Cross-border Commercial Dispute Resolution - HCCH 1965 Service Convention

This webinar takes place from 4pm to 5:10pm (Singapore time) on Tuesday, 27 June 2023.

Members of the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) who want to take advantage of their SAL credit dollars can sign up from https://store.lawnet.com/cross-border-commercial-dispute-resolution-hcch-1965-service-convention.html. Do note that SAL's system is unable to cater to promo codes specifically provided to you by ABLI.

Overview

The Convention of 15 November 1965 on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters (Service Convention) provides for the channels of transmission to be used when a judicial or extrajudicial document is to be transmitted from one Contracting Party to the Service Convention to another Contracting Party for service in the latter. Together with other HCCH Conventions for cross-border dispute resolution, such as the HCCH 1970 Evidence and 2019 Judgments Conventions, the Service Convention is part of a full suite of solutions to facilitate the resolution of disputes across borders and in turn the flow of commerce.

The third joint webinar between the Asian Business Law Institute and the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law is expected to cover, among others:

• An introduction of the Service Convention;

• How the Service Convention works in conjunction with other HCCH Conventions for cross-border dispute resolution;

• Operation of the Service Convention in practice; and

• Singapore’s accession to the Service Convention - drivers, considerations, and implementation

When is this webinar scheduled?

This webinar will take place from 4pm to 5:10pm (Singapore time) on Tuesday, 27 June 2023.

Please be mindful of the time difference if you are joining from outside of Singapore.

Who will be speaking at this webinar (in alphabetical order)?

Sara Chisholm-Batten (London, United Kingdom)

Partner, Michelmores LLP 

Sara is a commercial litigator and tactician. The clients Sara advises include multi-national corporations, small to medium-sized businesses and entrepreneurs, development finance institutions and professional fiduciaries. Sara is a specialist in cross-border enforcement measures and has a wealth of first-hand international experience in this area (including in Emerging Markets). Her current caseload includes disputes where parties and assets are based offshore, in Europe, Africa, Asia, India, Russia, North and South America, New Zealand and other parts of the world. Sara is a Ranked Individual in Chambers and Partners 2023 for Litigation, is a "Future Leader: Litigation" in Who's Who Legal 2023 and is ranked as a Leading Individual for fraud cases in Legal 500. Sara is also an officer on the International Bar Association's litigation committee and was an observer for the IBA at the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) Judgments Project from 2017 to 2019.

Melissa Ford (Joining from The Hague, Netherlands)

Secretary, Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law  

Melissa Ford is Secretary at the Permanent Bureau (PB) of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, and is the head of the Transnational Litigation and Apostille Division.

Melissa has primary responsibility for the Working Group on Jurisdiction, as well as the 1961 Apostille Convention, 1965 Service Convention, 1970 Evidence Convention, 1980 Access to Justice Convention, 2005 Choice of Court Convention, and the 2019 Judgments Convention. Prior to joining the PB in 2022, Melissa worked at the Attorney-General’s Department of the Australian Government.

Delphia Lim

2Director, International Legal Division, Ministry of Law, Singapore

Delphia Lim heads international civil cooperation and dispute settlement portfolios at the International Legal Division of the Ministry of Law, including undertaking domestic policy reforms and multilateral negotiations. Delphia also oversees matters relating to the service of foreign process, enforcement of foreign maintenance orders, and cross-border remote taking of evidence, and is a member of the Hague Conference on Private International Law’s Jurisdiction Project Working Group. The International Legal Division is spearheading Singapore’s upcoming accession to and implementation of the HCCH 1965 Service Convention.

Professor Yeo Tiong Min

Yong Pung How Chair Professor of Law, Singapore Management University (Singapore)

Yeo Tiong Min is Yong Pung How Chair Professor of Law in the Yong Pung How School of Law, Singapore Management University, chair of the Advisory Board of the Asian Business Law Institute, and an expert member of the Singapore delegation to the Hague Conference on Private International Law.

He has published widely on private international law and has appeared as amicus curiae (independent counsel) in the Singapore Court of Appeal in a number of leading cross-border commercial cases.

Professor Yun Zhao (Hong Kong SAR, China)

University of Hong Kong

Professor Yun Zhao is Henry Cheng Professor in International Law and Head of Department of Law at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). He obtained his PhD degree from Erasmus University Rotterdam, LLM degree from Leiden University, and LLM & LLB degrees from China University of Political Science and Law.

