Justice Philip Jeyaretnam: Welcome Address at International Bar Association (IBA) Litigation Forum 2025

International Bar Association (IBA) Litigation Forum 2025 

"Welcome Address"

Friday, 11 April 2025

1.     It is a pleasure to welcome you to the Supreme Court of Singapore of which the Singapore International Commercial Court (or SICC) forms part. We are situated in the heart of Singapore’s civic district on the north bank of the Singapore River where Raffles stepped ashore in 1819. Behind our building (to my left) is Canning Hill where archaeological digs have provided physical evidence of our trading history over the past 700 years.

2.     The building we are in demonstrates in its architecture two key values of our nation and our judiciary: transparency and openness. The material that clads the building is a laminate of glass and stone which appears solid, yet allows light to filter through it by day, and for the building to glow warmly in the night. In this way, justice may be seen to be done.

3.     In front of our building (to my right) is the Padang where it is said that Sang Nila Utama, a Srivajayan prince, spotted the legendary singa or lion from which Singapore gets its name. Beyond that is Marina Bay, an enclosed body of water that is the product of land reclamation, a hallmark of modern Singapore. Previously, it was the open sea. We have a large deep natural harbour, in the sweet spot between the two monsoon winds that once filled the sails of trading vessels from China to Arabia and back again.

4.     History and geography are important to, but not determinative of, the destiny of a nation. The third factor is that of a nation’s people. The SICC builds on our history and takes advantage of our geography, but most of all it is a product and expression of our people.

5.     Let me begin with history. Established in 2015, the SICC has just crossed its tenth anniversary this year.

6.     From the anniversary video, you can see that the SICC was not founded to fill a gap or remedy any deficiency in the domestic legal system. Rather, it was founded to support dispute resolution for cross-border transactions that might have no connection otherwise to Singapore. The Singapore courts prior to the SICC were already highly regarded internationally, especially in the commercial sphere. Following a series of energetic reforms in the 1990s, Singapore’s courts at the beginning of the millennium offered the dispensation of fair, impartial and high-quality justice within a time frame that compared favourably with commercial courts in leading centres such as London and New York. English is the language of government in Singapore, and so foreign investors putting their money into Singapore were comfortable being litigants within our court system. I am explaining this to show that the SICC was not a response to any lack of domestic judicial expertise in commercial law or any lack of fluency with the international language of business which is English.

7.     So why then was the SICC set up? It was set up to build on our strengths in commercial law and to play a role made possible by our geography, in-between the monsoon winds, or to put it in more modern terms, within 6 hours flying time of most of Asia. Its purpose was to supplement, support and anchor Singapore’s then emerging role as a preferred hub for the resolution of cross-border disputes that had no connection with Singapore. Many international businesses were already choosing Singapore as the seat of arbitration in the event of a dispute. But there were some signs of unease with the efficiency and effectiveness of international arbitration. It was felt that a court designed to dispense transnational commercial justice would offer international business an additional option. Compared to arbitration, courts offer parties two potential advantages. The first is the availability of appeals. Appeals allow legal and factual errors to be corrected, if necessary. The second is joinder of parties. In a court, it is easier to combine multiple proceedings and multiple claims against different parties. 

8.     So now I turn to the contribution of people. The SICC was conceived by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon. In terms of structure, it is part of the High Court, with appeals to the Court of Appeal. Thus, it is a Singapore Court. But it draws upon international judicial expertise in addition to Singapore judicial expertise.

9.     Uniquely, the SICC combines three pillars of judicial expertise: Singapore commercial judges, international common law judges and international civil law judges. This offers great value and benefit. Cases may be heard by a coram of three made up of a Singapore commercial judge, an international common law judge and an international civil law judge. Each brings to the matter their complementary expertise and experience.

10.     Bringing together these three pillars of judicial expertise has offered us the opportunity to develop flexible procedures that draw upon, blend and develop best practices from around the world. For example, parties may choose one of three multiple adjudication tracks which best suits the needs and complexities of the dispute in question. These are the Pleadings Adjudication Track, the Statements Adjudication Track, and the Memorials Adjudication Track ⁽¹⁾.

11.     I will elaborate on two of the tracks. The Pleadings Adjudication Track commences with the exchange of pleadings. Pleadings set out the material facts for each party. Exchanging pleadings defines the issues. The proceedings culminate in a trial with oral evidence, including cross-examination. This echoes traditional common law process. The Memorials Adjudication Track involves parties sequentially filing memorials that set out the parties’ respective statements of facts, legal arguments and claims for relief. These are accompanied by witness statements, expert reports (if any), and supporting primary documents. This track adopts more of a civil law approach.