Order 6A — Electronic Filing of Process and Document

(1) These rules shall govern electronic filing (“e-filing”) of all processes or documents connected with or relating to any matter before the Court.

(2) There shall be an E-filing Centre for electronic filing and payment of filing fees for processes and documents relating to or connected with a matter before the Court.

A party or counsel to a party may e-file any process or document that may be filed with the Court in paper form except:
(1) Documents to be presented to the Court in Chambers or in camera, solely for the purpose of obtaining a ruling, and;
(2) Documents to which access is otherwise restricted by law or Court order, etc.

(1) There shall be an officer of the Court designated as an Electronic Filing Manager (EFM) at the E-filing Centre.

(2) The EFM shall be responsible for the management of processes and document transmitted to the electronic filing portal of the Court.

A party or party’s counsel desiring to e-file a process shall first register as an E-filer with the EFM in order to e-file with the Court.

Any process or document to be e-filed must be formatted as follows:
(1) Typed or printed on 8.27 x 11.29 A4 white opaque paper;
(2) Formatted in text-searchable portable document format (PDF) with the content appropriately rotated.
(3) Any process or document that is not compatible with the prescribed format stated in sub-rules (1) and (2) of this rule will be automatically rejected by the portal. The E-filer must confirm that each document is compatible with this format before it is e-filed.
(4) Exhibits and appendices may be saved directly where such documents are in soft copy or scanned where they are printed on hard paper copy material and saved into one specifically named computer file with the authentication number of the E-filer and suit number and other relevant details of the matter

(1) A party or counsel e-filing a process may do so to the EFM through the portal of the Court.
Provided that no alternative electronic document filing and transmission system may be offered by courts or registrars.
Provided also that parties or their counsel shall not file documents through any alternative document filing transmission system including tele-copier or fax.

(2)(a) The EFM shall issue the registered E-filer with an Authentication Registration Number (ARN).
(b) The ARN shall be used by the E-Filer in subsequent e-filing of any process or e-communication or correspondence with the Court on the matter before the Court.
(c) An e-filer must also provide designated e-mail address(es) to the EFM.

(3) No process or document e-filed without the ARN will be accepted by the portal of the Court or transmitted to the EFM or to the Registry of the Court for further processing.

(4) Any process or document e-filed with the ARN may be sent to the portal of the Court and the EFM will forward the document to the Registry of the Court.

(5) Where a process is properly e-filed and accepted by the portal, the portal of the Court will:
(a) generate an e-mail acknowledging receipt of the e-filing;
(b) send the automatically generated e-mail to the designated e-mail address of the e-filer;

(6) Thereafter the e-filer will also receive a confirmation of the Registrar’s acceptance of the filing, and a file-stamped copy of the document.

An E-filer may e-file more than one process or document in the same matter by a single transmission to the portal of the Court to the EFM. Each e-filed document will be individually treated and may be accepted or rejected by the Registrar.

(1) Counsel’s electronic signature constitutes the Counsel’s signature on the document in compliance with the signature requirements in these Rules, and authorizes payment of all filing and service fees associated with the e-filing.

(2) If a document must be notarized, sworn to, or made under oath, the e-filer may electronically notarize the document or must scan the page with the notarized signature(s) or oaths and must include the page with the scanned notarized signature(s) or oaths with the document.

(3) If a document requires the signature of an opposing party, the E-filer must scan the page with the signature(s) of the opposing party and must include the page with the scanned signature(s) with the document.

(4) When an e-filer e-files a scanned image of a notarized signature or oath, pursuant to sub-rule (3) of this rule, the e-filer must retain the original document from which the scanned image was made until the case in which the document was filed is resolved. If the original document is in another party’s possession, that party must retain the original document until the case in which the document was filed is concluded.

An e-filer must include designated e-mail address(es) for e-service on all e-filings. An e-filer must notify the Registrar and the EFM of any change of the e-mail address within one business day of the change. The Registrar of the Court may send notices or other communications about a case to the designated e-mail address of the party to be served or the party’s duly authorized agent or counsel of record in lieu of physical service of the paper documents.

An e-filed document may contain hyperlinks to another part of the same document or process on the same matter or party in the same matter, an attachment or exhibit contained within the same computer file.

An e-filed process or document must not contain a virus or malware. E-filed processes or documents suspected to contain a virus or malware will be automatically rejected by the e-filing portal of the Court. The e-filing of a document constitutes a certification by the e-filer that the document has been checked for viruses and malware.

