Setting the record straight: New international commercial court not a competitor to SIAC

Singapore is on track to be a dispute resolution hub.

The Singapore International Commercial Court, the country’s newest offering in its bid to be a dispute resolution hub, will not be a competitor to the Singapore International Arbitration Centre.

The SICC, which was launched on January 5, seeks to further boost Singapore’s value as a leading forum for legal services and international commercial dispute resolution.

It offers litigants the option of having their disputes adjudicated by a panel of experienced judges comprising specialist commercial judges from Singapore and international judges from both civil law and common law traditions.

“The SICC serves as a companion rather than a competitor to arbitration as it seeks to provide parties in transnational business with one more option among a suite of viable alternatives to resolve transnational commercial disputes. It enhances Singapore’s share of the global legal services pie without compromising Singapore’s success as a seat of international arbitration as well as the international recognition and acclaim enjoyed by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre,” the SICC stated.

According to The White and Case 2010 International Arbitration Survey, the SIAC is the fourth most preferred arbitral institution after the International Chamber of Commerce the London Court of International Arbitration, and the International Centre for Dispute Resolution, with a predominantly international caseload.

The idea to create a SICC to grow the legal services sector and to expand the scope for the internationalisation and export of Singapore law was first mooted by CJ Sundaresh Menon at the Opening of Legal Year 2013.

On May 2013 13 May 2013, a committee made up of eminent international and local lawyers and legal experts was officially constituted to study the viability of developing a framework for the establishment of the SICC.

The Report of the Singapore International Commercial Court Committee was released on 29 November 2013.

Shortly thereafter, a public consultation on the report was conducted between 3 December 2013 and 31 January 2014.

The framework for the establishment of the SICC was finalised in the fourth quarter of 2014, and the SICC was officially launched on 5 January 2015.