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…

Ms Lucy Reed is a full-time arbitrator and a Visiting Professor at National University of Singapore.  Previously, she was the Co-Head of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s Global International Arbitration Group.  Her prior experience includes acting as the US Agent to the Iran-US Claims Tribunal and as General Counsel of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (“KEDO”). …

Introduction In the past few years, there has been a visible focus on ensuring diversity, especially in terms of gender, in international arbitration (IA). This engagement has, arguably, assumed the most prominent or tangible form in respect of arbitrator appointments, which has been previously discussed here and here. One of the most significant steps taken…

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…

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…

In CBS v CBP [2021] SGCA 4 the Singapore Court of Appeal upheld the High Court’s ruling in CBP v CBS [2020] SGHC 23, being a rare example of the Singapore Courts setting aside an award. The arbitrator’s decision not to allow a hearing for oral witness evidence was found to be a breach of…

In December 2020, Singapore International Arbitration Centre (“SIAC”) launched its representative office in New York. In April 2021, SIAC announced in its Annual Report 2020 that United States (“US”) parties accounted for 545 of the approximately total 1,000 new cases filed in 2020. We, as Associate Editors for Southeast Asia and North America, are pleased…

Today is the last day of 2020. For most of us, 2020 has been a particularly unusual year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prompted by necessity, arbitration in Southeast Asia adapted to the sea-change by: (i) using technology for virtual hearings, events and to build on existing diversity initiatives, (ii) developing domestic arbitration case law…

On 5-6 November 2020, reputable arbitration practitioners joined together for the 9th Asia Pacific ADR Conference and shared their experiences and insights on the latest developments in the arbitration landscape. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the annual conference took place virtually. It successfully attracted approximately 15,000 participants across 50 countries. The event was co-hosted…

Since COVID-19, virtually everything that can be moved online has been moved online. The Singapore International Arbitration Centre (“SIAC”)’s flagship event, SIAC Congress, is no exception and as such, it was most befitting that the motion of the debate was “This House believes that Virtual Hearings are just as effective as In-Person Hearings“. The debate…

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. …

The allocation of pre-award interest is a standard feature of most international arbitration proceedings and is often contested before a tribunal. The complexity is accentuated when a tribunal is unable to render a timely award for procedural reasons beyond its own control and beyond the parties’ control. The delay caused by the rescheduling of evidentiary…

Background There is much public discourse on the impact of the ongoing pandemic on international arbitrations. Commentators and scholars have provided perspectives on how to navigate and find safe harbours in the uncharted waters of COVID-19. In the “new normal” of wide-ranging travel advisories and restrictions, there is an emerging consensus to better integrate the…

Introduction Rule 29 of the 2016 SIAC Rules (“SIAC Rules”) introduced a procedure for enabling an ‘early’ dismissal of claims and defences. Rule 29 is akin to summary judgment and striking out in common law courts. It is aimed at allowing a tribunal to dismiss patently unmeritorious claims and defences without having to conduct full-fledged…

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,…

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…

In this post, I will compare and discuss the expedited procedure rules (“EP Rules”) used by various arbitral institutions in deciding on a default number of arbitrator(s) for such expedited procedure. A core concern of Article V(1)(d) of the New York Convention is how to weigh between party autonomy and institutional control in arbitration proceedings….

As worldwide competition amongst arbitral institutions continues, the Europe-based arbitral institutions have, thus far, been able to defend their strong market position. Currently, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), with its base in Paris, continues to stand out globally as the most preferred institution by a significant margin (77%). It is followed by the London…

Emergency arbitrator (“EA”) applications are fast gaining popularity among both arbitral institutions and international arbitration users. EA provisions were first introduced in the 2010 SIAC Rules to address the need for emergency interim relief before a tribunal is constituted, and many arbitral institutions have adopted relatively similar EA procedures over the past decade. For example,…

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…

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…

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…

On 30 October 2017, the ICC Court announced yet another measure to tackle the twin problems of time and costs in arbitration, through the immediate disposition of manifestly unmeritorious claims commonly known as summary determination. The ICC Court implemented this measure in the form of an update to its Practice Note to Parties and Arbitral…

The complexity of M&A In recent years there has been an increase in M&A disputes. These are often complex because the underlying dispute can involve complicated business transactions between big companies that merge, are acquired, or form a joint venture. And more importantly, they can have a significant impact on the market (for example, the…