Publication Type

Blog Post

Version

acceptedVersion

Publication Date

5-2021

Abstract

In Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp v Merck KGaA [2021] SGCA 14, a full bench of the Singapore Court of Appeal addressed the limits of transnational issue estoppel in Singapore law, and flagged possible fundamental changes to the common law on the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in Singapore. The litigation involves multiple parties spread over different jurisdictions. The specific facts involved in the appeal are fairly straightforward, centring on what has been decided in a judgment from the English court, and whether it could be used to raise issue estoppel on the interpretation of a particular term of the contract between the parties. The Court of Appeal affirmed the decision of the High Court that it could. What makes the case interesting are the wide-ranging observations on the operation of issue estoppel from foreign judgments, and more fundamentally on the basis of the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in the common law of Singapore.

Keywords

Foreign judgments, common law, courts, Singapore

Discipline

Asian Studies | Comparative and Foreign Law | Courts

Research Areas

Private Law

Publisher

Singapore Academy of Law

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://conflictoflaws.net/2021/foreign-judgments-the-limits-of-transnational-issue-estoppel-reciprocity-and-transnational-comity/

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