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Artificial Intelligence, Energy, SIAC, SIAC Symposium, SIAC Symposium 2024, Singapore International Arbitration Centre, Southeast Asia, Trade Disruption

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YSIAC

The 2024 Singapore Convention Week kicked off with a bang on 26 August 2024 with the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (“SIAC”) hosting its flagship SIAC Symposium at the Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore. The SIAC Symposium 2024 featured a welcome address by Mr Davinder Singh SC (Chairman, SIAC; Executive Chairman, Davinder Singh Chambers LLC), a keynote address…

Artificial Intelligence, Confidentiality, Conflicts of interest, Due process, Ethics, Illegally obtained evidence, Privilege, SIAC, SIAC Symposium, SIAC Symposium 2024, Singapore International Arbitration Centre, Southeast Asia, Technology

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YSIAC

Following the morning session of the SIAC Symposium 2024, which explored issues including the challenges posed by artificial intelligence (“AI”), climate change, and trade disruption (see Part 1), the afternoon session consisted of three plenary panel discussions that delved into the core issues shaping the future of arbitration. These pivotal topics comprised: the ethical considerations guiding…

Artificial Intelligence, Asia-Pacific, Energy Dispute, Insolvency, Intellectual Property, Northeast Asia, SIAC, SIAC Symposium 2023, Southeast Asia, Technology, Trade

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YSIAC

Following the morning session which explored the geopolitics of international arbitration, the next generation of dispute resolution and the freshly-minted draft SIAC Rules (see Part 1), the afternoon session probed into regional and topical dimensions of international arbitration through six technologically-driven and interactive panel discussions.   I. Regional Developments, Trends & Forecasts   Illuminating Top…

Appointment of arbitrators, Asia-Pacific, Climate change, Court Assistance, Expedited arbitration, Expedited Proceedings, Insolvency, Institutional Rules, Investor-State arbitration, Northeast Asia, SIAC, SIAC Symposium 2023, Singapore, Singapore International Arbitration Centre, Southeast Asia, Technology

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YSIAC

The Singapore International Arbitration Centre (“SIAC”) held the SIAC Symposium, its flagship conference, during the Singapore Convention Week on 28 August 2023. The SIAC Symposium featured a conversation with Minister K Shanmugam, SC (Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law, Singapore) and a plenary address by Justice Judith Prakash (Justice of the Court of…

Arbitrability, Arbitration Agreement, English Arbitration Act, Singapore, Singapore Court of Appeal, YSIAC

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YSIAC

Issues relating to the arbitrability of disputes have gained increasing prominence in recent years. The question of which law ought to govern an arbitration agreement and concomitantly the inquiry as to whether a dispute is arbitrable, in the absence of an explicit choice of law governing the arbitration agreement has been explored in previous judgments…

Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Enforcement, NFT, Smart Contracts, Technology, YSIAC Conference

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YSIAC

On 10 November 2021, YSIAC Conference 2021 ARBXTalk and panel discussion canvassed a myriad of dynamic developments in the arbitration space, amongst which included the impact of cryptocurrency, blockchain and non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) (collectively referred to as “CBNFT”) on arbitral disputes, the enforcement of awards, and how practitioners can adapt to digital transformations and disruptions…

Corruption, Environment, ESG, International Investment Arbitration, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investment law, Investor-State arbitration, Renewable energy, YSIAC Conference

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YSIAC

Earlier this week, the YSIAC Conference 2021 took place virtually for the first time since its inception. The opening webinar was a panel discussion titled “Resolving ESG Disputes Through International Arbitration”, which agenda was to analyse the disputes in the buzzing environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) domain, distil the trends and lessons learnt therefrom, and…

COVID-19, Force majeure, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS, ISDS Reform, SIAC, SIAC Congress

