Speech by Senior Minister of State Mr Murali Pillai SC at the "SIDRA 2026 Survey Launch" @ Maxwell Chambers
26 August 2026 Posted in Speeches
Professor Lee Pey Woan Dean of the Yong Pung How School of Law, Singapore Management University (SMU)
Professor Nadja Alexander Director of the Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy (SIDRA) at SMU
Your Excellencies,
Honourable Justices,
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
Introduction
1. A very good afternoon to you. To our guests from overseas, welcome. Welcome to Singapore, and to the Singapore Convention Week, or in short, SC Week.
2. Let me begin by thanking SIDRA for the invitation. I always look forward to attending SIDRA’s SC Week events, and seeing how SIDRA has continued to grow. In fact, almost a year ago, I was speaking at SIDRA’s MENA Forum, which was the first ever MENA-centred event at SC Week. Therefore, I am heartened to learn that today, SIDRA is ready to share its preliminary findings from its inaugural MENA Survey.
3. Let me also congratulate SIDRA on its publication of its fourth Global Survey. When the Ministry of Law commissioned the survey, it was to address a gap in our knowledge, particularly in learning user preferences towards various forms of dispute resolution. These are our “known unknowns”.
4. The first survey was published in 2020, and in six years, the SIDRA Survey has now established itself as an integral part of the international discourse. I know that there will be a rich discussion on the findings later.
5. The survey is comprehensive and covers the full range of dispute resolution mechanisms. It provides data on:
1) User preferences;
2) Factors influencing their choice of seat, institution, arbitrator, mediator; and
3) Whether they are satisfied with their experiences.
6. These are important considerations, and if things continue as they are, they will correctly be the subject of close corporate attention.
7. However, given what is happening around the world, we need to attend to, not just the known unknowns, but things beyond our current preoccupations. Because there are today, more “unknown unknowns” - things will almost certainly not continue as they are. Upheavals are portending and we must not take our current stability for granted.
8. Dispute resolutions, and the work of law in general, depends on the use of reason, principles and values to reach agreements on the rules that constrain and enable specific forms of behaviour. It is simplest when rules are clear and legitimate and when we have a rich landscape of settled norms and a long history of precedent cases.
9. These rules are most important, not when we agree, but when we come into dispute. Today, when so much is changing so quickly, where there are new areas of collaborations, new technologies to govern, when Governments are writing new rules, we are confronting new scenarios.
10. Therefore, it would be prudent for us to reflect on emerging threats and challenges that will affect the global economy, and review our dispute resolution system so that the same legal and moral reasoning that have guided the practice of law since our profession has come into being will continue to bind our societies ahead.
11. Last year, at the MENA Forum, I spoke about the common challenges facing MENA and Singapore, and the opportunities for collaboration in the dispute resolution space, to facilitate investment into, and between, both our regions. These are not unique to MENA and Singapore, and apply similarly to the rest of the world, in fact, one year on, there is greater urgency for such action.
12. So what are the pressing challenges facing our generation? War, geopolitical fragmentation and growing trade restrictions. Countries turning inwards, shoring up their own industrial capacity and resilience, affecting global flows on efficient production of essential goods and components.
13. All these issues are highly relevant to small, open economies like Singapore. Added to these are other issues that may not be so easily perceived here in Singapore.
Climate Change
Wildfires
14. In particular, I would like to focus on climate change. By now, the scientific consensus is quite clear that human activity has led to changing weather patterns and phenomena, and this will result in more frequent, and more intense, natural disasters.
15. Over the past few months, we have seen horrifying stories on wildfires across Europe and North America. Wildfires are now occurring in places previously thought to be safe.
16. I recently watched a BBC interview on the intensity of wildfire radiation. Even before the flame lands, the radiant heat from the fires – think of this as ‘invisible’ heat, the kind that you can feel if you put your hand near a candle, a little candle, that warns you to avoid touching it – that radiant heat for these fires is at 500 degrees Celsius.
17. So the trees are already completely dried up before the fire reaches, and becomes like matchsticks. Once even an ember lands, the whole tree explodes into flames, much more quickly than how we usually visualise objects catching fire.
18. In fact, some researchers calculated that the fires in Spain have released thermal radiation roughly equivalent to 28 Hiroshima atomic bombs. The greater frequency, intensity and spread of wildfires has also triggered other phenomena that were previously rarer, such as fire clouds and fire tornadoes.
