DEALS
Zhong Lun Assisted Power Solar System Winning Before the Singapore Supreme Court
Zhong Lun Assisted Power Solar System Winning Before the Singapore Supreme Court
Recently, with regards to the debt disputes between the appellant Suntech Power Investment Pte. Ltd (“SPI") and the appellee Power Solar System Co., Ltd (“PSS"), the Court of Appeal of the Singapore Supreme Court struck out the appeal of SPI, upheld the first instance judgment, and held that SPI shall pay nearly USD 200 million and interests to PSS. During the first instance before the Singapore Supreme Court, Mr. Yang Wantao, a senior partner from Zhong Lun Law Firm, has offered expert opinions with regards to relevant PRC legal issues as an expert witness before the Singapore Supreme Court and such opinions have been accepted.
One of the challenges of this case is that whether the legal counsel of one party could appear before the court as an expert witness; if yes, what standard of examination the court should follow? As Mr. Yang is also representing PSS to deal with its lawsuits in Shanghai with SPI, so his independence will be challenged by the opposing party and the court. However, after full evaluations, PSS’ liquidator and Singaporean lawyers decided to appoint Mr. Yang as an expert witness. In the cross-examination, SPI’s lawyer indeed challenged Mr. Yang’s independence and expertise, and the Singapore Supreme Court also pointed out that it will scrutinize Mr. Yang’s opinions. Finally, the Singapore Supreme Court accepted all expert opinions of Mr. Yang, held that Mr. Yang’s opinions were “reasonable, measured and backed by authority" and wrote in the judgment that “indeed, he struck me as quite a candid witness."