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YSIAC

The 2021 SIAC Congress held virtually on 10 September 2021 drew arbitration aspirants and practitioners from all over the globe, and sought to grapple with the key challenges of the day within the realm of arbitration. The second panel session, on “The Multi-Dollar Question: Will the Pandemic and Governments’ Responses to it Lead to a…

Arbitral Appointments, International Commercial Courts, SIAC, SIAC Congress

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YSIAC

The Singapore International Arbitration Centre (“SIAC”) hosted its annual Congress virtually for the second consecutive year on 10 September 2021.  2021 also marks the 30th anniversary of the SIAC.  In his keynote speech Mr K Shanmugam SC, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law, Singapore, congratulated SIAC on successfully completing 30 years.  He commended…

COVID-19, Due process, ICCA, ISDS, Prague Rules, Rule of Law, SIAC, SIAC Congress

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YSIAC

The Singapore International Arbitration Centre (“SIAC”) hosted its Congress on 2 September 2020.  For the first time, the Congress was held virtually.  The Chairman of the Board of Directors of SIAC, Mr Davinder Singh, SC, in his welcome address thanked over 1,000 attendees for attending virtually from all over the world despite time zone differences. …

Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Asia, China, Hong Kong, India, Intellectual Property, Paris Arbitration Week, Set aside an arbitral award, Singapore, South Korea, Webinar

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YSIAC

On 10 July 2020, a panel of arbitration practitioners discussed the topic of “Recent Developments and Key Arbitration Trends in Asia” as part of the 2020 Paris Arbitration Week. The panel discussion covered the distinctive features of and the latest developments in five different jurisdictions: Singapore, China, Hong Kong, South Korea and India. Hosted by…

Arbitration, Courts, Enforcement, interim relief, Philippines, Singapore, Virtual hearings

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YSIAC

A special COVID-19-themed SIAC Philippines webinar took place on 18 June 2020. The webinar examined the availability of interim relief to parties to commercial disputes, both in international arbitration and through courts in the Philippines and Singapore, with the panel members sharing their observations on trends and changes since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic….

Law governing the arbitration agreement, Shanghai, Singapore

(Drew & Napier LLC)/ /1 Comment
YSIAC

In BNA v BNB and another [2019] SGCA 84 (“BNA”), the Singapore Court of Appeal overturned the High Court’s ruling and provided authoritative guidance on the applicable principles in determining the proper law of an arbitration agreement. I discussed the High Court’s decision and the factual background in an earlier post. This post unpacks the…

Advocacy, Social media, Technology, YSIAC Conference

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YSIAC

For the first time, YSIAC Conference this year featured an ARBXTalk where the speaker was given 18 minutes to present a topic of his or her choice in an inspirational or thought-provoking way. Mr. Christopher Y. Chan, the General Counsel and Head of Government Affairs at Lazada Singapore, was the speaker at the inaugural event….

Arbitrators, Artificial Intelligence, Bias, Cognitive biases, YSIAC Conference

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YSIAC

Introduction Humans versus robots: the YSIAC debate held yesterday as part of YSIAC Conference 2019 sought to address the deep question of what it means for us to be human and the timely question of whether technology can and will, one day, surpass us. The moderator for the debate was Professor Nadja Alexander (Director, SIDRA)….

Advocacy, Dispute Resolution, Experts, SIAC, Singapore, YSIAC Conference

(Morrison & Foerster (Singapore) LLP)/ /Leave a comment
YSIAC

The Young SIAC (“YSIAC“) Conference 2019 took place earlier today in Singapore, attracting young arbitration practitioners from all across the globe. The theme of the 2019 Conference was “Arbitration 2.0 – Navigating New Frontiers in International Dispute Resolution”, which explored the impact of various trends, technologies and innovations in international arbitration. Nonetheless, while trends may…

Applicable Law, Arbitration Agreement, Singapore

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YSIAC

When a party seeks to challenge the jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal on the basis of the substantive invalidity of the arbitration agreement, the proper law of the arbitration agreement governs the inquiry. The prevailing approach adopted to determine the proper law of the arbitration agreement is the three-stage choice-of-law analysis set out in Sulamérica…

