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, both delivered keynote speeches on the mechanisms and measures unifying the application of the law at the event.

Zhou Qiang, chief justice and president of the Supreme People's Court of China, speaks at the sixth China-Singapore Legal and Judicial Roundtable, held via video link, Feb 7, 2023. [Photo/court.gov.cn]

Zhou noted that fairness and justice is the soul and life of the judiciary, and the unified application of the law is an important way to achieve justice. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, courts in China have striven to deepen judicial reform, improve their various systems and mechanisms, and advance the unified application of the law, in a bid to enhance China's judicial quality, efficacy and credibility, safeguard the unification, dignity and authority of China's rule of law, and bring justice to the people via the trial of every case.

He introduced China's systems and mechanisms for improving and unifying the application of the law, which is based on reform and innovation, aims to resolve differences by promoting a searching system for similar cases to ensure the strict and fair administration of justice. Multiple measures, including issuing judicial interpretations and regulatory documents, establishing a case guidance system and strengthening clarifications and refining judgments, have been taken to unify judgment standards. Courts in China have also given full play to the role of the judicial committee and professional judges' meetings, ensured performance of the presiding judges' supervision and management responsibilities in unifying the standards for the application of the law, reinforced the responsibilities of sole judges and collegial panels in the correct application of the law, and intensified research on the application of laws in difficult and complex cases, in order to achieve a unified standard of judgment, he said.

Menon introduced the experience of Singapore's Court of Appeal in promoting the coordinated unification of the legal system. According to him, the Court of Appeal of Singapore assumes the function of making comprehensive and authoritative decisions on legal issues of general importance, and plays an important role in promoting the unity of Singapore's judicial system. By strengthening procedural innovation, the judicial community of Singapore has enabled the Court of Appeal to make authoritative rulings on difficult and complex issues, and adopted the method of refining and summarizing legal principles to achieve the unity in the application of the law. The Court of Appeal also cites decisions from other jurisdictions to promote convergence between different legal systems. He also expressed his hope for communication and experience sharing with Chinese courts in order to spur new developments in the judiciary fields of both countries.

More topics, such as 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 discussed at the roundtable.