Description

ABOUT THE WEBINAR
The new civil procedure rules for the General Division of the High Court in Singapore, excluding the Singapore International Commercial Court, (“ROC 2021”) will come into operation on 1 April 2022. This presentation is chiefly concerned with the examination of the impact of the new civil justice regime on the Singapore courts’ approach to assuming jurisdiction over foreign-based defendants (the “service-out jurisdiction”). Prior to its publication in December 2021, it had been anticipated that ROC 2021 would introduce major changes to the service-out jurisdiction in Singapore. However, as the presentation seeks to highlight, under ROC 2021, and the accompanying Supreme Court Practice Directions 2021, the courts’ approach to asserting jurisdiction over foreign-based defendants is liable to remain largely unaltered. The presentation advances a reasoned case as to why, in general terms, this outcome is to be welcomed.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Dr Ardavan Arzandeh is an Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore. Dr Arzandeh’s principal research expertise is in commercial conflict of laws. He is interested in exploring various questions arising in this area from doctrinal, historical, and comparative perspectives. Dr Arzandeh is the author of Forum (Non) Conveniens in England: Past, Present, and Future (shortlisted for the St Petersburg International Legal Forum Private Law Prize). Additionally, he has published articles in leading generalist and specialist law journals, including the Law Quarterly Review, Legal Studies, International & Comparative Law Quarterly, Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly, and the Journal of Private International Law. Dr Arzandeh’s work has been cited by the UK Supreme Court (Villiers v Villiers [2020] UKSC 30, and Enka v Chubb [2020] UKSC 38), the US Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit (Prevent USA Corp v Volkswagen AG, 17 F.4th 653 (6th Cir. 2021)), and the High Court of Hong Kong (Fong Chak Kwan v Ascentic Ltd [2020] HKCFI 1889).