Leading Conversation On Dispute Resolution In Asia

First established in 2010, the Herbert Smith Freehills — SMU Asian Arbitration Lecture Series has been a key platform for discussion around collaborative forms of dispute resolution and access to justice. The lecture series is jointly organised by the Centre for Cross-Border Commercial Law in Asia, SMU, and international law firm, Herbert Smith Freehills. Each year, a distinguished international arbitrator is invited to present a lecture, which in turn will be published in a leading regional arbitration journal. The Lecture Series was first made possible thanks to a term fund contribution by Herbert Smith Freehills. Tremendous and ongoing support from the firm saw the fund renewed in 2015, and again for the third time in 2019, for an additional five consecutive years. Ultimately, it is hoped that the platform will help promote Singapore as the centre for dispute resolution in Asia, particularly in arbitration and mediation.

The 2019 instalment of the Lecture Series was helmed by the Honourable Justice Judith Prakash, discussing the topic “The Court’s Role in Arbitral Proceedings: Regulator or Promoter?”.