ANNUAL REPORT 2015
Board of Directors as of 31 December 2015 Mr Edwin Glasgow, QC Barrister, 39 Essex Chambers Mr George Lim, SC Consultant, Wee Tay & Lim LLP Professor Lawrence Boo Head of Chambers, The Arbitration Chambers Mr Chow Kok Fong Managing Director, Equitas Chambers Pte Ltd Mr Han Kok Juan Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Law Ms Bonnie Hobbs Managing Director - Associate General Counsel, Litigation & Dispute Management, Asia Pacific, Accenture Pte Ltd Mr Lok Vi Ming, SC Partner, Rodyk & Davidson LLP Mr John Pyall International Claims Co-ordinator, Munich Re Mr Viswa Sadasivan Chief Executive Officer, Strategic Moves Pte Ltd Mr Lucien Wong Chairman and Senior Partner, Allen & Gledhill LLP
Lim Seok Hui Chief Executive Officer 2014-2015 Launch of SIMC 2015 marked a positive start for the Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC) since it officially commenced operations in November 2014. Following the establishment of its Panel of Mediators and Panel of Experts, and the launch of its innovative Arbitration-Mediation-Arbitration (Arb-Med-Arb) service in collaboration with the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), SIMC s focus has been on creating awareness of the use of mediation to resolve cross-border commercial disputes, complementing other dispute resolution tools such as arbitration and litigation. These efforts have taken us all over the world, beyond Singapore to China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Myanmar, the Philippines and Thailand. From inception to the end of 2015, 6 cases have been filed with SIMC, of which 3 were SIAC-SIMC Arb-Med-Arb cases. Join us as we look back at some key highlights of 2014 and 2015.
Official Launch of SIMC and Maxwell Mediation Seminar SIMC was officially launched on 5 November 2014 by the Honourable the Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon and then-minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Law, Mr K Shanmugam, SC. Launch of SIMC 5 November 2014 The event, which was held at Maxwell Chambers, was attended by over 200 members of the local and international legal and business communities. Held on the same day as the inaugural Maxwell Mediation Seminar, the programme featured an interactive dialogue on Mediation as a Continuum: From Preparation through to the Aftermath by SIMC mediators John Sturrock, QC and Geoff Sharp, a presentation titled Two Settlements and a Funeral by Michael McIlwrath, Global Chief Litigation Counsel, GE Oil & Gas, and a panel discussion on Arb-Med-Arb. Sundaresh Menon Chief Justice there has not been an organisation in Singapore that is focused specifically on providing quality international commercial mediation services. The Singapore International Mediation Centre will fill that gap and this will constitute a significant step towards developing a more complete suite of dispute resolution services available in Singapore. It also serves to demonstrate our commitment to mediation and to the development of Singapore as a dispute resolution services hub.
Arb-Med-Arb SIMC has collaborated with the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) to offer parties a one-stop service known as the Arbitration-Mediation-Arbitration (Arb-Med-Arb) service. Arb-Med-Arb is a unique hybrid process that combines arbitration and mediation in a manner that provides maximum value at minimal cost, efficiency coupled with flexibility and confidentiality combined with enforceability, all within an institutional framework and rules that incorporate global best practices. In a nutshell, the service allows parties to attempt mediation after the commencement of arbitration proceedings. If parties are able to settle their dispute through mediation, their mediated settlement may be recorded as a consent award. A consent award is generally accepted as an arbitral award, and subject to any local legislation and/or requirements, is generally enforceable in more than 150 countries under the New York Convention, an international convention on the enforcement of arbitral awards. If parties are unable to settle their dispute through mediation, they may continue with the arbitration proceedings. In 2015, there were 3 SIAC-SIMC Arb-Med-Arb cases filed with SIMC. The Arb-Med-Arb procedure was also adopted by the Singapore Chamber for Maritime Arbitration (SCMA) in 2015, and SIMC has been identified as a mediation service provider recognised under the SCMA Arb-Med-Arb scheme.
Business Development In 2014 and 2015, SIMC organised and participated in more than 80 events and conferences to introduce SIMC s services and promote the use of international commercial mediation. In Singapore, SIMC collaborated with law firms, chambers of commerce, the Ministry of Law, educational institutions as well as Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) service providers to hold talks and seminars. SIMC also partnered with mediation service providers and chambers of commerce in China, India, Indonesia, Italy, Myanmar, the Philippines and Thailand to organise events focused on international dispute resolution services available in Singapore. In addition to its close partnership with SIAC, SIMC has established relationships through the signing of Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with international stakeholders, including dispute resolution and mediation centres as well as educational and training institutions, to better meet the growing demand for international mediation services, and to further promote international mediation. Our MOU partners are: ADR Instituut (Netherlands) SIMC Signs MOU with PDRCI, Philippines 7 July 2015 ESSEC Asia Pacific Florence Chamber of Commerce Indian Institute of Arbitration and Mediation (IIAM) MCCI Arbitration and Mediation Centre Philippine Dispute Resolution Centre, Inc. (PDRCI) Pusat Mediasi Nasional (Indonesian Mediation Centre) SIMC signs MOU with IIAM, India 10 September 2015 Singapore Mediation Centre Thai Mediation Centre Vienna International Arbitral Centre In 2015, SIMC started its first mediation-focused seminar series in Singapore, which has featured members of SIMC s Panel of Mediators such as Dr Robert Gaitskell, QC, Mr Michel Kallipetis, QC and Mr Alan Limbury. The seminars provide members of the audience the opportunity to hear directly from the experienced mediators on SIMC s Panel of Mediators, better understand the relevance of mediation to cross-border disputes and gain practical tips relating to the mediation process.
SIMC Panels 66 70 Mediators Experts ASIA Hong Kong: 4 India: 4 Singapore: 15 AFRICA Nigeria: 1 South Africa: 2 AUSTRALASIA Australia: 6 New Zealand: 5 NORTH AMERICA Canada: 1 USA: 10 SOUTH AMERICA Brazil: 3 EUROPE France: 1 Netherlands: 1 Switzerland: 1 UK: 12 Accountancy: 11 Aviation: 1 Banking & Finance: 2 Business Interruption Analysis: 1 Construction: 16 Energy: 2 Information Technologies: 2 Insurance/Reinsurance: 1 Intellectual Property: 1 International Transport and Logistics: 1 Machinery Breakdown: 2 Maritime: 13 Mining: 5 Occupational/Industrial Health and Safety: 1 Oil & Gas/Energy: 9 Property Valuation: 1 Rail: 1 Real Estate Investments: 1 Risk Management: 2 Scientific Forensics: 1 Sports Disputes: 1 Telecomunications: 1 Expertise of Mediators Agency Aviation & Airports Banking/Financial Instruments Company/Shareholders Defamation Employment Family/Probate Information Technology/Telecommunications Infrastructure/Construction/Engineering Insurance Intellectual Property/Trademarks/Copyright Investments Joint Venture/Partnership Mining Oil & Gas Others Personal Injury Professional Malpractice Real Estate Sale/Supply of Goods & Services/Title of Goods Shipping Sports & Entertainment Tenancy Torts Trust 0 10 20 30 40
Case Updates 2014 1 case 2015 5 cases Sums in dispute: SGD 5 million to more than SGD 600 million Number of Mediation filings: 3 Number of Arb-Med-Arb filings: 3 Sectors represented: Aviation, construction, joint venture/partnership, oil and gas, shipping and the sale/supply of goods and services. Nationalities represented: Singapore, the Cayman Islands, Germany, India, Korea, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States. Closing Remarks from the CEO We would like to express our sincere thanks and appreciation to members of SIMC s Board of Directors and the SIMC team for their hard work and contributions. We would also like to thank our partners in the local and international legal and business communities for their support, and look forward to their continued partnership as we work to develop SIMC even further in the year ahead. Singapore International Mediation Centre 32 Maxwell Road #02-07 Maxwell Chambers Singapore 069115 Tel: +65 6635 2460 Fax: +65 6635 2461 Email: secretariat@simc.com.sg Web: www.simc.com.sg