19. Another study by researchers at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research highlighted that the area of land in Europe that risks being hit by wildfires could nearly triple, by the end of the century.
20. Closer to our part of the world, we are also seeing the effects of climate change. We are now in the midst of the El Nino phenomenon, where warmer sea surface temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific trigger worldwide changes in winds, atmospheric pressure and rainfall.
21. El Nino is part of the earth’s natural cycle and occurs every three to five years, but its effects are going to be exacerbated by climate change. Associated events such as droughts, heatwaves and wildfires have become more severe, impacting agriculture in particular.
22. In fact, India, which is the world’s 2nd largest exporter of sugar, banned exports until the end of September this year due to lower yields stemming from lower than average monsoon rainfall, and even authorised duty free imports until the end of October to curb rising prices, which have surged by nearly 40%.
Floods
23. Conversely, we have other parts of the world that are facing more frequent and severe floods. Just last week, the Chiba region near Tokyo in Japan saw 300mm, or nearly 12 inches, of rain in 24 hours. Or to put it another way, the city of Chiba had experienced three times more rainfall than what it would have typically seen for an entire August.
24. It is worth noting that some of these disasters are occurring in developed countries with advanced economies, that have some resources to respond to crises, but were still caught off guard.
25. So we need to rethink our assumptions on whether we have sufficiently mapped out places that are at risk from climate change’s impacts and consider whether there are sufficient safeguards in place.
Need for Collective Action and Challenges
26. Now, these events highlight the scale of the challenge before us, and it is clear that any lasting resolution requires unified action and consensus. For that to happen, there needs to be a platform for all to participate, and for all voices to be heard. But the reality is that it has been hard for states to forge binding commitments at multilateral arenas.
27. To give an example of particular interest to me, given my role in the Ministry of Transport, in 2025 the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) was expected to adopt global measures to reduce greenhouse emissions from international shipping, called the Net-Zero Framework, to achieve the IMO’s decarbonisation targets. However, amidst significant divisiveness, IMO Member States narrowly voted to adjourn the meeting for a year.
28. This was to give Member States time to address outstanding differences and build broader, more durable support across the organisation. On its own, it is fair for Member States to take more time. The worry is whether time is ours to give. Planetary change does not wait for the affairs of man.
29. Another example is the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Traditionally, its Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) was the main framework to address dispute between member states.
30. Under the DSU, WTO members come together as a Dispute Settlement Body and to establish “panels” of experts to consider a dispute. The parties then can raise an appeal, which was designed to be heard by three members from the permanent seven-member Appellate Body.
31. However, the Appellate Body lost its minimum quorum in 2019, and has remained that way since. The effect is that first-instance rulings are suspended and are unenforceable.
32. There have been attempts to find a workaround, for example through the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA) or relying on dispute settlement provisions in regional and bilateral trade agreements outside the WTO. Today there are 34 parties to the MPIA, counting the EU’s 27 member states as one party, and including Singapore, and there continues to be interest in joining from like-minded states.
33. We need to come together to restore a fully functioning dispute settlement system. A breakdown of multilateralism means we have thinned out our faith that collective action can be taken for the common good.
34. This can embolden rogue actors to adopt a unilateral approach, and this will lead us to a world where might is right and there is an erosion of the Rule of Law. Like the tragedy of the commons, each state acting on its own interest impoverishes all of us.
35. This is particularly worrying for small states like Singapore, which rely on a predictable, multilateral rules-based order for our prosperity and indeed our continued survival.
How Should the Dispute Resolution Sector Respond?
36. Governments are moving at their own pace to find a solution. But the dispute resolution sector can facilitate resolution of disputes and demonstrate that there is still value in committing to the rule of law and proper frameworks.
37. Businesses need confidence that if agreements are not kept, or contracts not honoured, there is a trusted and reliable means of seeking recourse.
38. There is cause for optimism, as we are starting from a strong position. We have the advantage of multiple frameworks, including:
1) The New York Convention;
2) The Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements; and
3) The Singapore Convention on Mediation.
39. These are durable, influential frameworks, that allow for the cross-border enforcement of dispute settlements.
40. On that note, I am also happy to share that there are now 23 contracting parties to the Singapore Convention, with Mauritius ratifying the Convention on 17th of August. These instruments provide a foundation for dispute resolution centres to adapt and better prepare themselves to handle disputes arising from emerging threats and challenges.
