The Common Law in English: Contracts, Courts and Legal Services: summary

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Singapore received English law through the Charter of 1826 and the Civil Law Ordinance of 1878, then gave its common law a fixed and sovereign basis through the Application of English Law Act 1993 and the abolition of Privy Council appeals with effect from 8 April 1994. Since the Practice Statement of July 1994, the Court of Appeal has developed a Singapore common law that remains close to English law while answering to local circumstances and protecting existing contracts. Singapore law has become a regular choice in regional contracts, governing more than half of the cases filed with SIAC in 2023 and 2025, and is offered together with Singapore arbitration, the SICC and enforcement through the New York and Hague Conventions. A fused local profession of about 6,500 lawyers, three law schools and a regulated opening to foreign firms through the QFLP scheme since 2008 have turned legal services into an export sector with S$1.40 billion of exports in 2023. Compared with Swiss law, which attracts parties through codified neutrality and its links with Europe, Singapore law attracts parties who want a common law administered in English within Asia, so that the two centres serve different clients and meet mainly in commodity trading and private wealth.

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.

All Singapore law advice is provided through KGP Legal LLC, an established and duly licensed firm of Singapore advocates and solicitors.

KGP Legal LLC is a medium-sized law firm in Singapore that is capable of providing the full range of legal services and corporate administration work. Please contact me if you need any further information.

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SingaporeIQ is edited by Dr Alexander Ressos, an international business lawyer with more than 15 years of local experience in Singapore as a permanent resident, a Singapore registered foreign lawyer and managing partner of a Singapore foreign law practice. In addition to significant experience in cross-border investments and transactions, UHNWI private client work and sanctions/export controls, Dr Ressos has extensive experience in cross-border business and in crypto and digital-asset projects in Singapore, drawn from more than 700 projects since 2017.

If you are planning a company incorporation, an investment, a holding structure or a market entry through Singapore, you can reach Dr Ressos directly at [email protected]. Singapore law advice is provided by KGP Legal LLC, a licensed firm of Singapore advocates and solicitors. Dr Ressos and his team facilitate the full range of Singapore legal, compliance and company administration services, including company incorporation, corporate transactions, commercial contracts, crypto and digital assets, financial regulatory work and dispute resolution, including litigation in the Singapore courts. For Hong Kong, our parallel site HongkongIQ.com offers the same practical guidance. For crypto and digital assets, dltreg.com covers legal, tax and fiduciary services. For legal, tax and fiduciary services in Switzerland, see helveticaregister.com.