Maxwell Chambers, Singapore’s integrated dispute resolution centre, is set to open its new state-of-the-art facility in the city’s old traffic police headquarters.
Known as Maxwell Chambers Suites, Law In Order will be one of the first tenants to open its doors in the new building, offering e-arbitration services that include remote witness and video conferencing services, online review and tribunal books, sophisticated evidence presentation, video conferencing, defensible data collection and document processing services.
“By being based at Maxwell Chambers Suites, we are able to create significant efficiencies for our clients,” said Julian McGrath, managing director of Law In Order. “We can respond quicker to the client’s matter, helping save them significant time and costs.”
Restoration work on the new centre, which will officially open on Thursday, started two years ago and will triple the centre’s capacity.
“Because of the growing demand for dispute resolution work in Singapore, we hold many more hearings at Maxwell Chambers — our hearing rooms are full on some days,” said Philip Jeyaretnam, chairman of Maxwell Chambers. “There are also many more international dispute resolution institutions and firms that want to establish a base in Singapore to tap into the growth of Asia.”
It will house at least 11 international institutions, as well as 20 disputes firms from 11 countries. Institutions such as the International Chamber of Commerce’s International Court of Arbitration and the Permanent Court of Arbitration will have case management offices based in the building. Indeed, it will have the highest concentration of case management offices in the world, attracting even more high-value cross-border disputes to Singapore.
As a fitting testament to its growing stature as an international dispute resolution hub, on Wednesday the city will host the signing ceremony of the UN Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, which will be named the Singapore Convention on Mediation. Singapore played an active role in negotiating the convention, which will facilitate the enforcement of mediated settlement agreements and help to promote international trade and commerce.
“The Singapore Convention on Mediation is the missing piece in the international dispute resolution enforcement framework,” says Philip Jeyaretnam, chairman of Maxwell Chambers. “For litigation, we have the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements. For arbitration, there is the New York Convention. The Singapore Convention on Mediation will enhance cross-border enforceability of mediated settlement agreements. Businesses will benefit with greater certainty and assurance.”
See here for an interview with Philip Jeyaretnam on the new facility.