Professor Zhao is currently the Representative of Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, a Standing Council Member of the Chinese Society of International Law and the Chinese Society of Private International Law, and Chair Professor at Xiamen University (2020-2023). He was Director of the Centre for Chinese Law of HKU from 2013 to 2017.

Professor Zhao is listed as arbitrator in several international arbitration commissions. He is also a founding Council Member of the Hong Kong Internet Forum, a member of the International Institute of Space Law, a member of the Asia Pacific Law Association and the Beijing International Law Society.

I am a member of the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL), and would like to use my SAL credit dollars to sign for the webinar. How do I do so?

SAL members who want to take advantage of their SAL credit dollars can sign up from https://store.lawnet.com/cross-border-commercial-dispute-resolution-hcch-1965-service-convention.html. Do note that if you sign up there, you will receive an invoice generated by SAL. SAL is a GST-registered organisation. ABLI does not charge GST and will absorb GST on its own for registrations via SAL.

If you are from any of ABLI's Founding Partners and would like to enjoy the discount to which you are entitled, you will need to sign up on Eventbrite as SAL's system does not cater specifically to such arrangements.

This is the same case if you have received any special promo code directly from ABLI.

How do I register for this webinar?

To register for this webinar:

Step 1: Purchase a ticket here on Eventbrite, and make sure you enter the correct email address to receive the webinar registration link that will be sent to you separately;

Step 2: ABLI will either perform the Zoom registration for you directly by using the email address you provided upon registration, or contact you for more details before such registration can be done.

Step 3: You will receive your Zoom attendance details once the registration is processed. Simply follow the instructions indicated in the approval email to attend the webinar on 27 June 2023. Please be punctual as the system captures your log-in time, which is especially relevant if you are claiming for CPD points.

Please be mindful of the time difference if you are joining from outside of Singapore.

What if I am unable to attend this webinar after registration? Are the fees paid refundable?

Unfortunately, the payments made are not refundable. If you are unable to attend the webinar, we request that you let us know as soon as possible so that we can let you transfer your slot to your colleague.

I am interested in this webinar but unable to make it for the live session. If I register, will a recording be made available to me?

Yes, a recording of the webinar can be made available upon request via a private link, though it is important to bear in mind that viewing the recording will not entitle you to any public CPD points. In principle, we only provide recording upon request by a paid attendee.

Will the materials presented at the webinar be made available to attendees?

The materials can be made available to attendees if the speakers so consent as they are the copyright owners of their presentation materials. Those who wish to receive such materials are advised to write to info@abli.asia after the webinar for more information.

Are the fees payable inclusive of GST?

No. ABLI is not GST-registered, and therefore does not charge GST.

I want to sign up for the webinar but my organization requires registration to be done by other means, such as by sending an invoice to a dedicated portal. How do I register in this case?

In principle, your registration for the webinar is only confirmed after payment is made online. However, if you need to pay against a manual invoice by bank transfer or other means, or if you are from a Singapore government agency that uses a central invoicing system, please write to info@abli.asia so that ABLI can arrange an alternative way of registration for you, taking your needs into consideration.

Eventbrite sends me an order confirmation after registration, but I need a formal receipt to submit a webinar fee claim to my employer. How do I go about doing that?

Please write to info@abli.asia. ABLI can issue an official receipt to you for expense claim purposes upon receiving your request.

Is this webinar accredited for continuing professional development (CPD) points for Singapore-admitted lawyers?

This webinar has been accredited for 1 public CPD point. Attendees who wish to claim CPD points are reminded to provide their AAS numbers or other number issued by the Singapore Institute of Legal Education (SILE) during registration. You are required to strictly follow the attendance policy of SILE before CPD points can be awarded. Please refer to www.sileCPDcentre.sg for more information.

I am a practitioner qualified in a jurisdiction other than Singapore. Will attending this webinar entitle me to claim relevant CPD-equivalent points in my own jurisdiction?

The answer to this question depends on the rules of the relevant governing body in your jurisdiction. In the past, we have issued letters of attendance accompanied by actual Zoom log-in records to assist non-Singapore-qualified attendees to claim their professional learning points. Therefore, if a letter of attendance and a Zoom record are all you need, we will be able to help. Likewise, we have issued the same set of documents to professionals other than lawyers who may also have such continuing education requirements.

However, if the rules of your jurisdiction require an event to be accredited, we regret that this session will not entitle you to claim points outside of Singapore.

Who can I contact if I have more questions?

Please write to info@abli.asia for any other query you may have about this webinar.