Speech by Minister Edwin Tong SC, Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs, at the Launch Event of the Expanded Permanent Court of Arbitration Singapore Office

His Excellency Marcin Czepelak, Secretary General of the Permanent Court of Arbitration,

Your Excellencies,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen.

Introduction

1. A really good morning to all of you, and I am so delighted to welcome all of you to this morning’s event, to launch the expanded office of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) right here in Singapore.

2. I know we have amongst us many distinguished guests from overseas, in particular, the esteemed members of the PCA Expert Group, whom we are very pleased to host in Singapore. We are delighted and honoured with your presence here. We are happy also to support you in facilitating your work in assessing the workings of the PCA, to think of next steps and expanding the vision of the PCA through your foundational mission statements.

3. I am also glad to see that we continue to have a strong presence of the members of the diplomatic corps and dispute resolution community at this event, and other previous events which my ministry, the Ministry of Law, has co-organised so successfully with the PCA.

Singapore and the PCA

4. I am sure you know, last year, we marked a very important milestone of the PCA – its 125th anniversary. Singapore brought the celebrations to the Asia-Pacific region with a full-day commemorative event in July 2024, which I know many of you attended. We welcomed 200 participants including Ministers, Attorneys-General, Ambassadors and other senior officials from a very diverse mix of more than 40 different jurisdictions – including both civil law and common law countries – for a very rich exchange of views on the PCA’s continued relevance and responses to the changing needs of international dispute resolution. At that event, if you recall, I mentioned that we were working with the PCA on expanding its presence in Singapore, and today, one year on, I am so pleased to say that we are proud to mark the realisation of this objective.

5. Apart, of course, from the physical expansion of the PCA’s presence – with nicer, expanded offices here at Maxwell Chambers - I believe there is also growth not just in physical terms.

(a) The PCA established its first office in Asia and began operations in Singapore in 2018, with the Singapore Government’s support. The establishment of this office was part of the PCA’s expansion of its global presence, to enable the PCA to administer the growing number of PCA cases in Singapore and around the region in Asia. It also dovetailed with our own Singapore’s objective of augmenting our own position as an international hub for dispute resolution, particularly with the focus on investor-State arbitration, which contributed to a significant proportion of the PCA’s case load.

(b) Since then, the PCA Singapore Office has administered, provided support to tribunals and acted in appointing authority matters in more than one hundred cases. Singapore has also hosted the landmark inter-State conciliation between Australia and Timor-Leste which were conducted under the PCA’s auspices, amongst other PCA proceedings held in Singapore.

(c) The PCA Singapore Office has also contributed to and enriched the local legal community, by organising regular iterations of the PCA Singapore Pre-Vis Moot. University moot teams are convened from around the region to plead before tribunals composed of international arbitration specialists from various jurisdictions and legal backgrounds, as a precursor and preparation to Vis Moot in Vienna and Vis East Moot in Hong Kong.

(d) All of this work has been ably supported by a growing stable of PCA officers who have come through the doors of the Singapore Office. 5 Assistant Legal Counsel have served at the Singapore Office. This year, we welcome a new Representative of the Singapore Office, who will be third in a line of Representatives who have worked closely with the Singapore Government in promoting the work of the PCA out of Singapore and serving the region.

6. With the expanded office and the Singapore Government’s enhanced support, I am very confident that the next chapter of the PCA Singapore Office will herald further growth in our partnership to promote international rule of law through the peaceful settlement of disputes. I believe that PCA’s expanded presence in Singapore will be yet another step to catalyse and centre the growth of thought leadership in Singapore.

International dispute resolution and the international rule of law

7. It is probably an understatement today to say that the world needs peaceful dispute settlement. Perhaps now, more than ever – that is needed, valued and treasured. A quick perusal of the daily news, almost every day, sadly, serves as a constant reminder that we are living in unprecedented times. Hot wars are still underway in Europe and the Middle East; and just last month, our region saw the most serious escalation of tensions between our Southeast Asian neighbours, and the most serious in decades. A revised regime of tariffs levied by the United States also took effect recently, taking us into very uncharted waters; but more importantly, moving away from the free trade agreements that have become the cornerstone and underpinned the world order and rules-based multilateral system. That has also governed our trade relations across different countries, across different continents, for many decades.