Enforcement, India, Monetary Award

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YSIAC

With cross-border dispute resolution on the rise, currency variations and exchange rate fluctuations remain a concern in enforcement of foreign awards and decrees. It is not unusual for courts and arbitral tribunals to render judgments and awards in a foreign currency,1)For example, Section 48(4) of the UK Arbitration Act 1996 provides that: “The tribunal may…

Jurisdiction, Jurisdictional challenge, Singapore Court of Appeal, UNCITRAL Model Law

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YSIAC

Art 16(3) of the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration (“Model Law”) provides that if a tribunal issues a preliminary ruling that it has jurisdiction, a respondent may appeal the tribunal’s ruling to the relevant court within 30 days. Can a party who loses a jurisdictional challenge still set aside the final award for…

Asia, Singapore, Third party funding

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YSIAC

Part I For some time practitioners would have seen news alerts headlining that third-party funding is now permitted in Singapore and Hong Kong for arbitration and arbitration-related court proceedings.  Digging a little deeper beyond the shiny new labels, this article highlights three practical “pitfalls’ which practitioners would have to be mindful of when dealing with…

Arbitration Agreement, Arbitration institution, Courts, SIAC, Singapore

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YSIAC

Introduction On 10 October 2018, the Singapore Court of Appeal (“Court of Appeal”) issued its decision on the case of Marty Ltd v Hualon Corporation (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd [2018] SGCA 63 (“Marty v Hualon“) which concerned a dispute over the repudiation of an arbitration agreement. While the case contained a number of interesting issues, this…

Arbitrators, Independence and Impartiality, India

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YSIAC

Independence and impartiality of arbitrators are the hallmarks of arbitration. The amendments to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 (“Act”) in 2015, which adopted the international best practices from the International Bar Association Guidelines on Conflict of Interest (“IBA Guidelines”), aimed to bolster not only the neutrality of arbitrators, but also the perception of neutrality….

Agency, Arbitration Agreement, Company Law, Singapore

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YSIAC

Joint venture agreements increasingly provide for arbitration, allowing the JV partners to resolve matters privately.  Where a director of a JV company (or JV partners) is sued in his capacity as a director in relation to matters arising out of the joint venture agreement, can he also rely on the arbitration agreement in the joint…

India, Set aside an arbitral award

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YSIAC

A mandatory legal provision is one that a party has no choice but to obey, whereas a directory provision is one which the party is encouraged to obey. In other words, a mandatory provision must be observed, disobedience of which would lead to a nullification of the legal act, whereas a directory provision is optional….

Arbitration Proceedings, Respondents, Singapore, UNCITRAL Model Law

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YSIAC

It is not uncommon for practitioners acting for claimants in an arbitration to encounter a respondent who chooses to boycott the arbitral process.  In cases involving such ‘non-participating’ respondents, what are the rights and obligations of each party? Specifically, insofar as Model law jurisdictions are concerned, if a Tribunal decides on jurisdiction as a preliminary…

Arbitration, Consolidation, M&A

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YSIAC

Introduction In many commercial transactions, there will be multiple agreements among various parties, and those agreements often contain “entire agreement” clauses to ensure that the parties are bound only by the terms of the agreement(s) they sign. However, such a clause may be invoked and interpreted in a way surprising to the parties, especially in…

Interpretation of Contracts, Jurisdiction, Singapore

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YSIAC

Article 16(3) of the Model Law provides in relevant part that, “if the arbitral tribunal rules as a preliminary question that it has jurisdiction, any party may request … the court … to decide the matter”. One question that arises is, to the extent issues of evidence arise, what rules of evidence should the court…

Arbitration, Blockchain, New York Convention, Online Dispute Resolution, UNCITRAL

