Commencement of the Administration of Justice (Protection) (Amendment) Act 2024
27 January 2025 Posted in Press releases
1. The Administration of Justice (Protection) (Amendment) Act 2024 was passed on 13 November 20241 and will come into effect on 28 January 2025.
2. Amendments were made to the Administration of Justice (Protection) Act to make clear to the public and potential court users that egregious cases of abuse of process will amount to contempt of court. These include the following conduct:
a) Conducting or commencing a court proceeding, which the person knows or ought to have known:
i) involves a deception on the court, or is fictitious, or constitutes a mere sham; or
ii) is manifestly groundless or without foundation, and involves the process of the court being employed for some ulterior or improper purpose.
b) Conducting or commencing multiple or successive court proceedings, which the person knows or ought to have known are manifestly groundless or without foundation.
3. Persons who cause or abet such conduct will also be liable for contempt of court.
4. The amendments have been carefully crafted to balance between the need to protect the right of litigants to ventilate genuine disputes and the public interest in preventing the egregious misuse of our court’s processes.
MINISTRY OF LAW
27 JANUARY 2025
1. For more details, please refer to the First Reading press release and Second Reading speech.↩