ASSOCIATION OF CORPORATE COUNSEL (ACC) ASIA PACIFIC ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2026
PRE-CONFERENCE NETWORKING RECEPTION

Wednesday, 20 May 2026

The Honourable Justice Kannan Ramesh

Judge of the Appellate Division

Supreme Court of Singapore

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Mr Jason L. Brown, President and CEO of the Association of Corporate Counsel

Distinguished members of the ACC and partners

Fellow Judges and Colleagues

Ladies and gentlemen

I. INTRODUCTION

1.          A very good evening. On behalf of the Singapore International Commercial Court (“SICC”), it is my privilege to extend a warm welcome to all of you on the eve of the 2026 Association of Corporate Counsel Asia-Pacific Annual Conference (“Conference”). The Conference convenes under the theme “In-House Innovation and Impact”. It is a theme that speaks to the important role played by corporate counsel today, and if I may observe, resonates with the work of the Singapore courts, and the SICC. In my remarks that will follow, I explain why.  

2.          We meet at a time of considerable consequence and profound change for cross-border commerce. We are navigating what has been described as a geopolitical drift.[i] The post-World War II order has given us a world of overlapping communities where the trajectories of countries are deeply enmeshed.^[ii] However, a New World is starting to emerge. Supply chains have shifted, sanctions and tariffs have proliferated and artificial intelligence (“AI”) is reshaping the delivery of services, including legal services. This has disrupted the largely integrated global economic order post-World War II.

3.          This perfect storm, if I may describe it as such, has caused information gaps and has necessitated rapid judgment calls by the legal profession.[iii] The role of corporate counsel has become correspondingly more demanding. It is therefore timely that the sessions at the Conference over the next two days will explore some of the most pressing issues you and your organisations are grappling or will grapple with — including cross-border contracting and dispute management, sanctions and tariffs, regulatory developments, and AI governance and its responsible adoption. For those of you involved in corporations with business roots spread across jurisdictions, the speed and unpredictability at which some of these changes are unfolding, means that the choice of a forum for resolving disagreements with your business counterparts will be of critical importance in safeguarding your interests and mitigating your legal risks.

4.          In a convoluted and rapidly evolving world, disputes that are international and commercial give rise to complex legal issues. One such issue is where the dispute should be determined particularly where the world is not quite so flat anymore.[iv] A party may be less inclined to submit to the jurisdiction of another party because of unfamiliarity, or because of a perception that there may be “home-court bias” against it. A cross-border dispute often engages at least two systems of law with differences in procedures and cultures, and the interaction of these systems may in turn introduce difficult issues that domestic courts may struggle to deal with.

5.          Thus, given where the world is at the moment,  a neutral forum is all the more relevant. The SICC is a neutral forum. The SICC was conceived as a fundamentally unique model of delivering commercial justice — one that enables trade and commerce to find justice in a court established with bespoke procedures and practices consistent with international best standards.

6.          It is widely acknowledged that courts offer two advantages over arbitration. The first is the availability of an appeal which allows any legal or factual error in the decision below to be corrected, to the extent that that error impacts on the result. In the case of the SICC, there is a right of appeal to the Court of Appeal. That said, parties can agree to waive or limit the right to appeal depending on their desire for appellate recourse.[v] The second advantage is the ease of combining multiple proceedings and multiple claims against different parties.

II. A MODEL OF INNOVATION

7.          I turn to share some key features of the SICC, beginning with its jurisdiction in three main areas. The first is to hear commercial disputes in international matters[vi] where the parties have chosen the SICC as a matter of contract. The second is to serve as the supervisory court for international arbitrations seated in Singapore. The third and the most recent is as the seat for cross-border insolvency and restructuring matters.

8.          Uniquely, the SICC Bench combines three pillars of judicial expertise: Singapore commercial judges, international common law judges and international civil law judges. Cases may be placed before a coram of three comprising a Singapore commercial judge, an international common law judge and an international civil law judge, each with deep domain expertise and experience. This in my view, is one of the most transformative features of the SICC, and reflects the truly global nature of the disputes that the SICC hears.