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YSIAC

The tech revolution has been underway for some time now but has only recently come to the forefront of the general public’s consciousness from the explosion in attention to bitcoin. The progress of technology has allowed it to creep into the domain of alternative dispute resolution. There is now online mediation, online arbitration, and even…

Arbitral Tribunal, Arbitration, Consolidation, HKIAC, ICC, kompetenz-kompetenz, SCC, SIAC

(Drew & Napier)/ /1 Comment
YSIAC

The potential ramifications on a party’s right to challenge an award made in a consolidated proceeding should inform a party’s decision to adopt institutional rules or national arbitration laws that allow for consolidation. Ensuring as a preliminary matter that the mechanism for consolidation and any waiver provisions in the institutional rules or national arbitration laws…

Anti-suit injunction, Arbitration, Indonesia, SIAC

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YSIAC

There have been a number of occasions in Indonesia when domestic court proceedings and foreign arbitration proceedings of the same matter were carried out concurrently. In some of those occasions, the arbitral tribunal, upon the claimant’s request, issued an anti-suit injunction in respect of the Indonesian court proceedings brought by the respondent. In Astro Nusantara…

Artificial Intelligence, HKIAC Rules, Investment Arbitration, NAFTA, SCC Rules, Singapore, Summary Judgment, Summary procedure, Third party funding, TPPA

(Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP)/ /2 Comments
YSIAC

2017 was a busy year for international arbitration. Taking a walk down memory lane, we saw new players and new industries entering the game, institutions adopting new rules, and we have some new challenges to tackle. This note summarizes some highlights and low lights in international arbitration during 2017 from across the globe. Happy Holidays…

China, Reciprocity, Recognition and enforcement of arbitral award

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YSIAC

There have been a number of recent developments in Chinese judicial practice. These include the first known enforcement of foreign court judgments in China on the basis of reciprocity,1)References to the enforcement of foreign court judgments are generally intended to include recognition and enforcement of those judgments. as well as China’s signing of the Hague…

Arbitration, ICC Rules, Singapore, Tax, Taxation

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YSIAC

Introduction Section 10 of the Singapore International Arbitration Act (“IAA”), allows a party to challenge an arbitral tribunal’s determination of its jurisdiction. Section 10(7) further provides that, where the Court rules under section 10 that the tribunal has no jurisdiction, it may make an order as to the costs of the arbitral proceedings. I was…

Arbitration, International arbitration, Investment Arbitration, Singapore

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YSIAC

In a 172-page judgment, the Singapore High Court in Kingdom of Lesotho v Swissbourgh Diamond Mines (Pty) Limited [2017] SGHC 195 (Lesotho), set aside an investor-state arbitration award rendered against Lesotho after an extensive review of international investment jurisprudence. This is the second investor-state matter that has confronted the Singapore courts following Sanum Investments Ltd…

Arbitral Award, Arbitration, Enforcement, India, Recognition and enforcement of arbitral award

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YSIAC

India has long been regarded as an unappealing centre for arbitration – be it as the seat of arbitration or as the place of final enforcement of the arbitral award. Indian judiciary is often quoted to be over interfering in matters of arbitration and enforcement. If fact could replace fiction, in the last decade, Shylock…

Appointment of arbitrators, Arbitral Tribunal, Arbitration

, (Allen & Overy)/ /2 Comments
YSIAC

In April 2010, Professor Jan Paulsson delivered his inaugural lecture as holder of the Michael R. Klein Distinguished Scholar Chair at the University of Miami School of Law where he expressed the view that the practice of unilateral appointments (or nominations) of arbitrators is a moral hazard which should be removed. This lecture sparked debate…

Emergency Arbitrator, India, Interim measures

, (Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas)/ /6 Comments
YSIAC

The ability of a party to obtain urgent interim relief is central to the efficacy of any method of dispute resolution. In case of disputes that are subject to an arbitration agreement, until recently parties had only two options: either approach national courts for interim relief in support of the arbitration, or wait for the…

