SICC marks 10th anniversary with transnational dispute resolution conference

Speakers included Chief Justice of Singapore Sundaresh Menon

Sundaresh Menon, Chief Justice of Singapore Photo courtesy of Singapore Ministry of Law

Singapore International Commercial Court has celebrated its 10th anniversary with a conference dedicated to transnational trends in commercial disputes.

The conference, jointly arranged with the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL), was attended by more than 350 local and international delegates across 15 jurisdictions, with speakers and panellists from Singapore and overseas. They included Chief Justice of Singapore Sundaresh Menon, the Minister of Law K Shanmugam SC, and SICC president Justice Philip Jeyaretnam.

Jeyaretnam said: “The SICC has established itself as a trusted forum for resolving complex cross-border disputes, combining the best practices of international arbitration with the rigour of court litigation, as well as drawing on the richness of civil and common law traditions. Our success is built on openness, efficiency and fairness in dispute resolution.”

Colin Liew, an advocate at Duxton Hill Chambers, a Singapore Group Practice, said the SICC “has significantly enhanced the choices available to commercial litigants” in being a “reliable, efficient and impartial forum”, which has “boosted Singapore’s – and Asia’s – attractiveness as a forum for international dispute resolution”.

Leading UK lawyers such as Ali Malek KC of 3 Verulam Buildings and Marion Smith KC of 39 Essex Chambers took part, while US firms were represented by Duncan Watson KC of Quinn Emanuel, and Stephen Hessler of Sidley Austin.

Asian representation was provided by Gourab Banerji SA, the president of the Arbitration Bar of India, alongside Kevin Kim, founding partner at South Korea’s Peter & Kim, and senior executives from Temasek and Hilco International. Singaporean speakers included Koh Swee Yen SC of WongPartnership, and Sushil Nair, deputy chief executive of Drew and Napier.

UK International Justice (IJ) Sir Vivien Ramsey moderated a session alongside Hong Kong’s Justice Anselmo Reyes IJ, as well as Jeyaretnam, appellate judge Justice Kannan Ramesh and Jan Paulsson, a judge at the Bahrain Court of Cassation.

The SICC, a division of the High Court of Singapore, was conceived as a neutral forum for handling cross-border commercial disputes, including those governed by foreign law. It is intended to marry the speed and convenience of international arbitration to disputes involving international commercial law, adjudicated by eminent commercial judges.

Herbert Smith Freehills partner, Daniel Waldek, said the SICC is “firmly established as an essential judicial venue by global practitioners and litigants alike – a position further enhanced by the SICC’s new international committee, allowing the court to hear appeals and related proceedings from Bahrain and other jurisdictions in future”.

Prominent UK, Australian, American and European former judges have enthusiastically opted to sit on the SICC, which has expanded to include IP and construction cases, aided by flexibility on the choice of counsel before the court and complementing ADR rather than supplementing it.

It has also developed procedural innovations, such as an ADR partnership with the Singapore Mediation Centre for technology, infrastructure and construction disputes. It also handed down a leading judgment in the B2C2 v Quoine dispute concerning virtual currency transactions on an international cryptocurrency exchange.

The conference – themed ‘Transnational Commerce in a Shifting World’ – stressed the court’s role as a neutral arbiter in an age of changing trade and investment patterns, while putting a Singaporean spin on disputes, ranging from borderless cryptocurrency cases, AI and the law, and cross-border corporate restructuring.  

Shanmugam spoke on Singapore’s role as a hub for global dispute resolution at a fireside chat reported by the Straits Times. Responding to questions moderated by Cavinder Bull SC, he warned: “Until democracies get their act together and deliver better governance, I think the rule of law is going to continue to erode. It’s only the countries that can deliver governance that I think will continue to be able to strengthen the rule of law.”

Former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, speaking at the conference dinner, praised Menon, Jeyaretnam and others for their work, saying the SICC’s success vindicated the decision to set up its international commercial court 10 years ago.

The SICC has “built on its success to appoint more respected and experienced international judges to its panel”, he said, which has encouraged more parties to bring cases before it and to grow even further by working with like-minded partners such as Bahrain. 

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