9.          Let me illustrate the point with reference to the SICC’s insolvency docket. When the court received its first insolvency filing concerning Indonesia’s national carrier, Garuda[vii], the case was placed before myself, Justice Christopher Sontchi, the former Chief Judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware and Justice Anselmo Reyes, a former Judge of the Hong Kong High Court who oversaw several of its Commercial Lists.

10.       When the SICC received an application for approval of a pre-pack scheme of arrangement of bonds issued by a company in Vietnam listed on the Singapore Exchange in Re No Va Land Investment Group Corp[viii] (“Novaland”), the case was heard by Justice James Peck, a former Judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (“SDNY”) who heard the Lehman-Brothers collapse that we all know about. The pre-pack was approved in just 15 days after the petition was filed, with Justice Peck’s opinion providing guidance on the disclosure requirements for pre-pack under the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018[ix] the relevant Singapore legislation. In Re Terraform Labs Pte Ltd[x], which concerned an application for recognition of a Chapter 11 plan, Justice Peck observed that his judicial experience in the US Courts was an advantage because of the extensive experience he had in the practical workings of Chapter 11.[xi]

11.       Procedural flexibility and adaptability is another cornerstone of the SICC. Parties can choose one of three adjudication tracks, which serve different needs and complexities. These are the Pleadings Adjudication Track, the Statements Adjudication Track, or the Memorials Adjudication Track[xii] with each filing closely case managed by the assigned Judges. This results in an expeditious, efficient and early disposal of cases.

12.       As an illustration of the pace of disposal, in relation to challenges to arbitration awards, it is usually the case that parties receive a judgment at first instance within six months of filing and should an appeal be filed, within six months of the filing of the appeal.[xiii]

13.       The SICC has also spearheaded innovation through its collaborations with several dispute resolution institutions:

(a)        First, together with the Singapore International Arbitration Centre and the Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration, the SICC has developed model jurisdiction clauses to designate the SICC as the supervisory court for applications in relation to Singapore-seated international arbitrations.

(b)       Second, the SICC and the Singapore International Mediation Centre (“SIMC”) have developed a Litigation-Mediation-Litigation Protocol where proceedings initiated in the SICC may be referred to mediation at the SIMC. A case management stay will be granted by the SICC to allow for mediation to take place. Should the mediation be successful, the terms of the settlement may be recorded as an order of court to facilitate enforcement. To the extent there remain issues or claims that were resolved by the mediation, the SICC may hear them.

(c)        Third, the SICC has collaborated with the Singapore Mediation Centre on the Integrated Appropriate Dispute Resolution Framework (“INTEGRAF”). This is an opt-in framework. It provides parties with the assistance of a neutral professional who serves as a signalperson^[xiv] to guide them on applying the most appropriate dispute resolution mechanism to the whole or part of the dispute. This is helpful for construction and infrastructure disputes. I think all of us can agree that not every dispute has to result in the total breakdown of relationship between the disputants. INTEGRAF strives to preserve the relationship and encourages the litigants to forge a mutually beneficial path forward.^[xv]

14.       Another important feature of the SICC is the parties’ ability to choose foreign counsel in certain cases and SICC’s treatment of issues of foreign law. First, parties may be represented by foreign lawyers registered with the SICC in offshore cases,[xvi] which are cases with no substantial connection to Singapore. Further, registered foreign lawyers may represent parties in insolvency proceedings in the SICC with the Court’s permission, save that they will not be able to make submissions on  Singapore law. [xvii] In Novaland[xviii], the SICC granted permission to a foreign lawyer representing a group of bondholders who initially supported the pre-pack to explain the circumstances that was the genesis of the pre-pack. Today, we have about 140 foreign lawyers who have registered with the SICC across more than 21 jurisdictions.[xix]

15.       Second, foreign law on any issue need not be pleaded and proved as a fact. Judges can take judicial notice of foreign law with the assistance of oral and written submissions. This resembles the practice in international arbitration.

