Reclamation dispute: Accord is fair, says Jaya

The Straits Times, January 16, 2005


DEPUTY Prime Minister and Law Minister S. Jayakumar has called the draft agreement reached by Singapore and Malaysia on the dispute over reclamation works in Tuas and Tekong a 'fair' and 'balanced' agreement.

No details of the agreement, announced last week, have been released but the two governments have said they agreed to use recommendations by an independent group of experts as 'the basis of a mutually acceptable and beneficial solution'.

Speaking to reporters at the inaugural National Alternative Dispute Resolution Forum held at Raffles Hotel yesterday, Professor Jayakumar said: 'As always, when such disputes can be resolved through third-party arbitration or resolution under the auspices of a third party, it is a civilised way of resolving disputes, which is a point that the Singapore Government has always advocated.'

Prof Jayakumar also announced at the forum that the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) has set up a registry to make it more convenient for parties who have obtained arbitration awards here, to enforce them overseas.

The registry, the first of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region, was created for users of Singapore arbitration to lodge their awards for safe-keeping and authenticate the awards.