Countries in Asia, including China and Singapore, are actively participating in global economic governance with an unprecedented level of openness. Legal services are playing an increasingly prominent role in the rapid development of the regional economy. Therefore, Joint Declaration on the Provision of Legal Services for Regional Economic Development (hereinafter “the Joint Declaration”) is jointly issued by Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration (SCMA) and Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC), together with China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), China Maritime Arbitration Commission (CMAC) and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Mediation Centre (CCPIT Mediation Centre).

The Joint Declaration is made to enhance mutual understanding and trust, and to promote economic and trade development. Issued in both Chinese and English, the Joint Declaration aims to advocate that institutions should work together to provide the commercial entities in the region with internationally acclaimed, efficient, flexible, and impartial legal services. Focusing on optimizing the legal and business environment in the region, six institutions made collective effort to promote the standardization, legalization and modernization of regional economic and trade investments, which is conducive to further creating a regional rule of law co-operation mechanism with demonstration effect.

The Joint Declaration is as follow.

Joint Declaration on Providing Legal Services for Regional Economic Development

Currently, countries in Asia, including China and Singapore, are actively participating in global economic governance with an unprecedented level of openness, injecting strong momentum into the world economic recovery. Legal services are playing an increasingly prominent role in the rapid development of the regional economy. Mechanisms for dispute resolution, that seamlessly connect arbitration and mediation, need urgent improvement in order to effectively meet the diverse dispute resolution needs of commercial entities.

To optimize the legal and business environment in the region, and to empower economic development through the rule of law, we hereby issue this joint declaration and pledge to work together in providing internationally acclaimed, efficient, flexible, and impartial legal services such as arbitration and mediation to the commercial entities in the region. Our collective efforts aim to promote the standardization, legalization and modernization of regional economic and trade investments. We hereby jointly declare that we aim to:

1. Strengthen service awareness based on entities’ needs. Enhance rule guidance and improve the predictability and operability of legal services. Optimize user experience by broadening the scope of alternative dispute resolution services to accommodate the unique needs of disputes through flexible procedural arrangements.

2. Persist in innovation-driven and enhance service capabilities. Explore the application of digital technology in arbitration and mediation. Facilitate a deep integration of science and technology with legal services. Elevate the level of digitization, networking, and intelligence level in legal services. Fully utilize technological means to reduce user costs and improve service quality and efficiency.

3. Deepen collaboration and share best practices. Establish communications exchange platform for between the business and the legal community. Establish a sound legal service collaboration mechanism, promote advanced arbitration and mediation concepts, and advocate widely recognized best practices in service.

4. Enhance procedural transparency and build service credibility. Adhere to the principles of independence and impartiality to enhance the transparency of dispute resolution procedures. Promote mutual understanding and trust between alternate dispute resolution institutions and users, and jointly maintain harmonious, healthy and stable international trade and investment relations.

5. Focus on cultivating talents and expand the user base. Conduct training on arbitration and mediation and expand their recognition and influence. Guide enterprises to master dispute resolution rules and practical norms to effectively prevent and resolve disputes.