Singapore: courts, dispute resolution and industry

Supreme Court of Singapore

The General Division of the High Court hears first-instance civil claims above the district court limit and all applications for proprietary injunctions, freezing orders and disclosure orders in digital-asset cases. The Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC), a division of the High Court, hears international commercial disputes with a panel that includes international judges and has handled digital-asset matters. The Court of Appeal is the final instance.¹ Approach: through counsel admitted in Singapore, or in the SICC through registered foreign lawyers in offshore cases. The courts' e-litigation system makes urgent applications possible within a day.

Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) and Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC)

The arbitration and mediation institutions, whose rules (SIAC Rules 2025) provide for emergency arbitrators and expedited procedures and which have experience of disputes over tokens, exchanges and investment agreements.² Approach: by filing a notice of arbitration under an agreement that refers to SIAC. SIAC's secretariat is efficient and the emergency arbitrator procedure produces a decision within days.

Singapore Academy of Law (SAL)

The promotion and development body for the legal profession, whose Law Reform Committee has published reports on digital assets and whose publications are persuasive before the courts.

Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) and Cyber Security Agency (CSA)

The PDPA regulator and the cybersecurity authority. The PDPC enforces the data protection obligations relevant to blockchain analytics and travel-rule data transfers. The CSA administers the Cybersecurity Act 2018 and receives incident reports from critical information infrastructure owners.³

Industry bodies

The Blockchain Association Singapore (BAS), the Singapore FinTech Association (SFA) and the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) are the bodies through which MAS consults the industry and through which practitioners obtain the market view. Project Guardian's industry group is coordinated by MAS itself.

Notes

Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1969; Rules of Court 2021; see Part N, Chapter V. ↩
SIAC Rules 2025, in force 1 January 2025; International Arbitration Act 1994; see Part N, Chapter VI. ↩
Personal Data Protection Act 2012; Cybersecurity Act 2018; see Part J, Chapter IX. ↩

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of October 2026.

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Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Of Counsel, KGP Legal LLC

I am Of Counsel with KGP Legal LLC in Singapore, where I work with a global client base of successful entrepreneurs and their families, independent asset managers, commodity trading houses and other commercial clients. I am a German and Swiss attorney-at-law, also admitted as a solicitor in England & Wales and in Hong Kong. I divide my time between Zug in Switzerland, Singapore and Hong Kong. Since 2017 I have advised international clients on more than 700 crypto and digital asset projects. I also have extensive experience in cross-border litigation and arbitration in Singapore, Hong Kong and other markets in South-East Asia and Greater China.

I operate across the key financial centres in South-East Asia, the Middle East and Switzerland, with a particular focus on asset protection, international tax and estate planning, as well as trusts, company administration and other fiduciary services. My philosophy is to serve as a trusted advisor working closely with my clients and to help them achieve their commercial objectives.

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