The sixth China-Singapore Legal and Judicial Roundtable was held via video link on Feb 7. Zhou Qiang, chief justice of China, and Sundaresh Menon, chief justice of Singapore, attended and addressed the opening session.

The sixth China-Singapore Legal and Judicial Roundtable is held via video link, Feb 7, 2023. [Photo/court.gov.cn]

Zhou pointed out that China and Singapore has been partners of high-quality cooperation, where law and justice are key areas. With the goal of ensuring judicial services for the high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, the supreme courts of the two countries have deepened cooperation in international commercial matters, intellectual property rights and judge training, which has achieved fruitful results and played a significant role in bringing benefits to the two peoples and promoting regional peace, stability, development and prosperity, he noted.

With the roundtable mechanism in its sixth year, the judicial cooperation between the two countries is bound to have broader prospects, he said.

Noting that this year marks the ten-year anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Zhou said that China’s Supreme People's Court is ready to work with the Supreme Court of Singapore to implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state and to strengthen communication, in a bid for stronger judicial services for BRI development and the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. He hoped that both sides would continue to build consensus on cooperation with an open spirit, and strive to turn the consensus into more pragmatic results.

Menon in his address acknowledged the achievements of the bilateral cooperation, especially in the judicial field. The roundtable has become an important platform for the judicial communities of China and Singapore to exchange views, carry out cooperation and formulate roadmaps for future bilateral judicial cooperation, he said. Top courts of the two countries have managed to hold the roundtable annually, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which reflects their profound friendship and strong resolution on cooperation, he said. He expressed his hope that the two sides will continue to hold candid and thorough communications and increase experience sharing to elevate the bilateral judicial cooperation to a higher level.

Discussions on such topics as the mechanisms and measures unifying the application of the law, the best practices in complex litigation management, the application of international treaties and international practices in cross-border commercial litigation and cross-border bankruptcy, were held at the roundtable.