On March 4, 2025, a delegation of world-leading dispute resolution experts including Mr. Ng Jern-Fei KC and Mr. Quentin Loh SC was invited by Zhenghan Law Firm to deliver a lecture at the firm’s office on “Core Issues in Cross-Border Dispute Resolution: The AI Era of International Arbitration”. The event drew a large number of legal professionals, who gathered to discuss key issues in cross-border dispute resolution.

Topic 1: Introduction to Singapore’s Dispute Resolution Framework

Speaker: Mr. Quentin Loh SC, Former President of the Singapore Commercial Court, Senior Counsel. In 2017, Mr. Loh was appointed an Honorary Bencher of Middle Temple, and in 2018 he was appointed a part-time Judge of the Supreme Court of Fiji. In the same year, he also became the Patron of the Singapore Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb). He served as the judge responsible for establishing the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC) in 2015 and was appointed its President and a member of the Judicial Committee of the Academy of Experts in 2020.

Mr. Loh systematically introduced Singapore’s arbitration, mediation and litigation systems, with a focus on the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC), established in 2015. As a division of the General Division of the High Court and part of the Supreme Court of Singapore, the SICC was created to meet the growing demand for the efficient resolution of cross-border disputes through litigation. It is characterized by high efficiency and relatively lower litigation costs, and features a panel of international judges with diverse legal backgrounds, enabling it to cater to cases from different jurisdictions.

Topic 2: Appropriate Judicial Intervention in Arbitration

Speaker: Mr. Ng Jern-Fei KC, King’s Counsel. Mr. Ng became one of the youngest King’s Counsel in the United Kingdom in 2018 and was invited to participate in the 4th Symposium of the International Commercial Expert Committee of the Supreme People’s Court on September 25, 2024. He is also on the panel of arbitrators of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC), Shanghai Arbitration Commission (SHAC) and Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration (SCIA).

By analyzing the case of BZW & Another v BZV decided by the Singapore Court of Appeal, Mr. Ng explored the issue of judicial intervention in arbitral awards. He stated that courts should exercise appropriate restraint when supervising arbitral awards, avoiding both excessive intervention and complete inaction. Mr. Ng also discussed the limitations of the principle of minimal judicial intervention and emphasized the importance of appropriate judicial intervention in arbitration. He pointed out that appropriate judicial intervention can enhance the fairness and efficiency of arbitration while avoiding unnecessary delays and costs. He proposed evolving the court’s approach to arbitration from the “principle of minimal intervention” to the “principle of appropriate intervention” to better balance the relationship between courts and arbitral tribunals.

Topic 3: Analysis of the Evidence Regime in International Arbitration

Speaker: Mr. Nathaniel Lai. Mr. Lai specializes in complex commercial litigation and international arbitration cases and is admitted to practice in both Singapore and New York.

Mr. Lai delved into the importance of evidence in international arbitration, provided a detailed analysis of the IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration (the “IBA Rules”), and offered a comprehensive and meticulous explanation of document production, witness evidence and expert evidence with reference to practical cases. In addition, he shared strategies for handling confidential or politically sensitive documents, as well as the adverse consequences that may arise from failure to produce documents as required. The lecture provided participants with valuable knowledge and practical guidance, helping them better understand and address evidence-related issues in international arbitration.

Topic 4: Sacofa Sdn Bhd v Super Sea Cable Networks

Speaker: Mr. Tan Jun Hong. Mr. Tan specializes in commercial litigation, international arbitration, arbitration-related litigation, shareholder and corporate disputes, and is admitted to practice in Singapore, England and Wales, and New York.

Mr. Tan conducted an in-depth discussion of the Sacofa case, in which he acted as counsel, focusing on the resolution of conflicting dispute resolution clauses across multiple contracts and the application of issue estoppel in prior enforcement proceedings. Using the actual case, he elaborated on the importance of identifying the “centre of gravity” of a dispute in international arbitration and how to coordinate dispute resolution mechanisms across different jurisdictions. Furthermore, he shared his insights on handling objections based on public policy and the application of issue estoppel, offering participants valuable practical legal guidance.

Topic 5: Expedited, Ultra-Expedited and Simplified Procedures – Trends in Accelerating Arbitral Proceedings

Speaker: Ms. Z.J. Jennifer Lim. Ms. Lim specializes in international dispute resolution and arbitration, acts as an arbitrator under the ICC and SIAC Rules, and serves as the Global Co-Chair of the Young SIAC Council (YSIAC Council). She is admitted to practice in Singapore, New York, the United Kingdom and Hong Kong.

Ms. Lim introduced the emergence and development trends of expedited, ultra-expedited and simplified procedures. She noted that the core objectives of expedited procedures are to reduce time and costs, resolve small-value disputes efficiently, enhance access to justice and improve overall efficiency. She analyzed the key features and practical challenges of expedited procedures through specific data and case studies.

Ms. Lim also discussed the rise of ultra-expedited procedures, particularly the UNCITRAL Model Provisions for Ultra-Expedited Arbitration newly issued in 2024, which aim to shorten the time for rendering an award from six months under expedited arbitration to 45 days. She emphasized that practical challenges of expedited procedures include risks to procedural fairness, time pressure on arbitral tribunals and the risk of award setting aside, necessitating a balance between efficiency and due process.

Following the session, the attending guests held in-depth exchanges with the delegation of world-leading dispute resolution experts and lawyers from Zhenghan Law Firm.

This forum provided legal professionals with a valuable opportunity for in-depth exchange and learning, enabling participants to gain a deeper understanding of key issues in cross-border dispute resolution. The lecture not only enhanced the professional competence of the attendees but also laid the foundation for future cooperation in the cross-border dispute resolution field. We look forward to more such exchange activities in the future to jointly promote the continuous development of the cross-border dispute resolution sector.

