9. What is a Pre-Trial Review?

A Pre-Trial Review (“PTR”) is a key interlocutory hearing held shortly before trial under Order 25 of the Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A) (“RHC”) or the Rules of the District Court (Cap. 336H) (“RDC”) and Practice Direction 5.2 (“PD 5.2”). It serves as the court’s final procedural checkpoint to ensure that the action is genuinely ready for trial and that all pre-trial preparations have been completed.

A PTR is not held in every case. It is ordered only in actions that merit an additional hearing. Where all outstanding interlocutory matters have been satisfactorily resolved at earlier stages, the court may dispense with the PTR.

PTR as an immovable milestone date

A PTR is statutorily classified as a “milestone date” under Order 25, rule 1B(8)(a)(ii) of the RHC or Order 25, rule 3(8)(a)(ii) of the RDC. A PTR cannot be altered or adjourned by mutual agreement of the parties. The court will not grant an application to vary a PTR date unless “exceptional circumstances” justifying the variation are established (Order 25, rule 1B(3) of the RHC or Order 25, rule 3(3) of the RDC).

The court explicitly treats the PTR as a distinct milestone rather than an extension or second chance of the Case Management Conference (“CMC”). All preliminary steps, such as discovery, exchange of witness statements, and exchange of expert reports, are expected to be fully completed prior to the PTR.

Timing, attendance, and preparation

The PTR is listed approximately 8 to 12 weeks before the fixed trial date or the start of the designated trial period.

The PTR is conducted by the designated trial judge whenever practicable. Under PD 5.2, the hearing must be attended by trial counsel instructed for the trial. If an attending legal representative lacks adequate instructions or familiarity, leading to an adjournment, the court will likely impose a wasted costs order on the representative under Order 62, rule 8 of the RHC or RDC. For information about wasted costs orders, please refer to “If my legal representative has made several procedural mistakes (such as missing deadlines) or wrongfully disclosed my document without consent, causing wasted costs consequently, can I recover my legal costs from him?”.

Not less than 3 clear days before the PTR hearing, the plaintiff must lodge an updated PTR Bundle with the court. This is typically an updated version of the CMC bundle, featuring an index highlighted to show newly inserted documents.

Parties must not leave interlocutory applications to the PTR stage. Late applications made at or shortly before the PTR are heavily discouraged and may be dismissed on the ground of delay alone, particularly if granting them would imperil the fixed trial date.

Functions and trial management powers at the PTR

At the PTR, the trial judge evaluates the state of preparation and exercises statutory case management powers:

Fixing trial dates: If only a general "trial period" was set previously, the judge will fix the exact trial start date.
Reviewing time estimates: The court confirms or adjusts the estimated trial duration based on completed interlocutory steps.
Trial management powers: The judge exercises trial management powers under Order 35, rule 3A of the RHC or RDC to control the conduct of the trial, including:
Limiting the number of factual and expert witnesses each party may call;
Imposing strict time limits for the oral examination and cross-examination of witnesses; and
Setting time caps for opening and closing oral submissions.
Unless orders: The court may issue “unless orders” with automatic sanctions to clear any remaining procedural compliance before trial.

Consequences of non-attendance

If the plaintiff fails to appear, the court must provisionally strike out the Plaintiff’s claim. If a defendant who has made a counterclaim fails to appear, the court must provisionally strike out the counterclaim.

The Defence of an absent defendant who has no counterclaim is not automatically struck out. However, the court may proceed in the defendant’s absence or exercise its general case management powers to order the Defendant to confirm an intention to defend within a specified time, failing which the Defence will be struck out.