#2022wrapped: The Year of Beginnings, Reunions and Appreciation

27 DEC 2022

Insight MinLaw goes behind the scenes to uncover stories about how the work we do impacts you.

What a year 2022 has been! As 2022 comes to an end, we reflect on what we have achieved as a MinLaw family. It greatly helped that, with Singapore progressively transitioning towards living with COVID-19, we could hold more face-to-face events. These provided the platform for people – both locally and globally – to reconnect and forge new friendships and partnerships. All these would not have been possible without the strong support from our partners and stakeholders. We were delighted to be able to show our appreciation in person to our partners and volunteers who had supported the work we do.

The Year of Beginnings

2022 was a year of beginnings, as the MinLaw family launched several initiatives, including the following.

  • The Public Defender’s Office (PDO) was officially launched in 2022. First of its kind in Singapore, the PDO provides criminal defence aid to those facing non-capital criminal charges but are unable to afford legal representation due to limited means. To benefit more Singaporeans, the income limit coverage has been raised from the 25th to the 35th percentile of resident households, and the range of offences has been expanded.

  • The Conditional Fee Agreements framework came into operation in 2022, as part of ongoing efforts to enhance our litigation funding landscape to better support the needs of businesses.

  • The Legal Technology Platform Initiative was launched in 2022 to provide a matter management and collaboration tool designed around legal workflows, to help small and medium law kickstart their digitalisation journeys.

  • The Singapore Land Authority announced the rejuvenation of Gillman Barracks which would transform the area into an exciting and vibrant creative lifestyle enclave for all to enjoy.

The Year of Reunions

2022 was also a year of reunions.

Over 4,000 participants from more than 100 countries gathered in Singapore for the Singapore Convention Week 2022 (SC Week), an annual series of legal and dispute resolution-related events. At the heart of SC Week was the UNCITRAL Academy 2022, themed “Embracing Global Change, Navigating New Possibilities”. Friends old and new connected at the Week’s networking events, and thought leaders came together to share insights and best practices on dispute resolution amidst a changing operating landscape.

The Singapore-China International Commercial Dispute Resolution Conference returned for its second edition, with participants gathered in Singapore, Beijing and Xiamen. The event also saw more than two million accumulated views of the livestream. MinLaw and the Chinese Council for the Promotion of International Trade signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to jointly organise an annual high-level conference on cross-border legal and dispute resolution services. A new Joint Experts Team, comprising eminent practitioners and academics from both countries, was also unveiled to study the legal feasibility of developing a new dispute resolution mechanism.

We also saw the return of IP Week @ SG 2022, with more in-person programmes. The IP Marketplace – a hub for networking, events and exhibition – was also brought back.

The Year of Appreciation

2022 also called for appreciation for the efforts of MinLaw’s partners and volunteers who had supported MinLaw’s efforts over the past years, during the pandemic and in the transitioning phase.

The MinLaw Partner and Volunteer Awards 2022 was specially held in appreciation of some 200 partners and volunteers. They helped MinLaw to introduce the various COVID-19 legislations quickly during the pandemic. They also helped to advance MinLaw’s work, in areas such as legal, dispute resolution, family and community justice, restructuring and insolvency, legaltech, as well as intellectual property.

The Mediators’ Appointment Ceremony and Appreciation Dinner 2022 returned after a two-year hiatus, to recognise the contributions of volunteer mediators under the Community Mediation Centre. They had continued to volunteer for community mediation, even though they themselves were grappling with the pandemic. Through their efforts, community mediation remained available during the pandemic and helped to resolve community disputes and maintain social harmony in the community.

New Year, New Heights

In the new year, MinLaw will continue to enhance our efforts to strengthen the rule of law, provide a trusted legal system and to continue to advance access to justice for the public.

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