Legal transfer and ‘hybrid’ international commercial dispute resolution procedures: lessons from the Singapore International Commercial Court

The recent genesis of international commercial courts has given rise to a new conception of ‘hybridized’ dispute resolution procedures, crafted by a liberal drawing from perceived global best practice across both international commercial arbitration and litigation. As these courts depend upon an exclusive choice of forum to support their jurisdiction, the hybridity reflected in these procedures is intended to represent an attractive balance between the flexibility inherent in arbitration, and the greater degree of judicial compulsion and guidance seen in traditional national courts. This form of hybridity is perhaps best represented by the genesis of the Singapore International Commercial Court (‘SICC’), driven by the perceived dominance of arbitration in transnational dispute resolution, as well as the sheer growth of transnational trade both globally and regionally in East Asia (and the resulting need for greater transnational dispute resolution services).