English law - another great trade for Singapore and the UK
THE groundbreaking UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement published on Dec 9 enables these two nations to reach across the globe to share valuable information and technology services. For legal services and lawtech, it is "the first trade agreement in the world to include specific commitments on technology ..." But there is another, much older, business platform that they also share - the law itself.
A recent report commissioned by LegalUK and written by Oxera, a leading economics consultancy, shows the economic value of English law, both to the UK and as a fundamental platform for international business everywhere. It provides a global infrastructure for the trade, financial and commercial contracts on which international business relies, lowering transaction costs and providing network effect benefits for internationally mobile transactions. Businesses do not need to be located in the UK to enjoy these benefits - English law contracts with their clarity, certainty, predictability and flexibility are available to all. And when legal disputes about English law contracts occur, and English law needs to be interpreted and adjudicated on, this can be done from all over the world. English law is so well-established globally that it can be used by businesses worldwide via numerous international access points, of which Singapore is a leading example.
English law is the source of domestic law in over 80 jurisdictions around the world. Many English precedents and principles are globally familiar. Some legal systems have English judges sitting in their highest courts - including those who preside in the Singapore International Commercial Court. Lawyers in countries around the world have studied English, as well as their domestic, law (and Singapore is home to many English qualified lawyers). A recent study of 26 common-law jurisdictions published by Mishcon de Reya and vLex Justis showed that from 1717 to 2020, English law was cited 313,111 times by foreign courts (with the nearest competitor being cited 12,156 times). But in addition to using English-influenced local law, businesses anywhere in the world can easily access English law itself in a variety of ways.
A traditional route is via international arbitration, where many leading international arbitrators hold English law qualifications and a large proportion of international arbitrations are decided under English law. Businesses can use UK arbitration institutions such as the LCIA, or those with branches in the UK such as ICC. But arbitrations can be legally based and take place anywhere convenient to the parties, including online. English law is the second-most chosen law of arbitrations administered by both the Singapore International Arbitration Centre and the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre.
A newer route is to use one of the new international commercial courts established around the world with English law as their legal basis (such as the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts and the Astana International Financial Centre Court in Kazakhstan), which adopt English law wholesale (the Abu Dhabi Global Markets Court), or which otherwise have the facility to hear English law cases. The Singapore International Commercial Court can hear submissions on matters of foreign law, which of course includes English law.
It is also now easier than ever for international business to go to the source and have English law cases decided by the eminent English judiciary itself, in the Commercial Court in London. There was high use of the Commercial Court by overseas parties before the pandemic, and in 2020 this stayed steady at 75% of cases. Now, with the move to remote hearings, it is easier than ever for overseas businesses to use the Commercial Court and the outstanding - and truly global - English law infrastructure.
English law has achieved this ubiquity and ease of access without any strategic plan - markets and international businesses and jurisdictions have adopted it because it works for them. We can see the benefits of English law being provided seamlessly to businesses around the world in or from the UK. Other jurisdictions understand the benefits of providing internationally located venues for resolution of legal disputes and Singapore has met with great success in this area. As we see from the readiness of other countries to administer English law-governed cases, as with Singapore, we can have a win-win situation where businesses around the world access the significant benefits of English law from the comfort of their own locations, wherever those may be.
The writer is a director of LegalUK and former global head of dispute resolution for Standard Chartered Bank