Arbitration clause, SIAC, Singapore, UNCITRAL Model Law

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YSIAC

In K.V.C. Rice Intertrade Co Ltd v Asian Mineral Resources Pte Ltd [2017] SGHC 32, the Singapore High Court enforced so-called “bare” arbitration clauses, i.e., clauses that specify neither the place of arbitration nor the means of appointing arbitrators. In Singapore, the President of the SIAC Court of Arbitration is designated as the statutory appointing…

Arbitration Agreement, Arbitration clause, Arbitration institution, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, English courts, Singapore

(Norton Rose Fulbright)/ /1 Comment
YSIAC

In TMT Co Ltd v The Royal Bank of Scotland plc [2017] SGHC 21, the Singapore High Court took the view that an arbitration clause did not meet the prima facie standard to warrant a stay of court proceedings because it designated an inapplicable arbitral institution. Commentators have suggested that the decision is “surprising” and…

Arbitration clause, Indonesia, Tort

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YSIAC

Arbitration is a creature of contract, and hence one may say that any claim or dispute submitted to arbitration must relate to a contract where the relevant arbitration clause is laid down. In contrast, tort claims do not normally arise from a prior contractual relationship. Broad arbitration clauses classically say that “any and all disputes…

Admissibility, Arbitral Award, Arbitral Tribunal, Arbitration, Arbitration Awards, Arbitration institution, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, ASEAN, Asia-Pacific, China, International arbitration, International Law, International tribunals, Jurisdiction, Jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal, Law of the Sea, Permanent Court of Arbitration, Philippines, PRC, South China Sea, State-to-state arbitration, Treaty, Treaty Interpretation, UNCLOS

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YSIAC

Introduction On 12 July 2016, a five-member arbitral tribunal (the Tribunal) constituted under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) issued its long-awaited award on the merits in an arbitration brought by the Philippines against China. The tribunal’s jurisdiction is derived from UNCLOS; all State parties to UNCLOS…

Interpretation of Contracts, Singapore, Singapore Court of Appeal

(Norton Rose Fulbright)/ /7 Comments
YSIAC

In a series of cases since 2008, the Singapore Court of Appeal (Singapore’s highest court) has been articulating the contours of a contextual approach to contractual interpretation. Under this contextual approach, the Singapore courts “must ascertain, based on all the relevant objective evidence, the intention of the parties at the time they entered into the…

Arbitral Tribunal, Procedure

(D|R Arbitration & Litigation)/ /2 Comments
YSIAC

A foundational principle of international commercial arbitration is that of party autonomy. Article 19(1) of the UNCITRAL Model Law reflects this and states: “Subject to the provisions of this Law, the parties are free to agree on the procedure to be followed by the arbitral tribunal in conducting the proceedings.” Notwithstanding the parties’ broad freedom…

Arbitrability, Company Law, Minority Shareholders, Singapore, Stay of Proceedings

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YSIAC

Singapore’s highest court, the Court of Appeal (the “SGCA”), has held in Tomolugen Holdings Ltd and another v Silica Investors Ltd and other appeals [2015] 1 SLR 373, that: • The prima facie standard applies for obtaining a stay of court proceedings in favour of arbitration under the International Arbitration Act (Cap 143A, 2002 Rev…

Arbitration, Arbitration Act, Myanmar

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YSIAC

Since 2011, Myanmar has seen a renewed effort at reforming its political, social and economic landscape. As part of the reforms, on 15 July 2013, Myanmar formally acceded to the New York Convention 1958. Myanmar had however not enacted local legislation or revised its archaic Arbitration Act of 1944 to give effect to its international…

Arbitration, Corruption, International arbitration

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YSIAC

The legal consequences of a breach of a contract tainted by corruption are better understood through a hypothetical: Contractor A of country X enters into negotiations with B, the Minister of Economics and Development of country Y, with a view to concluding an agreement on a large infrastructure project (“the Contract”). B requests the payment…

