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http://www.straitstimes.com/singapo...an-lawyer-allowed-to-argue-case-in-high-court
Top Indian lawyer allowed to argue case in High Court
Senior Advocate Harish Salve is the first non-Queen's Counsel foreign lawyer to be allowed to argue a case in the Singapore High Court. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
Published
Jan 30, 2018, 5:00 am SGT
K.C. Vijayan
Senior Law Correspondent
He is described as arguably India's most expensive lawyer, but he once charged a token one rupee (two Singapore cents) for defending an Indian national on death row in Pakistan.
India's Senior Advocate Harish Salve is also the first non-Queen's Counsel (QC) foreign lawyer - and the first from the Indian Bar - to be allowed to argue a case in the Singapore High Court.
Under the law, a foreign counsel can be admitted to argue cases in court here on an ad hoc basis if he is a QC or holds a rank of equal distinction from any other country, and has special qualifications or experience for the purpose of the case.
The Court of Appeal, in judgment grounds released last week, explained Mr Salve's ad hoc admission, saying it "was satisfied that the need for the assistance of qualified Indian counsel had been amply demonstrated" in the circumstances of a case that had involved arbitration proceedings in Singapore.
The case involved some 20 shareholders, including five young people, of Indian multinational pharmaceutical company Ranbaxy Laboratories.
They had sold a controlling stake to Daiichi Sankyo Company, but in 2012, the Japanese pharmaceutical firm started arbitration proceedings here against the Indian firm, claiming it had been misled during negotiations for the sale agreement.
By a two-to-one majority, the arbitration panel in 2016 found in favour of Daiichi and awarded the company more than $500 million. The sellers of Ranbaxy - who were in two groups - then applied to the High Court to set aside the award on several grounds when Daiichi sought to enforce the order here.
The Indian firm also sought to have Mr Salve admitted so that "he might address difficult and novel Indian law issues inherent in the Singapore proceedings".
The High Court turned down the application last year and Mr Salve - represented by law firms Rajah & Tann and WongPartnership for the two groups of sellers from Ranbaxy - then appealed to the apex court.
They succeeded in the Court of Appeal last year before Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon and Judges of Appeal Judith Prakash and Tay Yong Kwang.
Daiichi was defended by a team of lawyers led by Mr Suresh Divyanathan, while Mr Jeyendran Jeyapal served as lead counsel for the Attorney-General. Mr Christopher Daniel was lead counsel for the Law Society.
In written grounds last week explaining its decision, the Court of Appeal said it found it relevant for Mr Salve to represent the parties in their challenge.
Noting that one group of sellers in the case were minors, it said their issue involved Indian public policy and accepted that Mr Salve, having been Solicitor-General of India for three years, would have considerable experience in Indian public policy and broad experience in Indian law.
It added that the Singapore case arose out of an international arbitration matter where the governing law was foreign law but the seat was Singapore.
Stressing that not every such case governed by foreign law will see foreign counsel admitted, the top court clarified that "it is all a question of what the court needs to assist it in achieving a correct and just result in the case before it".
"Given our findings on the complexity of the Indian law issues, the court hearing the Singapore proceedings would definitely be more assisted by Indian counsel than by local counsel," wrote Judge Prakash on the court's behalf.
Meanwhile, Daiichi has successfully applied to the High Court for an Indian lawyer of similar stature - Mr Gopal Subramanium - for its team, following Mr Salve's admission. The High Court hearing will see the two opposing heavyweights in action alongside local counsel in April.
Top Indian lawyer allowed to argue case in High Court
Senior Advocate Harish Salve is the first non-Queen's Counsel foreign lawyer to be allowed to argue a case in the Singapore High Court. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
Published
Jan 30, 2018, 5:00 am SGT
K.C. Vijayan
Senior Law Correspondent
He is described as arguably India's most expensive lawyer, but he once charged a token one rupee (two Singapore cents) for defending an Indian national on death row in Pakistan.
India's Senior Advocate Harish Salve is also the first non-Queen's Counsel (QC) foreign lawyer - and the first from the Indian Bar - to be allowed to argue a case in the Singapore High Court.
Under the law, a foreign counsel can be admitted to argue cases in court here on an ad hoc basis if he is a QC or holds a rank of equal distinction from any other country, and has special qualifications or experience for the purpose of the case.
The Court of Appeal, in judgment grounds released last week, explained Mr Salve's ad hoc admission, saying it "was satisfied that the need for the assistance of qualified Indian counsel had been amply demonstrated" in the circumstances of a case that had involved arbitration proceedings in Singapore.
The case involved some 20 shareholders, including five young people, of Indian multinational pharmaceutical company Ranbaxy Laboratories.
They had sold a controlling stake to Daiichi Sankyo Company, but in 2012, the Japanese pharmaceutical firm started arbitration proceedings here against the Indian firm, claiming it had been misled during negotiations for the sale agreement.
By a two-to-one majority, the arbitration panel in 2016 found in favour of Daiichi and awarded the company more than $500 million. The sellers of Ranbaxy - who were in two groups - then applied to the High Court to set aside the award on several grounds when Daiichi sought to enforce the order here.
The Indian firm also sought to have Mr Salve admitted so that "he might address difficult and novel Indian law issues inherent in the Singapore proceedings".
The High Court turned down the application last year and Mr Salve - represented by law firms Rajah & Tann and WongPartnership for the two groups of sellers from Ranbaxy - then appealed to the apex court.
They succeeded in the Court of Appeal last year before Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon and Judges of Appeal Judith Prakash and Tay Yong Kwang.
Daiichi was defended by a team of lawyers led by Mr Suresh Divyanathan, while Mr Jeyendran Jeyapal served as lead counsel for the Attorney-General. Mr Christopher Daniel was lead counsel for the Law Society.
In written grounds last week explaining its decision, the Court of Appeal said it found it relevant for Mr Salve to represent the parties in their challenge.
Noting that one group of sellers in the case were minors, it said their issue involved Indian public policy and accepted that Mr Salve, having been Solicitor-General of India for three years, would have considerable experience in Indian public policy and broad experience in Indian law.
It added that the Singapore case arose out of an international arbitration matter where the governing law was foreign law but the seat was Singapore.
Stressing that not every such case governed by foreign law will see foreign counsel admitted, the top court clarified that "it is all a question of what the court needs to assist it in achieving a correct and just result in the case before it".
"Given our findings on the complexity of the Indian law issues, the court hearing the Singapore proceedings would definitely be more assisted by Indian counsel than by local counsel," wrote Judge Prakash on the court's behalf.
Meanwhile, Daiichi has successfully applied to the High Court for an Indian lawyer of similar stature - Mr Gopal Subramanium - for its team, following Mr Salve's admission. The High Court hearing will see the two opposing heavyweights in action alongside local counsel in April.
