Keynote Address by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, and Second Minister for Law Edwin Tong SC, at the 10th Tri-AGC Event of the Attorney-General’s Chambers of Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, and Singapore

24 MAY 2024

Your Excellencies, the Attorneys-General of Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, and Singapore,

Solicitors-General,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I. Introduction

  1. A very good morning to all of you.
  1. Thank you for inviting me here to deliver the keynote address of the 10th Tri-AGC meeting. As AG Lucien Wong said earlier, this is an important meeting, especially since it is the first time since COVID that we are gathering in this kind of setting.

II. Enduring fundamentals and common values: Significance of the Tri-AGC event

  1. Our three countries share a common legal heritage – a legacy that is found in our laws, and which we have over time contextualised to our own local setting. This shared heritage continues today to influence how we shape and develop our legal systems and our frameworks, towards the betterment of each of our societies, in each of our countries.
  1. It is also an important common starting point for this Tri-AGC event. Through this event, the government officers of our three countries can come together, exchange views, and develop strong relationships.
  1. Importantly, beyond the formal interactions, beyond the exchange of know-how and the understanding of legal principles and laws, what really makes this Tri-AGC event effective and treasured, is that the officers of the three countries come together, know each other, understand, exchange contacts, and build a stronger relationship at the personal level. And because of this, you will then be able to come together more closely when there is a need to. You can pick up the phone, talk to one another, understand the different ecosystems, get help. All this makes our countries stronger than the sum of its parts. Having the three countries come together, underpinned by strong personal relationships, is important.
  1. This event takes place amidst regular exchanges amongst the AGCs, including cross-border attachments and exchange programmes, which I was heartened to learn about. These channels facilitate the sharing of not just legal know-how, but also distinct cultures and experiences. Very often, when we formulate and enforce laws, it is very important to understand the culture, nuance, and contextual differences between each of the different jurisdictions. It is through this unity in diversity that we can work together to transform shared visions into tangible progress for our nations.

III. Singapore’s rule of law philosophy

  1. One enduring fundamental value we share is adherence to the rule of law. Our Attorneys-General, with their dual role as the principal legal advisor to the Government as well as the Public Prosecutor, are uniquely placed to serve as Custodians of the rule of law.
  1. For Singapore, the rule of law is very much in everything that we do. How we build our fundamental legal rules, how we develop new rules, how we look at emerging threats and counter them with new legal principles. All of that is underpinned by the adherence to the rule of law.
  1. It also underpins our foreign policies. The way in which we deal with our neighbours, the stance that we take in overseas foreign conflicts, and the way in which we present ourselves at multilateral platforms.
  1. In the domestic context, Singapore’s rule of law approach is intimately associated with tangible outcomes, such as societal welfare and socio-economic stability. These outcomes can only be realised through effective domestic laws and legal frameworks. For example, access to justice. It is one thing to have a first-class legal system, but it does not mean very much if it is not accessible by those who need it in the jurisdiction. Access to justice is a fundamental plank and pillar of the rule of law.
  1. This rule of law philosophy has enabled us to cultivate a society that focuses on improving its citizens’ quality of life, and balancing competing rights – that is, individual rights and freedoms – to ensure that as a society we can benefit and move forward.
  1. Adherence to the rule of law is also important in the international context, as an inclusive, rules-based international order is fundamental to the maintenance of international peace, security, and stability.
  1. This stability is crucial for States that are heavily dependent on freedom of trade and investment. In fact, for States such as Singapore, 90% of what we consume is imported, and we very much depend on imports and exports as an important aspect of our trade and industry. Further, with rising economic integration and cross-border trade amongst our countries and in the region, it is in our mutual interests to preserve stability.
  1. This morning, I will speak very briefly on two other areas in which we think the rule of law benefits from mutual collaboration on an international platform, and outline very briefly, Singapore’s role in advancing that.

