On 18 November 2026, Singapore’s first open empirical legal database, developed with the support of the Ministry of Law, Singapore, was officially launched and named the Singapore Open Legal Informatics Database (SOLID).
The half-day launch event convened leaders from academia, government, the judiciary, and the private sector to discuss how open legal data can advance research, innovation, and evidence-based decision-making.
The event opened with remarks by Assoc Dean (Research) Prof Maartje De Visser and an address by Mr Joo Hong Lim, Director of the Legal Technology Transformation Office at the Ministry of Law. Mr Lim emphasised that the SOLID initiative represents a significant step towards strengthening Singapore’s legal data infrastructure for the digital age and reinforcing Singapore’s leading position in legal technology and innovation. Asst Prof Jerrold Soh, Principal Investigator of the project, introduced the vision, four-phase methodology, and the scope of forthcoming machine-readable datasets spanning court decisions, statutes, legal scholarship, and judicial structures. Together with Co-Investigator Asst Prof Dirk Hartung, the project team outlined how SOLID will support researchers, policymakers, law firms, and legal technology developers in building data-driven insights and innovations.
A panel discussion on International Perspectives on Open Legal Data, featuring Prof Daniel Katz (Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology) and Assoc Prof Benjamin Minhao Chen (The University of Hong Kong), examined global practices and how Singapore can continue developing a robust and future-ready legal data infrastructure.
Next, the various legal stakeholders gathered in the room engaged in breakout discussions on Singapore’s “legal data wishlist”, identifying useful data points and potential applications for the research team to consider.
We congratulate Asst Profs Soh and Hartung on a successful launch, and thank all participants for contributing perspectives that will shape the development of this initiative. SOLID marks an important milestone in strengthening Singapore’s legal innovation ecosystem and expanding the possibilities of computational legal research and legaltech development.