16.       Finally, I should touch on the enforceability of SICC judgments. SICC judgments are superior court judgments in Singapore, are therefore broadly enforceable around the world without any relitigation or reconsideration of the merits. In this regard, the SICC website has a very helpful Enforceability Search Toolkit that enables a country-by-country check to be undertaken on the enforceability of SICC judgments. A review of the Toolkit will show the breadth and width of enforceability of a SICC judgment.

17.       At last count, the number of judgments in the SICC exceeds 190 at first instance and more than 52 on appeal.[xx] This is a significant body of jurisprudence on complex and often standard setting issues, that facilitates predictability in international commerce.

III. INNOVATIONS IN THE AREA OF CROSS-BORDER INSOLVENCY COOPERATION

18.       At a broader level, the Singapore courts are actively involved in dialogue with our counterparts to explore areas of common interest and foster the development of commercial norms. A good example is the SICC inaugural roundtables with the London Commercial Court and the Tokyo Business Court held last year. I will also mention two recent developments of significance in cross-border insolvency, which may be of interest.

19.       In March this year, the Supreme Court of Singapore and the Supreme Court of Indonesia signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) to Enhance Cross-Border Communication and Cooperation in Cross-Border Insolvency Proceedings.[xxi] This is the first of its kind in ASEAN. This builds on the Model Framework for Communication and Cooperation between ASEAN Courts in Cross-Border Insolvency Proceedings (“Model Framework”) approved at the 12^th Council of ASEAN Chief Justices Meeting in 2025. The MOU seeks to foster through communication and cooperation, the efficient administration of cross-border insolvency proceedings involving the two jurisdictions.[xxii]

20.       The MOU complements the Judicial Insolvency Network (“JIN”) Guidelines for  Communication and Cooperation in Cross-Border Insolvency Matters which has been adopted by 18 key commercial jurisdictions including Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States, Canada, Australia, South Korea and the Netherlands.[xxiii]  Annex A of the JIN Guidelines, which prescribes a protocol for joint hearings between two or more courts, was invoked by the SICC to facilitate a joint hearing of concurrent recognition applications by Garuda, before the SICC[xxiv] and the SDNY.[xxv] This was the first effort of this nature.

21.       In May this year, the Ministry of Law in Singapore announced that it has reviewed and broadly accepted the recommendations of the Committee to Enhance Singapore’s Corporate Restructuring and Insolvency Regime, including the recommendation to adopt the UNCITRAL Model Law on Enterprise Group Insolvency and the UNCITRAL Model Law on Recognition and Enforcement of Insolvency-Related Judgments (“Model Instruments”). [xxvi] Depending on when these are enacted in our domestic legislation, Singapore may be the first jurisdiction to adopt these Model Instruments.

22.       The Indonesian MOU, the JIN Guidelines, the Model Framework and the proposed Model Instruments are important tools in the toolkit for the SICC to draw upon in a cross-border insolvency matter that is seated in the SICC.

IV. CONCLUSION

23.       In conclusion, international commercial courts strengthen the rule of law for the business community by offering a choice of dispute resolution that is responsive to their needs and preferences. It is this quality that makes international commercial courts critical contributors to the transnational system of commercial justice.[xxvii] It is significant that the SICC was selected in a recent survey by more than 75% of the respondents, comprising corporate counsel, practitioners and corporate executives, as the most chosen international commercial court. This is a strong endorsement of its impact on the international commercial dispute resolution landscape.[xxviii]

24.       Before I conclude, an invitation. For those of you continuing on a tour of the Supreme Court building, I encourage a visit to the special exhibition “The Charter & the Courts: 200 Years of the Rule of Law in Singapore” on Level 2. The exhibition is in commemoration of the Bicentennial of the Singapore legal system this year. The exhibition traces the evolution of the Singapore legal system, and the Judiciary’s pivotal role in that journey.

25.       Thank you very much for your attention and I wish you a fruitful and fulfilling Conference.

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