On 14 November 2018, SIArb hosted its 37th anniversary dinner at Aura, Sky Lounge, National Gallery Singapore. The venue was chosen after it had received rave reviews from the attendees of the past 2 annual dinners for its excellent view overlooking the Padang and the glorious city skyline with the iconic Singapore Flyer and Marina Bay Sands.
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Members and guests celebrated the fellowship of the arbitration community in Singapore over cocktails before taking their seats for the opening address of the SIArb President, Mr Dinesh Dhillon. Mr Dhillon gave a snapshot of SIArb’s achievements and projects for the past year as well as a forecast of the exciting things to come. A particular highlight of next year will be the launch of an arbitration journal in collaboration with Singapore Academy of Law.
Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Law & Ministry of Health, Mr Edwin Tong S.C was our Guest of Honour for this year. In his address, Mr Tong commended the remarkable achievements of the Institute and its initiative to take the lead in thought leadership in the field of arbitration. Mr Tong further shared his views on recent developments in the field of dispute resolution, including the establishment of the China International Commercial Court offering arbitration, mediation and litigation services particularly in connection with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and spoke about the challenges and opportunities arising from the BRI for the arbitration community in Singapore. Mr Tong also highlighted that the international community will be gathering in Singapore next year for the signing ceremony of the UN treaty on mediation (which will be named after Singapore) and that there will be a series of events on dispute resolution management, including arbitration, leading to the signing ceremony.
Attendees were then entertained by poem recitals on the subject of arbitration from members who had submitted entries, before being asked to vote for their favourite. Ruben Potter emerged victorious and received the prize for the best poem from the Guest of Honour.
Members and their guests were also entertained throughout the evening by magician Stefan Ebinger and his “bag of tricks” and had a great time bonding with old friends and making new ones.
A big thank you to Justicius Law Corporation for sponsoring the drinks as well as all who attended the dinner and made it a memorable evening.
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Reported by:
Chua Jian Zhi – Eversheds Harry Elias