Entry of foreign law firms benefits Singapore: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at Opening Ceremony of the 21st Congress of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration 2012

Republic now a legal services hub, thanks to liberalisation of sector

By Rachel Chang, The Straits Times, 11 Jun 2012

AS HE opened the largest-ever gathering of arbitration lawyers worldwide yesterday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that opening up the legal sector to foreign players has been the right move for Singapore.

Liberalisation has put pressure on local law firms, he acknowledged. 'But taking the broad view, opening up offers more benefits than costs.'

Addressing more than 1,000 delegates in town for the biennial Congress of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA), Mr Lee said that liberalisation has allowed Singapore to become a legal services hub.

'Offshore firms are bringing international work to Singapore. Our young lawyers have more opportunities to build their careers.'

The Government first decided to open up the legal sector in the 1980s and 1990s, despite the sensitivity as the industry is linked to the administration of justice. It did so to aid its efforts to make Singapore a centre for financial services, he said in his speech to open the Congress yesterday.

Mr Lee was chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore from 1998 to 2004, and he recalled pushing to allow foreign law firms to come to Singapore to perform the complex legal services required by financial institutions setting up shop here.

If this had not been done, 'we would have held back the financial industry, or more likely caused the deals to be done elsewhere'.

Over time, he said, the Government realised that legal services could be 'an economic opportunity in its own right, and not just an enabler for other industries'.

It has moved over the last decade to allow foreign law firms to undertake areas of Singapore commercial law, and to enter into joint ventures with local firms.

Leading law firms and practitioners were consulted, he said, and 'the senior lawyers from large firms supported what we were doing. And I think they were right to back our judgment'.

Mr Lee noted that Singapore has gone from strength to strength as a destination for arbitration, which is the default mode of resolving commercial cross-border disputes today.

It is a neutral middle ground for companies from different countries to resolve their disputes, and its openness and judicial support for the arbitration process also position it well to be an arbitration hub, he said.

He noted that in 2010, a survey ranked Singapore as joint third, together with Paris and Tokyo, in a list of the most popular seats for arbitration, behind London and Geneva.

'We've made progress, but as usual, the more you do, the more you need to do,' he said, adding that more will be done to enhance Singapore's position as an arbitration hub.

Over the next two days, the lawyers, judges and academics, who have come from as far as Nigeria and Lebanon, will take part in sessions with leading arbitration experts. This year's Congress is organised by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre.

The arbitration scene in Singapore has indeed boomed over the last few years, due to the growth in business between Asian and Western companies, said Mr Peter Chow, head of international dispute resolution at Squire Sanders. 'Companies in India, Indonesia and South-east Asia will pick Singapore for dispute resolution,' he said.

Senior Associate Paul Tan, of Rajah & Tann, said young local lawyers are excited at the entry of more foreign law firms into the Singapore scene, as it broadens their career opportunities.

Foreign firms will also force local firms to 'up their game', he said, citing the incentive the added competition has given his firm to expand and establish its brand in the region.

Republic 'well-placed to become global centre for investment arbitration'
By Jennani Durai, The Straits Times, 11 Jun 2012

ARBITRATORS here and abroad have identified a role for Singapore in investment arbitration, a specialised field of law involving disputes between investors and states.

They say that, given Singapore's success as a centre for commercial arbitration, it is positioned to become Asia's centre for investor-state arbitrations as well.

The prominent arbitrators and counsel, both local and international, who made the comments were attending an arbitration dialogue organised yesterday by the Ministry of Law.

It was a precursor to the 21st International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) Congress, which began yesterday at Marina Bay Sands and will run until Wednesday. The conference has attracted over 1,000 delegates.

The dialogue - led by Professor Michael Pryles, chairman of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (Siac) - examined Singapore's potential as an investment arbitration centre.

Currently, most investor-state arbitrations are conducted in Paris and Washington, DC, because they are held under the auspices of the World Bank, which has offices in both cities.

Prof Pryles said: 'There's no reason why hearings can't be held in Singapore. What we have to do is let people know we have the expertise as well as the facilities, and that's something we need to attend to.'

