Welcome Address by Mr Edwin Tong SC, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Law, at the Commemorative Event of the 125th Anniversary of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in Singapore

25 JUL 2024

Good morning, everyone.

His Excellency Marcin Czepelak, Secretary General of the Permanent Court of Arbitration,

Your Excellencies,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen.

Introduction

  1. It is such an honour for us to have so many distinguished guests join us this morning in celebrating the 125th anniversary of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA).
  1. To those who have travelled from overseas, let me wish you a really warm welcome to Singapore – in all senses: warm weather and hopefully warmer hospitality.
  1. My Ministry, the Ministry of Law, is very happy and honoured to co-organise this commemorative event with the PCA, with the support of the Centre for International Law at the National University of Singapore.
  1. I must begin by warmly congratulating the PCA, on not only reaching this very important and significant milestone but doing so from a position of great strength. Over the past 125 years, the PCA’s membership has grown from 26 jurisdictions to 123 Contracting Parties from around the world. Last year, 82 new cases were filed with the PCA, the highest number in a single given year in its history. The PCA aspires to be a universal institution, and it is surely delivering on this goal.
  1. In support of this aspiration, we considered it important to bring the celebrations to this part of the world.

Importance of PCA to Singapore

  1. In keeping with the spirit of celebration, let me say a few words about what the PCA has meant to Singapore.
  1. Singapore became a PCA Contracting Party in 1993. We did so because we understood, we embraced, and we shared in the PCA’s ideals. We are mutually committed to promoting the international rule of law through the pacific settlement of disputes. We support the right of all States to settle differences peacefully in accordance with international law and agreed rules.
  1. Singapore has in fact benefited first-hand from the PCA’s dispute resolution services. In 2012, Singapore and Malaysia agreed to refer to PCA arbitration a question relating to railway land in Singapore. This resulted in an arbitral award which both sides agreed to abide by and thereafter fully implement. This allowed Singapore and Malaysia to move ahead and forge closer collaboration between our two countries, as we are the closest neighbours to each other.
  1. Singapore has also been a venue for PCA proceedings. For example, we were a venue for the landmark inter-State conciliation between Australia and Timor-Leste, under Annex V of UNCLOS.
  1. With our shared interests, our relationship and collaboration with the PCA has grown over the years: from entering into a facility agreement with the PCA in 2007, which enabled the PCA to hold hearings in Singapore, to the conclusion of a Host Country Agreement ten years later in 2017, which then paved the way for the PCA’s first Office in Asia to begin operations in Singapore in 2018.
  1. Since then, a growing number of PCA proceedings have been administered from the Singapore Office – reaching a total of 135 cases as of 2023. The staff strength of the office has also grown. In 2023, we made arrangements to enable the PCA to appoint additional legal officers in Singapore. We are now working with the PCA on the Office’s expansion, including larger office premises for the PCA at our Maxwell Chambers Suites.
  1. These achievements are possible because of the strong cooperation we have had with the PCA – the esteemed Secretary-General, the PCA Representative in Singapore, Dr Túlio Toledo, his team, and of course all their predecessors. They worked with us, and we are very grateful for and honoured by the partnership.

The future of international dispute resolution

  1. Anniversaries at the same time also provide for us an opportunity to take stock. As we look back, we also look ahead.
  1. You will, during today’s programme, hear more about the PCA’s many achievements over the years, and of course the impact of its work as well.
  1. As for looking ahead, let me share some thoughts on the future of international dispute resolution, at least from how we see it in Singapore, and what it might mean for the PCA.
  1. First, caseloads of international legal institutions will continue to grow. Not only was 2023 a record year for the PCA, the International Court of Justice currently also has an unprecedented caseload of 24 pending cases, some of which are multi-partite, involving many interventions from interested States.
  1. I would say this is partly because more multilateral and bilateral treaties provide for the referral of disputes to institutions like the PCA and the ICJ. In part, it is also likely due to there being a wider array of dispute resolution options made available to States – such as mediation, conciliation, commissions of inquiry and advisory opinions. There is also a greater sophistication in how dispute resolution processes and mechanisms are now designed. It is a lot more flexible now. Oftentimes you do not choose just one option, but you find a combination, an amalgamation of different options which best fit resolving the dispute.
  1. The PCA is therefore expected to handle a higher and more complex caseload. But I have every confidence that the PCA will be able to match up to it, given its high standards of excellence that it is well-known for.
  1. Second, technology, particularly artificial intelligence (including ChatGPT and so on), will have a significant impact on how dispute resolution is managed and conducted in the years ahead. For example, virtual hearings and case management meetings have facilitated the expeditious resolution of disputes, and these were particularly vital during the COVID-19 pandemic. Artificial intelligence can bring even more to the table. It can improve the way everyone, from bench to bar, manage their cases; and how documents are drafted, prepared, organised, and reviewed.
  1. I remember when I was a young associate many years ago. We got on all fours to look at documents, sieve through documents and manually paginated documents. We used to hold this device that would stamp the page numbers, and we would be in serious trouble if we missed a page early on in that bundle of documents.
  1. So when I tell people that this is how we used to prepare bundles of documents or do legal research, they would think I was from the Stone Age. Because legal research today is conducted in a split-second using AI which can trawl through extensive jurisprudence from across different legal systems and come up with comparable cases. Sometimes it can even give you the answer, or the likely outcome. All you need to do is input some details and data about the judge, about the bench, about the witnesses, for example. So that is where we have come today, and I think this is not the last word on AI.
  1. As recognised in the resolution of the Third Congress of the Members of the Court of the PCA in June this year, using emerging technologies like AI appropriately and effectively, will enable the PCA to remain at the forefront of international dispute resolution.
  1. Third, let me speak a little bit about Asia, given that we are all in Singapore in the middle of Asia. I believe Asia will be a growth area for international dispute resolution, and for the PCA. Let me give you some broad statistics to make good my point.

