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thesundaytimes May 24, 2009
MINISTRY OF LAW —
Slew of measures
to boost S’pore’s
legal hub status
RC. Vijayan
Singapore's legal services will grow
in depth and quality to support key
sectors in the economy, position
the sector as an engine of
and strengthen Singapore's legal in-
frastructure
The Law Ministry's addendum
to the President's Address high-
lights several areas in which it will
act to create more buzz.
It will review the liberalisation
of legal services here in the wake of
the recently introduced Qualifying
Foreign Law Practice Scheme.
‘The Government has awarded
six licences to foreign heavyweight
firms, four of which have already
started operating. The other two
will do so by next month.
‘Thelr presence is contributing to
the upbeat mood about Asia and
Singapore's role asa legal hub.
‘To grow its hub status, Singa-
porg is developing a strong arbitra-
tion capability and becoming a ven-
‘ue of choice for international arbi-
tration in the Asian
‘The ministry’s efforts to pro-
mote Singapore have included es-
tablishing Maxwell Chambers, the
world’s first integrated dispute reso-
lution complex, due to open either
{n late July or early August.
‘The complex will house several
top arbitral institutes like the Inter-
national Court of Arbitration of the
International Chamber of Com-
merce.
Developing a legal service hub
will see a demand for good-calibre
lawyers. The iiinistey will put in
Bla a iobuot Hameyon te meet
this need, including revamping the
Caiteria for admission to the Singa-
pote Bar.
Te will strengthen the legal infra-
structure by reviewing the laws in
several areas such as the Criminal
Procedure Code and the Legal Aid !
and Advice Act, and work towards
omnibus insolvency legislation.
twill also develop Singapore as
a regional intellectual property (IP)
education and training hub.
Tt intends to review the intellec-
tual property laws and regime here,
draw more IP service firms as well
as promote the developnient of
skilled IP professionals.
Itis also working with the Minis-
try of Information, Communica-
tions and the Arts to develop a na-
tional spatial data infrastructure
‘known as the Singapore Geospatial
Collaborative Environment.
This is a map-based data bank
‘with data centrally collected from
various sectors such as health,
homeland security and emergency
services to serve as an information
exchange for both the public and.
private sectors.
The move will not only boost
public-sector efficiency, but will al-
‘0 offer potential for new business
‘opportunities.