Arbitration, BIT, Investment, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Investor, ISDS

(WongPartnership LLP)/ /1 Comment
YSIAC

“ISDS” (short for “investor-state dispute settlement”) was a less-known acronym some years back. Now, it has been given an increasingly bad name, no doubt fuelled by Vattenfall’s claim against Germany following the shutting down of its nuclear plants after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, tobacco giant Philip Morris’ high profile claims arising from Australia’s plain-labelling laws,…

China, Hong Kong, ICC Arbitration, Lex Arbitri, Seat of the arbitration

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YSIAC

Longlide, Shenhua Coal and the issue ahead In a case regarded by many as a “milestone” for arbitration in China, Longlide Packing and Printing Co. Ltd. v. BP Agnati S.r.l (hereinafter “Longlide”) (Reply of the Supreme People’s Court to the Request for Instructions on Application for Confirming the Validity of an Arbitration Agreement in the…

Arbitration, Consent, Domestic Courts, obligation to arbitrate, Procedure, Stay of Proceedings, United States, Waiver

(Chinese University of Hong Kong, Faculty of Law)/ /1 Comment
YSIAC

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ordered a fund management committee (‘SBC’) to arbitrate its dispute with Navistar International (‘Navistar’) – at Navistar’s request – despite the fact that Navistar refused SBC’s own request for arbitration, ignored SBC’s formal notice of arbitration, and then litigated SBC’s claim in court for over a year (Art…

International arbitration

(Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP)/ /Leave a comment
YSIAC

Most institutional rules share a common procedural framework for arbitral proceedings—the origins of which are traceable to the first set of ICC Rules in 1922. This skeletal framework broadly describes the lifecycle of the arbitration, and provides for the order of pleadings, constitution of a tribunal, conduct of proceedings, and making of the award, in…

Arbitration, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, ASEAN, Asia-Pacific, Expedited arbitration, International arbitration, Singapore International Arbitration Centre, Statistics

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YSIAC

SIAC ended speculation as to who would succeed Dr Michael Pryles as the next President of the SIAC Court of Arbitration by announcing, at the SIAC Annual Appreciation Event on Monday 2 March 2015, the appointment of Mr Gary Born of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, with effect from 1 April 2015. At…

Argentina, Domestic Courts, ICSID Convention, Investment, Investment Arbitration, United States, vacatur

(Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP)/ /Leave a comment
YSIAC

and Luis Miguel Velarde Saffer Last December, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument on BG Group v Argentina – an appeal from a controversial and much-criticized decision of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. The case arose out of emergency actions taken by the Republic of Argentina in late 2001 in the wake of…

Arbitration, Arbitration Agreements, Asia-Pacific, Dispute resolution clause, Enforcement of an arbitration clause, LCIA Arbitration, Singapore International Arbitration Centre

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YSIAC

In International Research Corp PLC v Lufthansa Systems Asia Pacific Pte Ltd [2012] SGHC 226 (per Chan Seng Onn J) (“International Research”), the Singapore High Court addressed the issue of whether an arbitration clause contained in one contract between two parties binds a third party who subsequently enters into a supplemental agreement with the original…

Asia-Pacific, Enforcement, Hong Kong, Jurisdiction, New York Convention, Singapore International Arbitration Centre

(Norton Rose Fulbright)/ /2 Comments
YSIAC

In Astro Nusantara International BV v PT Ayunda Prima Mitra [2012] SGHC 212, the Singapore High Court set out the available recourse against an international arbitration award made in Singapore. This case has significant implications for Singapore as a seat of arbitration, and this note contrasts the position between Singapore and Hong Kong against the…