Siac chief executive Minn Naing Oo said the centre had never done investment arbitration before, but 'there is nothing to prevent us from doing it'.

Asia is growing and attracting foreign investments, so there is interest in whether investment arbitration could come out of the growth in investments, he said.

He noted that this specialised but important field tends to deal with huge sums of money.

As an example, he cited the ongoing legal tussle between Ecuador and energy giant Chevron. In 1993, Ecuador sued Texaco, which was acquired later by Chevron, for having contaminated the Amazon since the 1960s.

A judge awarded Ecuador US$18 billion (S$23 billion) in February last year, but Chevron then sued Ecuador and its lead attorney for conspiring to shake down Chevron for a large settlement. The state has denied wrongdoing, and the lawsuit is pending.

At the dialogue, held in Maxwell Chambers yesterday, Law Minister K. Shanmugam gave the opening address, in which he outlined the Government's strategy for developing Singapore as a regional arbitration centre.

He noted that the number of cases handled by Siac had more than doubled over the past decade because of the supportive legislative framework, Singapore's connectivity to the region and the world, its neutrality as a venue, its commercially experienced judiciary, and the supportive infrastructure for arbitration.

The Government takes its cue from the industry's needs, consulting industry partners regularly, so that if the need arises, both legislation and policy can be changed swiftly, said Mr Shanmugam.

'Our aim is not to be a market leader in novel legislation, but to be a supporter of industry in a way it is comfortable with. Where the industry takes a conservative view, we will follow as well.'

The Law Ministry said it will consider the feedback given during yesterday's dialogue.

Arbitration academy to be set up here
It will offer a one-stop experience to train regional lawyers: Shanmugam
By K C Vijayan, The Straits Times, 12 Jun 2012

THE next step in Singapore's moves to be a leading international arbitration player will include the setting up of a world-class arbitration academy.

To be steered by the Centre for International Law (CIL) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and/or the law faculty, it will be a 'one-stop experience' where lawyers from the region can be trained in arbitration, right where top arbitrators practise and supported by cutting-edge facilities.

Law minister K. Shanmugam, announcing the move, was speaking to an audience of the world's arbitration experts at the 21st Congress of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration.

The academy is being planned for at a time when regional demand for arbitration will go up. Cross-border arbitration cases heard here, along with revenue from them, are expected to hit a record high.

In his speech, Mr Shanmugam also gave a broad-brush perspective of Singapore's track record in the field. It has put the country alongside London, Paris and New York as a preferred venue to settle commercial disputes.

Explaining the potential for arbitration here, he noted that Singapore is in the 10-nation Asean, with a combined population of 608 million and an economy of $1.8 trillion - making it Asia's third-largest economy.

The region which has registered 6 per cent to 6.5 per cent growth despite the severe global economic crisis, will present opportunities for arbitration as the way for parties to settle their disputes, 'given the complexities and different legal systems and practices in this region', he said.

Mr Shanmugam further noted that the Government here has the will to provide the legislative framework, and consults the industry for a finger on its pulse.

And the world-class facilities in Maxwell Chambers, which enable lawyers from anywhere in the world to practise arbitration here, are already in place, he said.

He made it clear that Singapore intended to position itself, not only as a arbitration centre for common-law countries like India, Malaysia and Brunei, but also a centre for civil-law countries like Indonesia, Thailand and China.

The wheels have already been set in motion for the Singapore International Arbitration Academy.

Associate Professor Michael Ewing-Chow, who heads trade and investment law at NUS' Centre for International Law, said the academy will have 54 faculty members, of whom about half will be from overseas. The programme there will run for three weeks every November and December.

A masters programme in arbitration is in the works.

Prof Chow said the course will 'uniquely weave practice skills with substantive issues'.

Industry players said that the academy will stamp Singapore's status as a long-term player and provide high-value training for the next generation of arbitrators.

Participants at yesterday's congress said they agreed with the thrust of the minister's speech.

London-based delegate Amarjit Singh said of the dynamism in Asia: 'There's a lot of growth here and it's not just in the legal sector, but also in finance, commerce and other areas.

'Singapore is well-positioned as an arbitration seat to draw in the surge in demand.'