Client wants our contract to fall under Singapore Law ??
Discussion
Website build with data transfer involved, they wanted heavy rewrites on our contract (that no one ever reads) and I am ok with everything except changing the law the agreement falls under, I have put into our legal advisors but would appreciate any "real world" feedback on whether this is an issue or not.
My usual MO is go with it / roll with the punches / it will be ok etc etc but this time I feel I should check.
My usual MO is go with it / roll with the punches / it will be ok etc etc but this time I feel I should check.
I do a lot of international service based work. We tend to find contracts adhere to the law that applies to the country in which the client is domiciled. So a recent bit of work in Zanzibar, our client was an Italian firm so we operated under Italian law. All our World Bank work is done under US law.
Any competent UK solicitor should have the capacity (and / or contacts) to handle any international litigation. Singapore isn't Sudan and IIRC, follows British Legal frameworks so there should be a degree of compatibility.
As mentioned, though, if it does got base over apex, the cost for legals will not be cheap.
The best approach is to do a good job and avoid testing the process.
Any competent UK solicitor should have the capacity (and / or contacts) to handle any international litigation. Singapore isn't Sudan and IIRC, follows British Legal frameworks so there should be a degree of compatibility.
As mentioned, though, if it does got base over apex, the cost for legals will not be cheap.
The best approach is to do a good job and avoid testing the process.
I've worked with various Laws in S E Asia for 20 years, avoiding Indonesia, Thailand etc which are civil law jurisdictions and totally different to the UK, then Singapore )and Malaysian law which I have more experience with) is not significantly different to UK law and little to worry about.
The bigger issue is the location of any seat of arbitration/dispute, You could have Sing law but UK courts, for example. Another serious issue is enforcing the judgement, but you may be able to enforce a judgement from a Sing court easier than a UK one.
You could also have Law of England and Wales and seat in Singapore so the law does not decide the location and cost as noted in earlier replies.
My experience of arbitration/courts in S E Asia is that they are not independent and politics will intervene,
Cost wise I'd say it is cheaper to to go to court here than in the UK, of course you would need to factor in your cost of visiting the country but legal fees per hour are much cheaper than the UK.
Identifying a good lawyer is the key, don't just take the first name you see in yellow pages.
The bigger issue is the location of any seat of arbitration/dispute, You could have Sing law but UK courts, for example. Another serious issue is enforcing the judgement, but you may be able to enforce a judgement from a Sing court easier than a UK one.
You could also have Law of England and Wales and seat in Singapore so the law does not decide the location and cost as noted in earlier replies.
My experience of arbitration/courts in S E Asia is that they are not independent and politics will intervene,
Cost wise I'd say it is cheaper to to go to court here than in the UK, of course you would need to factor in your cost of visiting the country but legal fees per hour are much cheaper than the UK.
Identifying a good lawyer is the key, don't just take the first name you see in yellow pages.
If you are looking at this as a springboard to SEA, then be careful if you are thinking to open an office latter, Singapore is not the best pace in the region from a customer perception view point lots of people in the region don't trust or like the Singapore Chinese, of course this can be very industry specific. In terms of law and language it one of the easiest places to set up but there are other factors that can out weigh this.
Berw said:
If you are looking at this as a springboard to SEA, then be careful if you are thinking to open an office latter, Singapore is not the best pace in the region from a customer perception view point lots of people in the region don't trust or like the Singapore Chinese, of course this can be very industry specific. In terms of law and language it one of the easiest places to set up but there are other factors that can out weigh this.
To be honest I think it’s a short term opportunity, the weak £ won’t stay weak and the time period within the ecomm hot zone means it’s 2/3 projects at best this year. I like looking in different rockpools for a $ but on occasion I find crabs which makes life “interesting”.Gassing Station | Business | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff