Singapore’s LawSoc inks MOUs with Bahrain legal bodies to boost cross-border collaboration

The Law Society of Singapore (LawSoc) has signed two memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with the Bahrain Centre for Dispute Resolution (BCDR) and Bahrain Bar Society to strengthen legal collaboration, and support the growing ecosystem around the two nations’ international commercial courts.

The agreements, signed on Thursday (Nov 6), establish a framework for knowledge exchange and training programmes between legal professionals in Singapore and Bahrain, said LawSoc vice-president Samuel Chacko.

The MOUs will facilitate training in common law practices, including witness examination and case presentation, for Bahraini lawyers working within the Bahrain International Commercial Court’s (BICC) hybrid civil and common law system.

LawSoc also plans to develop online seminars allowing both jurisdictions to exchange knowledge about their respective legal systems and structures.

The collaboration follows the establishment of the BICC, an international judicial body that will hear cross-border transnational commercial disputes.

The BICC is modelled after the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC) and features a unique appeal mechanism that allows appeals to be heard by the International Committee of the SICC.

“What we’ve witnessed today is really legal history in the making,” Chacko told The Business Times in an interview after the BICC launch ceremony on Wednesday. 

“You have seen two small countries which share quite a few similar attributes come together and put together a system of international dispute resolution, the effect of which is going to reverberate way beyond these two countries.”

Chacko said that building traction for the BICC will require time and effort from both litigators and corporate lawyers, to educate clients about including BICC clauses in international contracts.

“The work starts now,” he said. “It has to go beyond just the (dispute) lawyers doing it. Corporate lawyers need to advise their clients about this new forum, the suitability of that forum and the desirability of using that forum.”

Singapore-Bahrain commercial court partnership opens Middle East gateway for local law firms

Local law firms could gain a foothold in the Middle Eastern dispute resolution space as Singapore and Bahrain forge a “first-of-its-kind” judicial partnership that has the potential to create new pathways for cross-border work.

The landmark arrangement centres on the newly launched Bahrain International Commercial Court (BICC), which has designated the Singapore International Commercial Court’s (SICC) International Committee as its appellate body.

This marks the first time an international commercial court’s appeal mechanism has operated across jurisdictions – a feature that positions Singapore lawyers to advise on disputes spanning Asia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

The partnership offers “significant advantages” in market access for Singapore lawyers, as well as commercial certainty for Middle Eastern businesses, said Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon at the BICC launch ceremony on Nov 5.

Singapore lawyers with rights of audience before the SICC will be able to appear before the International Committee, providing Singapore-based firms a clear avenue to represent clients in high-stakes BICC appeals, he said.

The chief justice added that Middle Eastern businesses gain predictability through the appeal mechanism to the SICC’s International Committee, giving them confidence to engage in complex cross-border transactions with a “neutral judicial safety net”.

“So I think it is historic, unprecedented and opens up a hitherto unavailable marketplace.”

Greater collaboration

To support the growing ecosystem around the two nations’ international commercial courts, LawSoc signed two memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with the Bahrain Centre for Dispute Resolution (BCDR) and Bahrain Bar Society to strengthen legal collaboration.

The agreements establish a framework for knowledge exchange and training programmes between legal professionals in Singapore and Bahrain. The focus is on facilitating training in common law practices – including witness examination and case presentation – for Bahraini lawyers working within the BICC’s hybrid civil and common law system.

“We see this as the start of a long-term relationship, and the MOU provides that framework for us to build further,” said Chacko.

Middle Eastern legal work remains “very much a nascent area” for Singapore law firms, he added. A few firms already have a presence in the region, with many eyeing the Dubai International Financial Centre as an area to develop a practice.

Lawyers to whom The Business Times spoke identified construction, energy and banking disputes as the primary areas where Singapore-Middle East legal work is already developing, driven by Chinese contractors increasingly dominating regional infrastructure projects.

“Chinese contractors – they want Singapore law,” said Daniel Chia, managing director of law firm Prolegis. “Singapore is the good compromise that they are willing to make.”

Construction and energy-related arbitrations with Middle Eastern elements already form a significant portion of Singapore firms’ international work, said Chia, who is also head of litigation for the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer and Prolegis formal law alliance. 

Edmund Kronenburg, managing partner of Braddell Brothers, sees substantial opportunities for both jurisdictions. “For both Singapore and Bahraini lawyers, the upside is tangible: more cross-border instructions, shared hearing opportunities and joint engagements; deeper sector exposure in energy, infrastructure, construction, shipping, aviation, fintech and Islamic finance – areas where the GCC pipeline is strong,” he said.

“This groundbreaking development provides Singapore lawyers a golden opportunity to showcase and deploy what we do best: disciplined case management, rigorous advocacy and solution-oriented settlement strategy, all before international commercial courts on truly transnational disputes.”

Dawn Tan, founding managing director of Ashurst ADTLaw, noted that liquefied natural gas (LNG) commodities disputes represent another growth corridor, given Chinese purchases of Middle Eastern petroleum products.

Chia said that banking disputes are also emerging, particularly involving high-net-worth clients whose wealth is managed through Dubai but booked in Singapore. He added that he has filed several such cases in the SICC over the past year.

Relationship building

But lawyers noted that it will require significant groundwork and patience to realise the BICC’s potential.

Chacko emphasised that this work cannot be done by disputes lawyers alone; corporate lawyers must first educate clients about including BICC clauses in contracts, a process that will take considerable time.

Chia estimated it could take five to 10 years before the fruits of the collaboration materialise, noting that parties must first be convinced to opt into the BICC system.

Lawyers expect initial collaborations will take the form of informal “best friends partnerships” rather than formal mergers, with Singapore firms co-counselling on matters involving Singapore law or SICC appeals.

“If your contract is Singapore law BICC, with an appeal to the SICC, do you want to get a Singapore firm in from the start? Maybe you do, even if they are not the main lawyer leading it,” said Chia.

Chacko said greater legal ties may not necessarily lead to more law firms setting up satellite offices in the Middle East. “But certainly, law firms will be out there, pitching their services and trying to be part of the ecosystem that is now set up.”

For Singapore lawyers willing to invest in building Middle Eastern relationships, the opportunities extend beyond the courtroom.

Said Tan: “We can’t be in Singapore alone, because it’s too small. So we have to go out of Singapore to sell Singapore.”

Yet, she acknowledged that convincing risk-averse Singapore firms to explore nascent markets like Bahrain requires entrepreneurial spirit.

“Not everyone will be able to do it, but those that have the resources and the tenacity and, frankly, the sheer gung-ho spirit, go out and do it.”

Source: The Business Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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