Media Release: The Honourable the Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon visits Brunei Darussalam to further bilateral judicial cooperation

MEDIA RELEASE

THE HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE SUNDARESH MENON VISITS BRUNEI DARUSSALAM TO FURTHER BILATERAL JUDICIAL COOPERATION

     From 3 to 5 July 2024, The Honourable the Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon led a delegation from the Supreme Court of Singapore on a visit to the Supreme Court of Brunei Darussalam. Last July, the Chief Justice of Brunei Darussalam, The Honourable Dato Seri Paduka Steven Chong Wan Oon visited the Singapore Courts. During Chief Justice Chong’s visit to Singapore, the two Chief Justices held an in-person bilateral meeting, and a Memorandum of Understanding to promote bilateral judicial cooperation between the two judiciaries was signed.

2   During Chief Justice Menon’s visit to Brunei Darussalam, the two Chief Justices discussed how judicial cooperation between the Singapore and Brunei judiciaries could be further enhanced. Chief Justice Menon also met with Brunei Darussalam's Attorney General, Yang Berhormat Datin Paduka Dayang Hajah Nor Hashimah binti Haji Mohammed Taib.

3   During the visit, Chief Justice Menon delivered a speech to the Brunei judiciary on “The Role of an Effective and Efficient Judiciary in Promoting Economic Development – The Singapore Perspective”. In the speech, he shared the Singapore perspective on the role of the judiciary in promoting and supporting economic development on three levels. First, by deciding individual cases in a way that is sensitive to commercial realities and responsive to new developments in the wider operating environment; second, by providing efficient and appropriate dispute resolution mechanisms; and third, by supporting the broader transnational system of commercial justice that provides a sound legal framework for transnational commercial activity.

4   Justice Kannan Ramesh, who was part of the Singapore delegation, briefed Bruneian stakeholders and government agencies on Singapore’s insolvency and restructuring regime. He spoke about Singapore’s experience in reforming and modernising Singapore’s legal frameworks for insolvency and restructuring, and in particular on Singapore’s adoption of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency, and on the development of the Judicial Insolvency Network’s Guidelines and Modalities.

5   Speaking on the visit and the Singapore judiciary’s engagements with its Brunei counterpart, Chief Justice Menon said: “I am deeply grateful for the warm and generous welcome extended to the Singapore delegation by Chief Justice Chong and the Brunei judiciary. The discussions we have had will be invaluable in helping both judiciaries understand one another’s experiences and perspectives better. This visit has deepened the ties between our two judiciaries and has paved the way for enhanced judicial cooperation.”

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5 July 2024
SG Courts