Disputes & Resolution in Singapore

Full guide · Source-checked research97% of statements checked against a source103 checked against an official source14 checked against a secondary sourceChecked 2026-10-19Not yet professionally reviewed

• IPOS's Hearings and Mediation Department decides trade mark oppositions, invalidation and revocation and patent revocation proceedings, and IPOS encourages mediation for all proceedings and expert determination for patent proceedings.

  Infringement claims are pursued in court; IPOS proceedings concern registration and validity.Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) · checked 2026-10-18

• The Supreme Court of Singapore is made up of the Court of Appeal and the High Court, which comprises the Appellate Division and the General Division; the SICC sits within the General Division.

  The State Courts and Family Justice Courts are separate court structures.Singapore Courts (Judiciary) · checked 2026-10-19

• The Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC), established in 2015, is a division of the General Division of the High Court that hears claims of an international and commercial nature before a panel of international and local judges.

  It can hear a case where the parties have submitted to its jurisdiction under a written jurisdiction agreement (which raises a rebuttable presumption that the case is international and commercial), or on transfer from the General Division. Registered foreign lawyers can generally act in offshore cases. SICC judgments are enforced like other Supreme Court judgments.Singapore Courts (Judiciary) · checked 2026-10-19

• The International Arbitration Act 1994 provides for the conduct of international commercial arbitrations based on the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration and gives effect to the New York Convention.

  Current text is the 2020 Revised Edition, in operation from 31 December 2021.Attorney-General's Chambers, Singapore Statutes Online · checked 2026-10-19

• Singapore acceded to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards on 21 August 1986, with entry into force on 19 November 1986, and applies it on the basis of reciprocity.

  Under the reciprocity declaration Singapore applies the Convention only to awards made in the territory of another contracting state.United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) · checked 2026-10-19

• The Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) administers arbitrations under the SIAC Rules 2025, which apply to arbitrations commenced on or after 1 January 2025.

  Earlier arbitration agreements referring to SIAC Rules are generally administered under the edition in force when the arbitration starts, unless the parties agree otherwise.Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) · checked 2026-10-19

• Singapore signed the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (the Singapore Convention on Mediation) on 7 August 2019, ratified it on 25 February 2020, and it entered into force for Singapore on 12 September 2020.

  When checked, the UNCITRAL status page listed 25 parties; some have entry-into-force dates still to come. Enforcement abroad depends on the other state being a party.United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) · checked 2026-10-19

• Under the Reciprocal Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act 1959, the Minister may by order in the Gazette extend the registration regime to a foreign country where substantial reciprocity is assured, and a judgment creditor may apply to the General Division of the High Court to register a covered judgment within 6 years of the judgment.

  Covers money and non-money judgments, including consent judgments and judicial settlements; non-money judgments are registered only where enforcement is just and convenient, or for a monetary equivalent. Foreign judgments that can be registered cannot be enforced otherwise (section 7).Attorney-General's Chambers, Singapore Statutes Online · checked 2026-10-19

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