International commercial court networks can help spot cross-border legal trends, says Singapore chief justice
Such issues could include contractual interpretations, the legal status of cryptocurrency assets and emerging issues around generative AI
[MANAMA] A transnational network of commercial courts hearing appeals from major jurisdictions would be uniquely positioned to identify recurring legal issues across countries, said Singapore Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon on Thursday (Nov 6).
Such a body could spot patterns in areas ranging from contractual interpretations and arbitration standards, to the legal status of cryptocurrency assets and emerging issues around generative artificial intelligence, he added.
“Such a body would also have the rare opportunity to develop sensible frameworks for approaching these issues in a broadly aligned manner,” said Chief Justice Menon at a conference by Bahrain’s Global Justice Bay held in the Masaya Pavilion at Ritz-Carlton Bahrain.
This can be achieved when a diverse range of cases is funnelled to transnational bodies – precisely what Singapore and Bahrain aim to do through the Bahrain International Commercial Court (BICC), he added.
“The international commercial courts are engines for legal convergence and this is a mission they discharge… through judgments that are rooted in reason and principle,” he said.
Enhancing global transnational justice
Launched a day earlier, the BICC features a first-of-its-kind mechanism where appeals from the Bahrain court can be heard by the International Committee of the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC).
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The International Committee comprises local and international judges as well as ad hoc judges from the BICC.
The BICC, modelled principally on the SICC, allows representation by foreign counsel and the application of foreign law, with proceedings to be conducted in English.
Its bench comprises distinguished commercial jurists from common and civil law jurisdictions, including no fewer than four Bahraini judges.
“Parties will have their cases heard by two international adjudicative bodies that look, feel and operate in very similar ways and with similar standards that serve the needs of international commerce,” said the chief justice.
The Thursday morning conference, titled “The Future of International Commercial Courts: Towards Transnational Justice”, featured a panel comprising SICC president Philip Jeyaretnam, BICC president Jan Paulsson and former International Court of Justice president Joan Donoghue, who is a member of the BICC bench.
Addressing questions on whether the appeals mechanism between the SICC and BICC threatens Bahrain’s judicial sovereignty, Justice Jeyaretnam said the BICC’s purpose is not to decide domestic disputes but to “bring to Bahrain disputes that otherwise would not be coming to Bahrain for resolution”.
These are thus cases that have “nothing to do with Bahrain necessarily, but now they come to Bahrain because they will get this quality of neutral justice”.
He anticipates that the appeals which will eventually reach the International Committee of the SICC are unlikely to have any connection to either Bahrain or Singapore.
“These are disputes out there in the broader flow of cross-border trade and investment that then now will come and flow into Bahrain and come into Singapore for resolution,” said Justice Jeyaretnam.
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