This annual event was streamed live from the Supreme Court to about 700 participants on Zoom. Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Attorney-General Mr Lucien Wong, and newly appointed President of the Law Society, Mr Adrian Tan, delivered their customary speeches over video conference.
The Supreme Court Bench and International Judges of the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC) came together virtually to discuss and assess legal developments, as well as chart the course for the year ahead. The theme in 2022 was ‘Charting a Path Beyond the Pandemic’.
The new Rules of Court 2021 came into operation. These civil procedure rules are intended to modernise the litigation process, enhance the efficiency and speed of adjudication, and maintain costs at reasonable levels.
The SICC Rules 2021 and the Supreme Court of Judicature (Intellectual Property) Rules 2022 also came into force. The latter legislation enhances the intellectual property dispute resolution system by making it more accessible to individuals and companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises.
The Singapore Judiciary hosted the inaugural meeting of the International Judicial Dispute Resolution Network (JDRN) over Zoom. At the meeting, the JDRN was formally established, with members agreeing that all decisions were to be taken by consensus and that the Singapore Judiciary would serve as the Secretariat. The JDRN seeks to promote the early, amicable, cost-effective and fair resolution of court disputes without the need for a trial through proactive, judge-led management of cases, twinned with the employment of Court Alternative Dispute Resolution modalities.
A total of 465 newly minted Advocates and Solicitors were called to the Bar over three sessions. This event was conducted in a hybrid format with all the applicants in attendance at the Supreme Court auditorium, while guests joined remotely. It followed two years of virtual Mass Calls.
The SICC (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2022 introduce new processes in the SICC for cross-border corporate insolvency, restructuring and dissolution proceedings. Concurrently, the Legal Profession (Representation in SICC) (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2022 facilitate the participation of foreign lawyers in such proceedings before the SICC.
A Valedictory Reference was convened to mark the retirement of Justice Andrew Phang Boon Leong as Justice of the Court of Appeal with effect from 15 December 2022 and as a tribute to his contributions to the Bench. It was the third time the Judiciary held an event of such prominence.
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Last updated on 21 September 2023.