On the morning of July 30, Zhou Wenjie, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Justice, and his delegation visited Shanghai Zhenghan Law Firm for research and investigation. Ye Bin, Director of the Lawyers Work Department of Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Justice, Zhang Bin, Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of Jiading District Bureau of Justice, and Li Guangqi, Member of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of Jiading District Bureau of Justice, accompanied the investigation. Partners of Zhenghan Law Firm including Lawyer Yang Runlai, Lawyer Fang Biao, Lawyer Yao Huiyun, Lawyer Zhang Wen, Lawyer Wang Xuechao and Lawyer Min Xi attended the investigation.

At the research symposium, Lawyer Yang Runlai, Director of the firm, delivered a special report on Zhenghan Law Firm’s historical development, business progress, strategic positioning, cultural development and future development plan around the two key themes of “corporatized management model” and “focus on dispute resolution practice”.

Zhou Wenjie spoke highly of all the work of Zhenghan Law Firm, pointing out that legal services are an important force to boost the high-quality development of China’s economy. Shanghai’s law firms should go global and strive for international discourse power, and corporatization is an effective path to enhance the competitiveness and risk resistance capacity of legal services. Faced with the impacts and challenges of emerging technologies on the legal industry, traditional law firms should embrace changes, offer suggestions for regulating industry management and establishing industry standards, and promote the sound development of the legal community ecosystem.

On May 18, 2024, at the invitation of Zhenghan Law Firm, Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Hanns Prütting – the founder of the Norm Theory and modern burden of proof theory, Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Cologne, and former President of the German Association for Civil Procedure Law – visited Zhenghan Law Firm for an exchange and symposium, together with Professor Zhuang Jiayuan from Koguan School of Law, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Ms. Li Lili, General Manager of Shanghai Falu Information Technology Co., Ltd. and host of “Falu Shuo”.

The symposium began with a review of Professor Prütting’s academic contributions to civil procedure theory research in the civil law system, followed by in-depth discussions on complex commercial dispute resolution, particularly the challenges in burden of proof and the presentation of case facts. Zhenghan Law Firm specially prepared and shared the influence of the “standard of proof dial” theory from Professor Prütting’s work *Problems of Modern Burden of Proof* in Chinese judicial practice, as well as the firm’s repeated visualization and practical application of this theory in handling actual cases, which was highly appreciated and recognized by Professor Prütting.

The meeting discussed judicial practice in Germany regarding cases involving multiple “claim bases”. Professor Prütting pointed out that, in theory, parties are not required to know the law but only to state the facts, and identifying the claim base is not the task of the parties. In German judicial practice, parties are permitted to assert multiple claims based on the same set of facts simultaneously. The meeting also addressed evidence assessment and the allocation of the burden of proof in contract dispute cases, as well as the application and impact of “penetrating trial” in practice. Professor Prütting shared the role of expert opinions in German litigation and how judges render judgments based on such opinions. Finally, the meeting covered the position and function of German courts in addressing over-indebtedness of enterprises and individuals (consumers), as well as the latest developments in the German insolvency regime, especially the pre-insolvency restructuring system.

The symposium concluded successfully in an atmosphere of enthusiasm and professional exchange, with participants looking forward to further opportunities for cooperation and communication between the two sides in the future. Earlier, Professor Hanns Prütting was also invited to Shanghai Jiao Tong University to attend a lecture themed “Fundamental Issues of German Corporate Insolvency and Reorganization”, co-hosted by Zhenghan Law Firm.

Zhenghan Law Firm has long maintained interactions and cooperation with the overseas legal community, continuously providing new perspectives and opportunities for mainland enterprises in the field of international litigation and arbitration. Through in-depth legal and cultural exchanges and the sharing of practical experience, the firm aims to build a more professional and comprehensive global legal service platform for mainland enterprises.

Zhenghan Law Firm is nationally renowned for its leading dispute resolution practice. It has long represented clients in a large number of complex and high-stakes commercial cases, cross-border dispute resolution matters, as well as market-oriented asset and debt restructuring cases including insolvency proceedings, providing professional dispute resolution services to major financial institutions, listed companies, government authorities and renowned enterprises. The firm has consecutively been awarded titles such as National Excellent Law Firm, Shanghai Top Ten Law Firm, and Chambers Band 1 in Corporate/Commercial. It has also received prestigious awards including China Business Law Journal’s “Outstanding Law Firm” in the fields of “Cross-Border Dispute Resolution” and “Banking & Finance”. Adopting a LockStep partnership model, Zhenghan Law Firm has built an integrated, professionally divided legal team to meet and exceed client service requirements.

Brief Profile of Professor Hanns Prütting:

Professor Hanns Prütting is a Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Cologne, and former President of the German Association for Civil Procedure Law. He studied law at the Universities of Erlangen and Tübingen, followed by studies in economics, political science and sociology. He served as Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Cologne for many years, and has held visiting professorships in Kyoto, Paris, Florence, Gdańsk and Tbilisi. Professor Prütting specializes in civil law, particularly property law, civil procedure law and insolvency law, and has authored numerous textbooks, commentaries and journal articles. As the founder of the Norm Theory and modern burden of proof theory, he has exerted a profound influence on the legislation and judicial practice of civil procedure law in China. His academic views have been directly or indirectly reflected in the judicial opinions of the Supreme People’s Court and relevant authoritative academic literature on many occasions. Professor Prütting’s modern burden of proof theory, together with Rosenberg’s Legal Element Theory, forms the cornerstone of civil procedure theory in the civil law system, and has influenced the revision and improvement of civil procedure laws in multiple civil law jurisdictions.