Asia-Pacific

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

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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

(Sidley Austin LLP) and (Allen & Overy LLP)/ /Leave a comment
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…

Arbitration, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Asia, Asia-Pacific, Institutional Arbitration, Institutional Rules, Intellectual Property, Intellectual Property Rights, International arbitration, KCAB, Korea, South Korea

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In recent years, there has been a significant increase in IP cross-border disputes, including in non-traditional sectors. The Korean Commercial Arbitration Board (“KCAB”), which is the sole arbitral institution in Korea that is statutorily authorized to settle disputes under the Korean Arbitration Act, has experienced a gradual increase in IP-related cases. This article aims to…

Asia, Asia-Pacific, California, California International Arbitration Week, HKIAC, SIAC

(Miles Mediation & Arbitration)/ /Leave a comment

On 15 March 2023, as part of California International Arbitration Week, California Arbitration and California Lawyers Association ADR Subcommittee organized an interactive event titled ‘Opportunities and New Trends in the US to Asia-Pacific Practice,’ hosted by King & Spalding. The session was moderated by Cedric Chao (Principal, Chao ADR, PC), and featured as speakers Gloria…

ACICA, Arbitral Appointments, Arbitrators, Asia-Pacific, Australia, Australian Arbitration Week, CIArb, Diversity, Interviews with Our Editors

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Caroline Kenny KC is a barrister, mediator, and arbitrator. She has over 30 years’ experience in commercial disputes. In 2008 she was appointed as King’s Counsel and has since been recognised as a Chartered Arbitrator – the only female Chartered Arbitrator in Australia. Caroline’s arbitration experience therefore spans across various roles within international commercial arbitration…

Arbitral Appointments, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Asia-Pacific, Interviews with Our Editors, New Zealand, Statistics, UNCITRAL Model Law

(Wynn Williams)/ /Leave a comment

Nicole Smith is the Vice-President of the Arbitrators’ and Mediators’ Institute of New Zealand (AMINZ), the leading membership organisation for dispute resolution specialists in New Zealand. In addition to her work with AMINZ, Nicole is also a barrister at Mauao Legal Chambers specialising in commercial litigation and arbitration. Dual qualified in New Zealand and England…

Asia-Pacific, California, California International Arbitration Week, Japan, Japan Commercial Arbitration Association

(California State Polytechnic University-Pomona) and (University of Glasgow)/ /Leave a comment

On 14 March 2022, the first day of the inaugural California International Arbitration Week, the Japan Commercial Arbitration Association (“JCAA”) hosted a webinar on the rising waves of arbitration in Japan and California. The session was moderated by Kazuhiko Nishihara (Secretary General, Japan International Mediation Center in Kyoto), and featured speakers Yoshinori Tatsuno (Partner, Mori…

Asia-Pacific, California, California International Arbitration Week, Technology, United States

(California State Polytechnic University-Pomona) and (University of Glasgow)/ /Leave a comment

On the third day of the Inaugural California International Arbitration Week, Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Center (“SVAMC”) held a webinar on the locus of international disputes. The focus of the session was the shifting seat of international disputes, as arbitration’s centre of gravity is steadily advancing to the Pacific. This westward (from a United…

ACICA, Arbitral seat, Asia-Pacific, Australia, Uncategorized

(Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA)) and (Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA) )/ /1 Comment
ACICA 45

Efficiency in arbitration is an area that is discussed so often it almost feels inefficient to discuss it. Indeed, when the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA) (in conjunction with FTI Consulting, and with the support of the Australian Bar Association, Francis Burt Chambers and the WA Arbitration Initiative) launched the results of the…

Arbitration clause, Asia-Pacific, Cross-border transactions, Financial Agreements, Financial Industry, Financial Services Arbitration, HKIAC, ICC, International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Self-help remedies, SIAC

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In my previous post in September 2018, I discussed certain trends in the negotiation of arbitration provisions in derivatives documentation. I mentioned at the outset that the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (“ISDA”) had by then already provided detailed guidance on the use of arbitration clauses in the 2013 ISDA Arbitration Guide. A year on,…

Arbitration, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Asia, Asia-Pacific, Energy

(White & Case LLP)/ /Leave a comment
Academic Council, Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

The ITA-IEL-ICC Joint Conference on International Energy Arbitration was held in Singapore in September, examining the future of international energy disputes in the region. There was a focus on the client perspective, with insights from a variety of speakers. The range of participants and speakers was impressive, with practitioners, in-house counsel and institution representatives covering…

Arbitral seat, Asia-Pacific, Belt Road Initiative, China, Hong Kong, ICC

(Queen's University Faculty of Law)/ /2 Comments

After facing one of the largest protests in the city’s history on June 9, and then repeated protest and clashes with police last Wednesday, the Hong Kong government suspended efforts to pass its extradition bill. The bill would have required the city’s judges to extradite criminal suspects to Mainland China with minimal safeguards and facilitated…

Arbitral seat, Asia-Pacific, China, Hong Kong, Interim measures, interim relief, Singapore, South Korea

(Kim & Chang) and / /1 Comment

Introduction On 2 April 2019, the Supreme People’s Court and the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region announced the signature of the “Arrangement Concerning Mutual Assistance in Court-ordered Interim Measures in Aid of Arbitral Proceedings by the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region” (“Arrangement”). This announcement as…

