The Asia Pacific region is experiencing a period of profound transformation in cross-border dispute resolution, driven by landmark legislative reforms, the rise of specialist international commercial courts and an evolving treaty framework that is reshaping the enforcement of foreign judgments across the region. China’s sweeping 2023 amendments to its Civil Procedure Law have, for the first time, established comprehensive rules on international civil jurisdiction and standardised grounds for the recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments, while the expansion of international commercial courts — from the Singapore International Commercial Court to new specialist tribunals in Beijing, Suzhou and beyond — is intensifying competition among Asia Pacific jurisdictions to serve as preferred forums for complex cross-border commercial litigation. 

This panel will bring together leading litigators from across the Asia Pacific to examine the emerging trends, opportunities and challenges in cross-border litigation and enforcement. Among the issues discussed among the panel are the evolution of international commercial courts in Singapore, Hong Kong SAR and mainland China; the challenges of parallel proceedings and jurisdictional conflicts in multi-forum disputes; the role of tiered dispute resolution clauses in courts across Asia Pacific jurisdictions; and the interplay between litigation and arbitration as complementary pathways in an increasingly complex enforcement environment.