IV. Challenges and new opportunities for collaboration

  1. Multilateral cooperation is vital, especially today. If you look around the world today, I think you will see why. This is a world where multilateralism and the international rule of law are becoming more fragile. People are becoming more inward looking, sometimes trying to reshore or friend-shore, which prevents multilateralism.
  1. For the international rule of law to remain strong and effective, the governing international legal frameworks need to be fit-for-purpose, trusted, and respected.

A. Investor-state dispute settlement reform

  1. I will speak briefly on investor-State dispute settlement.
  1. Today, the international framework for investor-State dispute settlement (“ISDS”) has suffered from some criticism, such as, its perceived lack of transparency, conflict of interest, perceived biasness of arbitrators, and the inconsistency across different decisions.
  1. There is concern that the ISDS framework, which was designed to protect foreign investors from unfair treatment by host States, can sometimes also undermine a State’s sovereign right to act in the public interest of its own country. This balance is fragile but really important. To benefit and continue to benefit from foreign direct investments, we need a system in the country to receive that investment, and adjudicate disputes over the investment, in a clear, transparent manner, based on the rule of law.
  1. Singapore takes these issues seriously and we have been proactive in our stance at the international level.

(a) By way of example, at the multilateral level, ISDS reforms are being developed by one of the Working Groups in the UNCITRAL, or United Nations Commission on International Trade Law. Singapore is actively participating in that Working Group.

(b) We have also made ISDS the focus of the inaugural Forum of Chief Legal Advisors (“Forum”), which Singapore will host on 26 July this year. The Forum will bring together countries’ chief legal advisors to exchange ideas and share best practices. Leading experts will canvass recent trends in ISDS, including challenges brought by investors against government measures to protect the environment and address climate change. The Forum will also discuss solutions to improve the existing ISDS framework – for example, the use of mediation as an alternative framework to contentious proceedings. We look forward to welcoming and engaging in meaningful dialogue with our colleagues from Brunei and Malaysia at this Forum.

B. Global disruptions: The digital revolution and climate change

  1. Second, there have been global disruptions and emerging trends. These include, new technologies, new developments, new concerns such as climate change, the advancement of AI, which has infused into work, into our everyday life, in almost all spheres of human activity.
  1. Addressing this diverse range of complex issues on an international level is important, so that traders, contracting parties, don’t arbitrage between the different laws of different countries. It is therefore important to take a collaborative, multilateral approach.
  1. I am therefore very heartened by the proactive stance taken by various international institutions in trying to understand, address and respond to these emerging challenges. These institutions span both the public as well as the private international law spheres. In the international private law sphere, which governs cross-border civil and commercial relationships, we have international institutions such as, UNCITRAL, the Hague Conference on Private International Law, and the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law. These are international law bodies actively studying private law aspects of emerging global issues and global disruptions.
  1. Through such multilateral fora, there is great potential and scope for countries to contribute for convergence on these global issues and strengthen collaboration.
  1. Singapore is actively participating in these efforts. We hope that through such engagement, we can build better, deeper, mindshare, and understand the problem on a global scale. This afternoon, when you discuss topics like online falsehoods, protection from cybercrime, and looking at new ways in which cybercrime is perpetuated, all of these are aspects of multilateral collaboration which we can benefit from.
  1. Through these international settings, our international community can remain strong. It is important that our three jurisdictions lend our collective wisdom and mindshare to this so that the thought leadership on this can grow, and we can develop the norms that will guide our laws. Of course, each country may then nuance and contextualise these norms, but that international baseline has to be established. Participation at these international fora is therefore very important.

V. Closing remarks

  1. In closing, I would like to reiterate how important this event has been and continues to be. As I said, beyond just exchanging know-how, it is also about building contacts, and I hope that over the course of the remaining day and at this evening’s dinner, you will not just learn about each other’s legal practices, laws, and legal advancements, but that you leave Singapore with new contacts, reconnect with old friends, and use these contacts in the coming years to the betterment of all three jurisdictions, improving our laws, enhancing our legal systems, and fundamentally working towards the betterment of society and our citizens’ lives.
  1. Thank you very much.

Last updated on 24 May 2024