Arbitration Agreements, Arbitration Proceedings, Asia-Pacific

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YSIAC

In Shanghai Construction (Group) General Co. Singapore Branch v Tan Poo Seng [2012] SGHCR 10, the Singapore High Court granted a temporary stay of proceedings in exercise of its inherent jurisdiction. The stay was granted on the ground that there was an arbitration which was intended to take place and the outcome of that arbitration…

Asia-Pacific, Confidentiality, Public Policy

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YSIAC

Confidentiality is often a distinguishing reason why users choose arbitration over court litigation. In a 2010 International Arbitration Survey on Choices in International Arbitration, 62% of respondents said confidentiality was very important to them. Last month, a contributor to this blog observed anecdotally that in-house counsel want confidentiality especially in industries in which a dispute…

Arbitration Agreements, Enforcement

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YSIAC

A party who wishes to circumvent an arbitration agreement may sometimes proceed to obtain default judgment from a friendly court and then seek to enforce that judgment, under the common law, as a debt in the courts of the country where the counterparty is located. A recent Singapore decision, Giant Light Metal Technology (Kunshan) Co…

BIT, Umbrella clause

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YSIAC

In a recent award that arguably represents a high-water mark for the operation of an umbrella clause in ICSID jurisprudence thus far, a tribunal comprising Stanimir A. Alexandrov (as President), Donald Francis Donovan and Pablo Garcia Mexia held Paraguay liable to SGS Société Générale de Surveillance S.A. (“SGS”) for failing to pay for services rendered….

Arbitration Act, International arbitration, Jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal

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YSIAC

Following a previous round of amendments in 2009 that came into effect on 1 January 2010, the Singapore Ministry of Law published further proposed amendments to Singapore’s International Arbitration Act (“the IAA”) on 8 March 2012. The proposals took into account views garnered from a public consultation process. There are four key proposals in this…

New York Convention, Set aside an international arbitral award

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YSIAC

If it isn’t pleaded, you can’t consider it. That in a nutshell appears to be the holding established recently by the Singapore High Court in Kempinski Hotels SA v PT Prima International Development [2011] SGHC 171 (“Kempinski”). That case saw the setting aside of three related international arbitration awards on the basis that the tribunal…

Asia-Pacific, Public Policy, Set aside an international arbitral award, Settlement

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YSIAC

At the Herbert Smith Singapore Management University Asian Arbitration Lecture delivered by Michael Hwang SC on 4 August 2011, Hwang SC discussed incisively issues concerning the enforcement of arbitral awards concerning contracts allegedly tainted by corruption. Less than three weeks after that seminal lecture, the Singapore Court of Appeal in AJU v AJT [2011] SGCA…

Arbitration, Arbitration Awards, Asia-Pacific, Enforcement, New York Convention, Set aside an arbitral award

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YSIAC

In Galsworthy Ltd of the Republic of Liberia v Glory of Wealth Shipping Pte Ltd [2010] SGHC 304 (“Galsworthy”), the Singapore High Court held that a losing party to an arbitration seeking to challenge an arbitral award had the “alternative and not cumulative options” of applying to set aside the award, or, applying to set…

Asia-Pacific

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YSIAC

The Singapore Court of Appeal issued a decision recently articulating a principled framework for the arbitrability of insolvency-related claims. It provides useful guidance on when an insolvency-related claim would be considered non-arbitrable under Singapore law. In seeking to strike the delicate balance between its robust pro-arbitration stance and its insolvency regime, the Court’s underlying philosophy…

Arbitration Act, Arbitration Proceedings, Asia-Pacific, English Law, Jurisdiction, UNCITRAL Model Law

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YSIAC

Will a court injunct arbitral proceedings if parties, before an arbitration hearing, allegedly reach a settlement agreement and a dispute subsequently arises over the existence of such an agreement? Is the tribunal functus? Recently, the Singapore High Court in Doshion Ltd v Sembawang Engineers and Constructors Pte Ltd [2011] SGHC 46 (“Doshion”) rightly held that…