11 sworn in as commercial court’s first international judges
Eleven current and former judges, hailing from seven countries, will form the first batch of international judges at the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC), which was officially opened yesterday.
They were sworn in yesterday at the Istana and will serve a term of three years, said a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.
The idea of setting up the SICC, which is expected to hear cases from the end of this month, was mooted by Chief Justice (CJ) Sundaresh Menon in 2013. Cases must be international and commercial in nature and will be heard by one or three judges, who will be from the current Bench, senior judges or international judges.
The group of international judges unveiled yesterday, described as “eminent jurists of the highest calibre” by CJ Menon, come from Australia, Austria, France, Hong Kong, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The aim of setting up a world court for commercial disputes is to tap on the “explosive growth” in commercial activity in Asia, CJ Menon said.
The SICC would also enhance Singapore’s contribution as a centre for resolving commercial disputes by developing an entire suite of options, he added.
“The remarkable success of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre in recent years can be seen as a harbinger of what could be possible if we established similar world-class facilities for the resolution of such disputes through mediation as well as by litigation, letting users choose which among these options best suited them,” said CJ Menon, in his speech at the opening of the legal year yesterday.
“At the same time, it will grow our legal services sector and might even expand the scope for internationalising Singapore law.” AMANDA LEE
