a reasonable figure in the circumstances.

Official costs-scale sources

The framework and the indicative quantum guidelines the courts apply, each with its source and the year it describes.

Rules of Court 2021, Order 21 (Costs)

The costs framework for civil proceedings: the court's discretion as to costs, the standard and indemnity bases of assessment, and the general rule that costs follow the event.

Source: Rules of Court 2021, Order 21 (Costs) · as of 2021

Supreme Court Practice Directions 2021, Appendix G — Guidelines for Party-and-Party Costs Awards

Indicative quantum ranges for party-and-party costs in specified Supreme Court proceedings, drawn from past awards and internal practice. The guidelines are a guide only; the precise amount remains at the court's discretion.

Source: Supreme Court Practice Directions 2021, Appendix G — Guidelines for Party-and-Party Costs Awards · as of 2021

Supreme Court of Singapore — Costs and costs orders

The Judiciary's plain-language explanation of how costs are awarded and assessed, including the difference between the standard and indemnity bases.

Source: Supreme Court of Singapore — Costs and costs orders · as of 2022

Methodology & disclaimer

Each costs order is read from the text of a reported Supreme Court judgment published on eLitigation, counted once per judgment by its operative disposition. The quoted costs orders are verbatim extracts from those judgments. The headline count and the disposition split are recomputed live from the current corpus; the breakdowns by court, track and practice area are re-derived from the same records on the weekly refresh, so a small lag between them is possible after new judgments load. These are descriptions of the reported court record, not an estimate or quotation of any private legal fee, not a per-lawyer or per-firm measure, and not legal advice. Actual costs in any matter are set by the court in its discretion.

Explore the court record

Costs are one part of what the reported record shows about how litigation runs in Singapore.