Clifford Chance
The Singapore International Commercial Court – A Masterstroke
17 December 2013
On January 4 2013, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon of the Supreme Court of Singapore announced at the Opening of the Legal Year plans to establish the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC). On 29 November, barely 11 months after that announcement, the SICC Committee, comprising senior Judges, government officials and Singaporean and international jurists, submitted its report to the Singapore Government, which has welcomed the Committee's recommendations. In a word, the proposed SICC is a masterstroke. The idea is at once bold, visionary and entrepreneurial.
The rationale behind the proposal is compelling, given significantly increased cross-border investment and trade into and between the Asian economies. Singapore, with its well developed legal system, world class infrastructure and "trusted hub status", is ideally positioned to become Asia's premier dispute resolution hub to handle the expected growth in complex, high value, multi-jurisdictional commercial and investment disputes.