(a) According to the World Bank -- South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific are expected to be among the fastest growing and most dynamic regions in the world.

(b) According to the McKinsey Global Institute -- Asia has become the world’s largest economic and trading region, responsible for more than half of the world’s GDP growth, trade and manufacturing.

(c) With Asia fuelled by economic growth, and substantial business and investments, the need for dispute resolution institutions and services here will continue to increase.

  1. I had the privilege to chat with Secretary-General earlier. I made the point that the mere presence of organisations like the PCA in multiple jurisdictions including in Asia, with its own set of rules for dispute resolution, itself will have significant impact on cross-border transfers and trade facilitation. No one wants to invest in a country where you are not sure what would happen to the investment should there be a dispute. Today, when you are an investor, having a dispute or differences is not unusual. In some ways, this is par for the course and part of business activity.
  1. I believe that the PCA is poised to contribute in a significant way to dispute resolution needs in the Asian region. The PCA already has an excellent track record, and is equipped with the expertise and know-how to manage large, and often-times politically sensitive, and complex cases, involving States as well as State-owned entities.
  1. We welcome the PCA to take advantage of Singapore’s strategic location and our hub status.

(a) We are a small country. We do not have resources, we do not have a hinterland, but if there is nothing else, we have a great location geographically. Singapore is situated at the crossroads of the busiest international trading routes in Asia.

(b) We have built up what we regard as a very business-friendly environment, and we have become a hub for the free flow of goods, services and finance in the region and beyond. We often say Singapore is a venue where you do business in, or from, or through Singapore.

(c) This is complemented by our international dispute resolution ecosystem, with the infrastructure and resources needed to support the resolution of complex international disputes.

(d) As an aviation hub, Singapore also provides high connectivity to the Asia Pacific region, and beyond.

  1. One of the key tasks of my Ministry, is to ensure that Singapore remains an open destination, and an attractive venue for dispute resolution.
  1. We do not lose sight of our key fundamentals – the rule of law, our neutrality, the expertise, and good governance.
  1. This also means keeping an open and international outlook in our legal services market.

(a) We aim to ensure that the disputing parties can find the best talents to represent them here in Singapore, especially when the stakes are high.

(b) So party autonomy – the choice of counsel, the choice of arbitrators or mediators as the case may be, the choice of venue, the mode of dispute resolution, whether mediation, conciliation, arbitration or a mixture of all of them, – these are amongst the choices we would like to promote in any given dispute in Singapore.

(c) Leading dispute resolution institutions and law chambers have set up offices in Maxwell Chambers, the world’s first integrated dispute resolution complex. We are very grateful for that because we intend to promote and build up thought leadership in Singapore. The presence of the PCA, with many other world-renowned institutions that have the same ethos in resolving disputes, that have the same principles founded on openness, transparency, strong governance, and rule of law, all make for a vibrant legal ecosystem in Singapore.

  1. Every year, we convene the Singapore Convention Week – bringing together thousands of participants from around the world – including many dispute resolution practitioners and institutions, thought leaders as well as government officials.
  1. We constantly innovate, encouraging our law firms and legal institutions to equip themselves with the latest tools for their work. For example – in the area of technology – to encourage law firms to harness technology, Singapore launched the Legal Technology Platform, or LTP as we call it, in 2022. The LTP is a management and collaboration platform that is integrated with ‘legaltech’ tools, such as practice and document management systems, legal research, and electronic discovery, so that law firms can streamline processes and enhance productivity. Lawyers do not have to do what I used to, to get on all fours to sort their documents out.
  1. There are many more possibilities, which Singapore is exploring. For example, Maxwell Chambers now offers the use of drones to aid in evidence presentation, where the evidence might physically be located in a remote or offshore location.
  1. With our shared plans to expand the PCA Office, I believe that Singapore can continue to serve as a springboard, or as a base, for the PCA, to promote, and contribute to, the peaceful settlement of disputes to the wider region, either in Asia or from Asia, serving the world at large.

Conclusion

  1. Let me make a few concluding remarks about the PCA’s next steps for the next 125 years. Secretary-General and I spoke about how the world was in 1899 when they first started the PCA.
  1. Looking ahead to the next 125 years, I believe the PCA will go from strength to strength, and it will do so with strong support from the broader international legal community. The presence here today of so many distinguished officials and experts, representing different jurisdictions and different legal systems, from all over Asia and beyond, in my view attests to the importance of the PCA.
  1. This being an important occasion, much hard work has gone into today’s programme, to ensure it is meaningful and fruitful, to allow us to not just grow in our knowledge and expertise, but also develop new and fresh networks of contacts, from different jurisdictions. This is what helps us to grow and strengthen the legal community.
  1. Finally – I will not give the surprise away – we also have a special announcement in store, at the end of today’s programme.
  1. I am grateful to each and every one of you for being present today. I am also grateful to today’s speakers and moderators, who have brought generously their rich, deep expertise and experience, and who have put in valuable time and effort into preparing for today’s discussions. I know because I have met a couple of them – they had spent the last few nights feverishly preparing, anticipating difficult questions, which we should ask of them.
  1. To all our distinguished guests, once again thank you very much to your kind presence. I trust and hope that you will be enriched by today’s event and that you will grow in contacts, grow in networks, and more importantly grow in the friendship that we can offer each other.
  1. Thank you very much.

Last updated on 25 July 2024