The new Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC) was launched on Monday at the Supreme Court.
The specialist court will hear disputes over global business deals. The new court is part of a plan to position Singapore as Asia’s dispute resolution hub, which involves the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, set up in 1991, and the Singapore International Mediation Centre, launched in November last year.
Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon said in a speech to mark the opening of the legal year: “The establishment of an international commercial court will… build upon and complement the success of our vibrant arbitration sector and make our judicial institutions and legal profession available to serve the regional and the global community.
“At the same time, it will grow our legal services sector and might even expand the scope for internationalising Singapore law.”
The international judges appointed for SICC include Mr Dyson Heydon, former judge of the High Court of Australia; Dr Irmgard Griss, former president of the Austrian Supreme Court; and Justice Dominique T. Hascher, judge of the Supreme Judicial Court of France. Some of them will still serve as judges in their own jurisdictions.
Source: www.straitstimes.com