Where a process or document has been sent and acknowledged by the EFM, the e-filing is deemed good and proper and to have been delivered to the Registrar.

An e-filed process or document may be deemed timely filed if it is e-filed at any time before midnight on the date on which the document is automatically stamped received and expected to comply with an order or the relevant rules of the Court.

(1) Where an e-filed process or document is considered untimely arising from a technical failure or a system outage on the part of the e-filing portal of the Court, any process or document e-filed during the period of outage or failure may be deemed filed and the e-filer may seek appropriate relief from the Court.

(2) Where the system outage or technical failure prevents the e-filer from complying with an order, ruling, directive or any rule of the Court, the e-filer may by oral application during the Court proceedings seek for appropriate relief from the Court.

(3) Any technical failure or system outage that impedes a party from complying with e-filing procedures or an order, ruling or relevant rules of the Court cannot be a basis for disposing of any case.

(1) Except as otherwise provided on the e-filing platform, the Registrar of the Court must not later than the first business day after receiving a document transmitted to him by the EFM, indicate to the e-filer whether the e-filer’s process or document will be accepted for filing.

(2) Where the process or document complies with the order or relevant rule(s) of the Court or it is not misdirected, the Registrar must accept the document for filing.

(3) If the Registrar fails to accept or reject a document within the time allowed, the document is deemed to have been properly filed and accepted.

(1) Where a process or document is accepted for filing, the Registrar will note the date and time of filing which, with the exception of sub-rule 2 of this rule, must be the date and time that the e-filer transmitted the document to the EFM.

(2) Where the date and time a process is filed has been appropriately noted in accordance with the provisions of sub-rule (1) of this rule, the Registrar will send to the EFM an electronic confirmation which will include an electronically “file-marked” copy of the front page of the document showing the date and time the Registrar considers the process or document to have been filed.

(3) The EFM may, on that same day, electronically transmit to the e-filer the “electronic confirmation” that the document has been accepted or rejected for filing by the Registrar.

(4) Where a process or document is not accepted for filing, the Registrar may by electronic transmission inform the EFM of its action, with the reason for such rejection, on the same day decision on rejection of e-filing is taken.

(5) The Registrar must, on that same day of rejecting the e-filed process or document, electronically transmit to the e-filer by a short service message (SMS) to the phone of the e-filer an “alert” informing that the process or document was not accepted with the reason(s) for the rejection.

(6) Where a process or document has been duly filed and accepted, the Registrar shall transmit to the e-filer the filing fees for payment in accordance with the e-payment instruction on the e-filing portal.

Transmission of e-filed document to President of the Court for assignment.
(1) When a process or document has been accepted by the Registrar as duly e-filed, the Registrar may transmit same to the box of the President of the Court for assignment of the matter in accordance with Order 2 rule 7 of these Rules or as the case may be.

(2) Except as otherwise directed by the President of the Court, any process or document filed electronically may not be transmitted to any Judge of the Court until it has been properly assigned by the President of the Court.

Where the President of the Court has delegated the assignment of matters in accordance with Order 2 rule 8 of these Rules to a Judge of the Court or to the Administrative Judge of a Judicial Zone, any matter e-filed in accordance with the provisions of Order 2 rules 1 and 4 for that Zone may be transmitted to the Judge so delegated or designated as the Administrative Judge for assignment, except as otherwise directed by the President of the Court.

Where a matter has been duly e-filed, and assigned by the President of the Court or the Judge of the Court, the Registrar shall transmit to the e-filer the date and time of commencement of proceeding on the matter.

Where a matter is already before the Court and by an order of the Judge presiding over the matter a document or application is supposed to be produced by any of the parties in the matter, any document e-filed in compliance with the order of the Judge on such matter shall be electronically transmitted to the Judge of the Court who gave the order.

The Registrar may scan a paper document and designate the scanned version as the official court record. A Registrar may designate an e-filed document as the official court record.

The Registrar must provide to the President of the Court or a Judge of the Court electronic access to e-filed documents within twenty-four (24) hours of the Registrar’s acceptance of the document, and the President of the Court or a Judge of the Court or a designated staff of the President or the Judge’s Chamber’s may access such documents electronically or print such documents as necessary.

The provisions of Order 6 and Order 6A may co-exist until such a time as the President of the Court may issue a Practice Direction for the discontinuance of Order 6 of these Rules.