Law, courts and dispute resolution

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• common law – 普通法 (pǔtōng fǎ) – common law: the body of law developed by judicial decisions in England, received in Singapore through the Charters of Justice (Chapter A.III).¹
• equity – 衡平法 (héngpíng fǎ) – ekuiti: the body of rules developed by the English Court of Chancery, which includes the law of trusts.
• statute – 法令 (fǎlìng) – statut: a written law enacted by the legislature.
• subsidiary legislation – 附属法规 (fùshǔ fǎguī) – perundangan subsidiari: regulations, rules and orders made by a minister or authority under powers conferred by an Act.
• Constitution – 宪法 (xiànfǎ) – Perlembagaan: the supreme law of the Republic of Singapore.
• Supreme Court – 最高法院 (Zuìgāo Fǎyuàn) – Mahkamah Agung: Singapore’s superior court, which comprises the Court of Appeal, the Appellate Division and the General Division of the High Court (Chapter F.I).
• Court of Appeal – 上诉庭 (Shàngsù Tíng) – Mahkamah Rayuan: Singapore’s final appellate court since the abolition of appeals to the Privy Council (Chapter F.I).
• High Court – 高等法庭 (Gāoděng Fǎtíng) – Mahkamah Tinggi: the superior court of first instance for major civil and criminal cases.
• State Courts – 国家法院 (Guójiā Fǎyuàn) – Mahkamah Negara: the lower courts of Singapore, which hear most criminal cases and smaller civil claims.
• Privy Council – 枢密院 (Shūmìyuàn) – Majlis Privy: the final court of appeal for the colonies, which remained Singapore’s highest court for decades after independence (Chapter B.I).
• advocate and solicitor – 出庭律师兼事务律师 (chūtíng lǜshī jiān shìwù lǜshī) – peguam bela dan peguam cara: the single title of a lawyer admitted to practise in Singapore.
• jurisdiction – 管辖权 (guǎnxiá quán) – bidang kuasa: the authority of a court or regulator to hear a case or to regulate a person.
• enforcement – 执行 (zhíxíng) – penguatkuasaan: the process by which a judgment, an award or a regulatory requirement is given effect.
• rule of law – 法治 (fǎzhì) – kedaulatan undang-undang: the principle that public power and private dealings are subject to known laws applied by independent courts (Chapter F.I).
• arbitration – 仲裁 (zhòngcái) – timbang tara: the resolution of a dispute by one or more arbitrators chosen by the parties, whose award is binding (Chapter F.II).²
• arbitration clause – 仲裁条款 (zhòngcái tiáokuǎn) – klausa timbang tara: a term of a contract that refers future disputes to arbitration.³
• arbitral award – 仲裁裁决 (zhòngcái cáijué) – award timbang tara: the binding decision of an arbitral tribunal, enforceable abroad under the New York Convention (Chapter F.II).
• Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) – 新加坡国际仲裁中心 (Xīnjiāpō Guójì Zhòngcái Zhōngxīn) – Pusat Timbang Tara Antarabangsa Singapura: the arbitral institution that administers international arbitrations under its rules (Chapter F.II).
• Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC) – 新加坡国际商业法庭 (Xīnjiāpō Guójì Shāngyè Fǎtíng) – Mahkamah Komersial Antarabangsa Singapura: the division of the High Court for international commercial disputes, which sits with international judges (Chapter F.III).
• mediation – 调解 (tiáojiě) – pengantaraan: a process in which a neutral mediator helps the parties reach a settlement of their own (Chapter F.III).⁴
• Singapore Convention on Mediation – 新加坡调解公约 (Xīnjiāpō Tiáojiě Gōngyuē) – Konvensyen Singapura mengenai Pengantaraan: the United Nations convention on the enforcement of international settlement agreements resulting from mediation (Chapter F.III).
• private limited company (Pte Ltd) – 私人有限公司 (sīrén yǒuxiàn gōngsī) – syarikat sendirian berhad: a company whose shares are not offered to the public and whose members’ liability is limited.
• limited liability – 有限责任 (yǒuxiàn zérèn) – liabiliti terhad: the rule that shareholders are liable for a company’s debts only up to the amount unpaid on their shares (Chapter B.I).
• fiduciary duty – 信义义务 (xìnyì yìwù) – kewajipan fidusiari: the duty of a person in a position of trust, such as a director or trustee, to act loyally in the interest of another.⁵
• insolvency – 无力偿债 (wúlì chángzhài) – ketakmampuan bayar: the inability of a person or company to pay its debts as they fall due.⁶
• bankruptcy – 破产 (pòchǎn) – kebankrapan: the insolvency proceeding for individuals, under which an official assignee takes over the debtor’s property.
• winding up – 清盘 (qīngpán) – penggulungan: the process by which a company’s assets are realised and distributed and the company is dissolved (Chapter H.II).
• judicial management – 司法管理 (sīfǎ guǎnlǐ) – pengurusan kehakiman: a court-supervised rescue procedure in which a judicial manager takes control of a distressed company (Chapter H.II).
• scheme of arrangement – 债务偿还安排 (zhàiwù chánghuán ānpái) – skim perkiraan: a compromise between a company and its creditors approved by the required majority and sanctioned by the court.⁷
• Penal Code – 刑事法典 (Xíngshì Fǎdiǎn) – Kanun Keseksaan: Singapore’s code of criminal law, based on the Indian model of the colonial era (Chapter B.I).

Notes

1. Malay usage varies between “common law” and “undang-undang lazim”. ↩
2. PRPM, entry “arbitration”, citing Kamus Inggeris-Melayu Dewan (accessed November 2026): “penimbangtaraan, ditimbang tara; (attrib) timbang tara”, with “klausa timbang tara” for arbitration clause. ↩
3. PRPM, entry “arbitration”, as above. ↩
4. PRPM, entry “mediation”, citing Kamus Inggeris-Melayu Dewan (accessed November 2026): “pengantaraan, menjadi pengantara”. ↩
5. Chinese form reflects academic usage. Singapore texts also use 受信责任. ↩
6. PRPM, entry “insolvency”, citing Kamus Inggeris-Melayu Dewan (accessed November 2026): “ketakmampuan bayar; ketaksolvenan”. ↩
7. Chinese form reflects professional usage. ↩

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.