Global Pound Conference Singapore 2016

17-18 March 2016

The Global Pound Conference (GPC) Series kicked off in Singapore from 17 – 18 March 2016, attracting more than 300 participants from Singapore and all over the world representing all categories of stakeholders in dispute resolution – users, advisors, providers and influencers.

The Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC) was pleased to be an organising partner of this ground-breaking event where technology was used to enhance the participation of the audience and facilitate the gathering of data through live voting, word cloud exercises, and posing questions/comments to the speakers.

The Chief Justice of Singapore Sundaresh Menon delivered the keynote address, available here. The Chief Justice’s speech focused on three major shifts in the global landscape: (a) first, a shift towards increased economic openness and mobility of labour and capital; (b) second, a shift towards increased cross-cultural convergence in transnational commercial dispute resolution; and (c) third, a shift towards the increased recognition that access to justice can take place outside the courtroom.  The Chief Justice then suggested possible systemic responses to them that included: (a) moving legal systems towards “ADR” – Appropriate Dispute Resolution; (b) increasing convergence through conversations and communications amongst the relevant stakeholders; and (c) tapping on the global talent pool in a flattened world.

Co-Chair of SIMC, Mr George Lim SC, CEO of SIMC, Ms Lim Seok Hui, and Deputy CEO of SIMC, Ms Eunice Chua, were panellists in two of the interactive voting and discussion sessions centred on the issues of “How is the market currently addressing parties’ wants, needs and expectations?” and “How can dispute resolution be improved? (Overcoming obstacles and challenges)”. Other issues that were canvassed through voting and discussion sessions were “Access to Justice & Dispute Resolution Systems: What do parties want, need and expect?” and “Promoting better access to justice: What action items should be considered and by whom?”

These voting and discussion sessions provided much food for thought to the attendees, showing areas of divergence but also convergence among the key stakeholder groups. The voting results of the conference will be made availablehere.

The conference closed with an address by Ms Indranee Rajah, Senior Minister of State for Law and Finance. available here. Ms Rajah highlighted the unique approach Singapore had taken towards dispute resolution, based on the fundamentals of: (a) a legal framework trusted by parties to a dispute; (b) good execution or implementation of that framework; and (c) a holistic approach taking into account the different parts that affect the client’s experience over the whole process. Ms Rajah also explained the complete suite of dispute resolution services on offer in Singapore, including SIMC.

For more details, visit www.simc.com.sg