Asia, Asia-Pacific, Efficiency, HK Arbitration Week, Hong Kong

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The week-long series of events for Hong Kong Arbitration Week 2018 kicked off with a seminar hosted by Latham & Watkins entitled “Ensuring Efficiency in International Arbitration  Proceedings: Tips for Asian Users”. The seminar consisted of two roundtable discussions with practitioners and professionals in the field of international arbitration. The first roundtable featured Mr. Bernard…

Arbitral seat, Arbitration, Asia-Pacific, Australia

(University of Sydney & Williams Trade Law) and (Universiti Brunei Darussalam & University of Sydney)/ /1 Comment

With some fanfare, on the sidelines of the ICCA Congress hosted in Sydney over 15-18 April, the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) unveiled a glossy brochure entitled “Australia’s Capability in International Commercial Arbitration”. This blog posting explains its key contents, identifying both convincing and unconvincing aspects. Our later blog posting will compare Japan as…

Asia-Pacific, Japan, Trans-Pacific Partnership, Treaty

(Waseda University)/ /2 Comments

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) was signed by 11 of the original TPP Partners on 8 March 2018 in Santiago, Chile. After the United States announced its withdrawal from the original TPP on 23 January 2017,1) The announcement made it clear that the United States was not ‘obliged to refrain from…

Arbitration, Arbitration institution, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Asia, Asia-Pacific, Australia, Dispute Resolution

(Corrs Chambers Westgarth)/ /1 Comment
Young ICCA

Overview In 2015, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria highlighted the importance of positioning Australia as one of the next significant regional commercial hubs. Her Honour reiterated this position in a 2017 speech. Interestingly, similar, yet more subtle, comments were featured in a speech in 2009. Other Australian courts have made similar…

Asia-Pacific, Australia, Construction arbitration, Islamic Finance Disputes, Malaysia, Seat of the arbitration, Shari‘a, South Korea

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Herbert Smith Freehills

Singapore and Hong Kong are now considered to be amongst the top arbitration seats in the world, rivalling the long-established seats of London, Paris and Geneva. Perpetuating their dominance in the region, parties to contracts in the Asia-Pacific often choose either of these seats by default with no consideration of alternatives. This is underpinned, to…

Arbitration, ASEAN, Asia, Asia-Pacific, Australia, foreign direct investment, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, Trans-Pacific Partnership

(University of Sydney)/ /Leave a comment

Recent developments in the international investment scene have also impacted the Asian region. Notably, China and Southeast Asia have emerged not just as growing foreign direct investment (FDI) recipients but also as major sources of outbound FDI. In parallel, the Asian region experienced a proliferation in international investment agreements (IIAs). Asian countries were initially hesitant…

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

(Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP )/ /Leave a comment
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…

Actual expenditure, Ad hoc arbitration, Arbitral Tribunal, Arbitration, Arbitration Proceedings, Arbitrators, ASEAN, Asia, Asia-Pacific, Best practices, Bias, BIT, China, CIETAC, Code of Ethics, Commercial Arbitration, Confidentiality and Transparency, Conflicts of interest, Costs in arbitral proceedings, Disclosure, Ethics, Hong Kong, IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest, ICSID Arbitration, Independence and Impartiality, International arbitration, Investment Arbitration, ISDS, PRC, Security for Costs, Third party funding

(Norton Rose Fulbright LLP) and (Fangda Partners)/ /Leave a comment
YIAG

Introduction On 23 May 2016, CIETAC’s Hong Kong Arbitration Center (CIETAC HKAC) issued for public consultation draft Guidelines for third party funding (the draft Guidelines). Third party funding (TPF) is a hot topic in Hong Kong. The draft Guidelines come in the wake of recent initiatives to clarify the law on TPF in the territory,…

Asia-Pacific, Commercial Arbitration, Domestic Courts, Enforcement, International arbitration, Investment Arbitration, Recognition and enforcement of arbitral award, Singapore, Singapore International Commercial Court

(Mayer Brown LLP)/ /Leave a comment

and Paul Tan, Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP Short answer: Yes for some actions, but not all. Here is why. The Singapore International Commercial Court (“SICC”) was launched in January 2015 and provides litigants with the benefits of court proceedings and international arbitration without the constraints and setbacks of either option. Thus far, murmurs of…

Ad hoc arbitration, ASEAN, Asia-Pacific, Thailand

(DLA Piper)/ /Leave a comment

Ad hoc arbitration, in which the proceedings are administered by the disputing parties, their counsel and the arbitral tribunal without the involvement of an arbitral institution, can perhaps seem a daunting prospect in any jurisdiction. Thailand has arbitral institutions on hand to provide their services — including the well-established Thai Arbitration Institute (“TAI“) and the…

Arbitral seat, Asia-Pacific, Cambodia, International arbitration, National Commercial Arbitration Centre of the Kingdom of Cambodia

(Fangda Partners)/ /1 Comment

The National Commercial Arbitration Centre of the Kingdom of Cambodia (“NCAC”) was conceived in 2006, when Cambodia’s Commercial Arbitration Law entered into force. The initiative to create the centre surfaced as a part of Cambodia’s attempt to attract foreign investment on the one hand and to offer a viable alternative to domestic litigation to local…