Climate Change Disputes
41. Take for instance, climate change. There are already new considerations that businesses will need to address as part of their commercial ventures, potentially expanding the range and subject matter of disputes.
42. Climate-related financial requirements are now more prevalent, and it is now more common for bonds to build in “green default” provisions that give investors the right to accelerate and demand early payment if sustainability targets are not met.
43. Disputes can arise as to whether performance targets were met, or whether “green” claims were accurate.
44. Another area is in carbon credit arrangements, for businesses that have difficulty in immediately decarbonising their processes but are looking to offset their emissions.
45. Article 6 of the Paris Agreement introduced a framework for countries to trade their emissions on a bilateral basis. The success of these measures rely on international buyers trusting that there is a transparent process to verify that emission offsetting measures are being implemented, and a clear course of action if parties fail to uphold their obligation.
46. And we are also likely to see more disputes relating to renewable energy projects, over issues such as delays and technical underperformance, given that these projects can sometimes involve nascent technologies.
47. This shift towards more climate-related litigation and disputes has already begun. According to a report by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, based at the London School of Economics, that was released just two months ago:
48. In 2025, 249 new climate cases were filed, bringing the total since 1986 to more than 3,600 cases.
49. Over three quarters of these cases have been filed since 2015, the year of the Paris Agreement.
50. Cases have been filed across 62 countries, up from just 17 countries a decade ago.
51. The dispute resolution industry is beginning to adapt. For example, generic “act of God” clauses are being replaced by more granular climate-specific triggers — naming particular categories of events, setting objective thresholds, for example a certain rainfall level. Increasingly, the foreseeability requirement is removed from the clause altogether.
52. Arbitration institutions are also recognising the importance of climate science expertise on tribunals, and expediting timelines given the time-sensitive nature of environmental harms.
Trade Disputes
53. In international trade, we are also seeing the impact of various trade restrictions on the types of disputes facing parties. For example, there are more frequent disputes over who absorbs the tariff cost, which can disrupt long-term supply agreements priced before a tariff hike, that now become uneconomic for one side.
54. These disputes turn on whether the contract has, or should have been read to have, a mechanism — a price-adjustment clause, a material-adverse-change clause, or a hardship provision — allocating that risk, and if not, whether general doctrine offers any relief.
55. And companies who restructure their supply chains, as part of “friend-shoring” or “reshoring” production away from geopolitically exposed suppliers, will likely see:
1) More disputes relating to early termination of long-term supply contracts;
2) Disputes over relocation and requalification costs; and
3) Disagreements over whether these relocations count as a force majeure event or a unilateral breach.
56. These shifts can also be seen in the composition of caseloads. Trade disputes dominated the Singapore International Arbitration Centre’s (SIAC) entire 2025 caseload, totalling 346 cases, or 39% of all cases.
57. Major institutions have already acted to introduce measures to expedite proceedings, given how quickly trade and tariff policy can change. I think we all know that. SIAC’s 2025 Rules raised the threshold for its Expedited Procedure from S$6 million to S$10 million, broadening the range of cases that qualify for this process, where an award is rendered within six months.
58. SIAC also introduced a new Streamlined Procedure, for cases where the sum in dispute is below S$1 million. Under this procedure, the sole arbitrator renders a final award within three months.
59. Similarly, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Court of Arbitration’s new 2026 Rules, which took effect in June, raised the threshold for automatic expedited procedure from US$3 million to US$4 million and introduced a new Highly Expedited Arbitration procedure, where parties have the option of receiving an arbitral award within three months.
Conclusion
60. These responses are proof of the power of process. Today, there are, perhaps more than any time in history, a great many unknowns, but these are, with right mechanisms, knowable. We do not know how disputes may arise, we do not know how they will end, but we can know one thing – we can know how they will be resolved.
61. Through reason, good faith and commitment to process, we can underwrite a strong dispute resolution system, one that is able to provide binding awards and judgments, even in areas such as climate change and trade, where there is a lack of international consensus.
62. Through this, we, as a dispute resolution community, can inspire wider societies, and governments that lead them, to make common cause in addressing the challenges that define our generation and those many yet to come.
63. I wish everyone an insightful session. Thank you.
Last updated on 26 August 2026