8. But amidst such uncertainty and turmoil, I would like to assure you of one clear constant, and that is Singapore’s commitment to the international rule of law. This, for us, is non-negotiable as a small State. We depend on a stable, rules-based global order to survive. The alternative of a world without rules, or a world where might makes right, would not be a viable option for us.

9. So, we will, I assure you, continue to do our part:

(a) To speak out in support of international law, uphold our rights and play our part in the discharging of responsibilities codified in international agreements and treaties;

(b) To support and strengthen the many institutions, including dispute resolution institutions such as the PCA, that form critical pillars of the multilateral system.

10. Singapore has not only advocated consistently for the peaceful dispute settlement as a fundamental tenet of the rule of law, but we have backed up our advocacy by putting in place the necessary infrastructure to support it and to give life it:

(a) We have in place a sound dispute resolution eco-system – you are right in the middle of it now here at Maxwell Chambers; it comprises world-class institutions and facilities.

(b) We have a vibrant legal services market – open, collaborative. We welcome lawyers from overseas to practise in Singapore with the best legal expertise to support the resolution of complex international disputes.

(c) We also contribute to the development of international frameworks. We lend ourselves to the thought leadership that I spoke about, such as the Singapore Convention on Mediation. Today, 19 countries are Party to the Convention. We believe that more will come onboard. When that happens, we will strengthen multilateralism and the rule of law. The Convention will also enhance compliance with and the enforcement of dispute settlement outcomes.

11. Whilst we are confident in our value proposition and contributions that we have made in this space, we are also very mindful and cognizant that this is not an effort of just one or indeed of a few States. I had the opportunity to host a group of Permanent Representatives to the UN at my ministry some weeks ago, where we spoke and exchanged views on values, and developments around the world. We stressed the importance of the collective, how we can come together, to make concerted and sustained efforts in upholding the international rule of law – because fundamentally, in this space, multilateralism means that we are stronger together, and when we come together with the same values and the same mindset, we will be and can be stronger than the sum of our parts.

12. So therefore, milestone occasions like what we have today are good opportunities for us to come together to reflect, think about what more we can do, how much more we can commit to take the conversation forward. I think we have gathered, if you look around the room, the right stakeholders in the room today – legal advisors, diplomats, judges – for that purpose. I am sure that our panel session later on will provide us with new insights, fresh perspectives, perhaps also challenge our existing assumptions on how different international institutions contribute so richly to the multilateral fabric, and also spark conversations on how we can each play our respective roles more effectively as we navigate a more complex political environment.

Conclusion

13. Let me now round up these opening remarks by taking some time to thank each and every one of you for joining us today, in conversation as well as in celebration. I am also grateful to today’s distinguished speakers. We had dinner last evening and chatted over dinner – more about food than about the law! But it gave us a platform to understand that we share more than just a common goal in developing these frameworks. We share values, and those values are going to be so important as we anchor the thought leadership around this expanded office of the PCA.

14. Finally, to the PCA, Secretary-General Czepelak and your team, you have been tremendous to deal with. You have become a friend, and I hope that you will continue to be a great friend of Singapore. I really commend you all for the efforts of the last, I think, close to seven years now. I look forward to the greater success in our partnership in the years to come, to grow not just in the number of PCA proceedings in Singapore – I know people look at number of cases as one measure – but I would like to see growth also in the scope and impact of the PCA’s outreach and capacity-building activities in promoting greater awareness and usage of the PCA’s dispute resolution services especially in this part of the world. Again, just a short while ago, we spoke briefly about PCA’s role in Singapore, in expanding capacity, serving the region in ASEAN. The point I made to Marcin was, if you are present in Singapore, there is a greater relevance of the PCA, because you could be part of the ASEAN region. As you look towards playing a role in peaceful settlements and conciliation, the fact that you are operating out of ASEAN, serving ASEAN and beyond, will make a tremendous difference.

15. On that note, I want to wish you all the very best as we embark on the next chapter of the PCA in Singapore. I want to assure you of the Singapore Government’s continued support and partnership, as well as friendship. Thank you very much.

Last updated on 5 September 2025