Singapore opens for foreign judges as H.K. frets

Singapore’s move to allow foreign judges to hear commercial cases may boost its standing against regional rival Hong Kong where concerns have mounted that its judicial independence is being undermined by China.

Judges from other jurisdictions will be able to hear cross- border disputes at the Singapore International Commercial Court, according to proposed changes tabled in Parliament yesterday. Singapore, which earlier allowed foreign lawyers to advise clients on its corporate laws, will also let them appear in the new court.

Singapore, 13 spots behind Hong Kong’s fourth place for judicial independence in a World Economic Forum report last year, has seen contributions from legal services expand 46 percent to $1.9 billion in 2012 from 2007. That’s double the pace of the Chinese city in the same time. Lawyers in Hong Kong marched in silent protest in June against a policy paper from China which asked judges to be patriotic, stoking concerns over its independence from Beijing.

“Singapore, which had a reputation for being conservative and somewhat closed, having laws which many outside the country viewed as oppressive, is changing,” said Peter Goldsmith, Chair of European and Asian Litigation at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP and a former U.K. attorney general. “It demonstrates Singapore’s maturity.”

While the commercial court will “absolutely” boost Singapore’s reputation, those with a negative perception of the country’s judiciary aren’t going to change their minds, according to Law Minister K. Shanmugam, whose previous clients as a lawyer included government leaders who successfully sued opposition politicians for libel.

Fair Game

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in May sued a blogger for defamation. Another blogger faces possible contempt of court action by the attorney general’s office for scandalizing the judiciary.

“In Singapore, a public figure is expected to have integrity, and if an allegation is made against him, then he is expected to either resign or clear his name,” Shanmugam said in an interview in May.

Singapore pushed ahead with its legal services reform despite concerns from some that it might lead to foreign law firms dominating the market as they do in Hong Kong.

“Even that limited opening up was, of course, not a popular move and there are good arguments both ways,” said Shanmugam, who was appointed law minister in 2008. “I wasn’t one of those who thought that it was logical to do that opening up. Nevertheless, by the time I became minister, it was government policy which I then put into motion.”