Sharing of Singapore's ADR Experience During the ASEAN-Japan Special Meeting of Justice Ministers
On 6 July 2023, the ASEAN-Japan Special Meeting of Justice Ministers was held in Tokyo, Japan. The high-level meeting was attended by leading practitioners from all of ASEAN and Japan. This year’s meeting holds special importance as it marks 50 years of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation, and the meeting is also the first ministerial-level meeting between a Dialogue Partner and ASEAN Member States on issues surrounding law and justice. Running along this vein, the theme for this year’s meeting was “Advancing ASEAN-Japan Cooperation to Promote the Rule of Law: Towards a New Phase beyond the 50th Year of Friendship and Cooperation”.
During the ASEAN-Japan Special Meeting of Justice Ministers, SIMC jointly organised a side event “ADR = Appropriate Dispute Resolution” – Sharing of the Singapore Experience and the Japan Perspective” with the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) and the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC).
Attending this event as the Guest of Honour was Mr Edwin Tong S.C., Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, and Second Minister for Law. In his speech, Minister Tong spoke about how despite the difference between the legal systems of Singapore and Japan, there are also many commonalities between the two jurisdictions – including the approach to mediation. In his speech, he expressed his congratulations to the 17 newly empanelled SIMC Japan Specialist Mediators for joining SIMC’s “multinational, multicultural, multilinguistic, and multidisciplinary panel“. A group photo of Minister Tong and the specialist mediators who attended the side event was taken to mark and celebrate their empanelment. You can read Minister Tong’s full speech here.
During the ASEAN-Japan Special Meeting of Justice Ministers, SIMC jointly organised a side event “ADR = Appropriate Dispute Resolution” – Sharing of the Singapore Experience and the Japan Perspective” with the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) and the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC).
Attending this event as the Guest of Honour was Mr Edwin Tong S.C., Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, and Second Minister for Law. In his speech, Minister Tong spoke about how despite the difference between the legal systems of Singapore and Japan, there are also many commonalities between the two jurisdictions – including the approach to mediation. In his speech, he expressed his congratulations to the 17 newly empanelled SIMC Japan Specialist Mediators for joining SIMC’s “multinational, multicultural, multilinguistic, and multidisciplinary panel“. A group photo of Minister Tong and the specialist mediators who attended the side event was taken to mark and celebrate their empanelment. You can read Minister Tong’s full speech here.
At the panel discussion, SIMC CEO Mr Wee Meng Chuan, SIAC Registrar Mr Kevin Nash, and SICC Senior Director Mr Laurence Wong shared how the three institutions have collaborated to advance Singapore as an Asian hub for dispute resolution. They discussed various initiatives, including the Arb-Med-Arb protocol between SIMC and SIAC and the recently launched of Lit-Med-Lit protocol between SIMC and SICC. They also shared their insights on how such integrated options available in Singapore for effective resolution of complex transnational multi-party disputes, are useful in this increasingly interconnected globalised world of business.
Sharing their views and insights from the Japan perspectives were moderators Mr Hiroyuki Tezuka and Ms Masako Takahata, who are both highly regarded legal practitioners and experts from Japan. Mr Hiroyuki Tezuka is Partner at Nishimura & Asahi and also the Chief Director of JIMC-Kyoto. He sits on the SIAC Panel and is also one of our very own International Mediators. Ms Masako Takahata is General Counsel at Industrial Decisions, Inc. Apart from being a Director and the Chair of the International Relations Committee of Japan In-House Lawyers Association, Ms Masako is also an Advisory Board Member of JIDRC.
At the panel discussion, SIMC CEO Mr Wee Meng Chuan, SIAC Registrar Mr Kevin Nash, and SICC Senior Director Mr Laurence Wong shared how the three institutions have collaborated to advance Singapore as an Asian hub for dispute resolution. They discussed various initiatives, including the Arb-Med-Arb protocol between SIMC and SIAC and the recently launched of Lit-Med-Lit protocol between SIMC and SICC. They also shared their insights on how such integrated options available in Singapore for effective resolution of complex transnational multi-party disputes, are useful in this increasingly interconnected globalised world of business.
Sharing their views and insights from the Japan perspectives were moderators Mr Hiroyuki Tezuka and Ms Masako Takahata, who are both highly regarded legal practitioners and experts from Japan. Mr Hiroyuki Tezuka is Partner at Nishimura & Asahi and also the Chief Director of JIMC-Kyoto. He sits on the SIAC Panel and is also one of our very own International Mediators. Ms Masako Takahata is General Counsel at Industrial Decisions, Inc. Apart from being a Director and the Chair of the International Relations Committee of Japan In-House Lawyers Association, Ms Masako is also an Advisory Board Member of JIDRC.
Our deepest gratitude to our moderators and SIMC Japan Representative Ms Yuko Nitta, for ensuring the smooth delivery and successful event. We also wish to extend our heartfelt thanks to all the participants of the special event and look forward to welcoming you to our next event in Japan.