Singapore arbitration update

This update considers recent statistics released by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre ("SIAC"). We also examine recent and pending events affecting Singapore, some developments in international arbitration law from France that could affect parties operating in the region, and review the latest arbitration-related caselaw.

SIAC Statistical Report

SIAC has published a statistical report covering 2010.

The Centre handled 198 cases in 2010, up from 160 in 2009. Of these, 166 were administered by SIAC.

20 cases (including a number of linked claims) included a request for the new Expedited Procedure introduced in the 2010 rules. 12 of these were accepted, in the majority of cases on the basis that the amount in dispute was under S$5m. Two cases also involved the appointment of an Emergency Arbitrator under the new procedure also introduced in the 2010 rules revision.

Singapore had the highest number of parties to cases by nationality (107), although 42 of the Singapore parties were in fact local subsidiaries of multi-national companies based outside Singapore. The remainder of the top ten comprised India (35), Hong Kong (23), Indonesia (22), Vietnam (15), Malaysia (14), China and the USA (13 each), Korea (12) and Japan (11).

The total amount claimed across all cases was S$1.35bn, down slightly from S$1.54bn in 2009 and S$1.6bn in 2008.

The largest number of cases handled were in the trade/commercial sector (105 cases compared with 53 in 2009). A dramatic increase which undoubtedly reflects the difficult worldwide market conditions of 2008 and 2009.

Maxwell Chambers, Singapore's arbitration centre, also recently announced that it dealt with 120 cases in 2010, an increase from 46 in 2009. The cases handled included the first hearing in Singapore administered by the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes ("ICSID"), as well as a number of cases from other foreign arbitral institutions, including the ICC.

Herbert Smith-SMU Asian Arbitration Lecture

Herbert Smith will sponsor the second annual Herbert Smith-SMU Asian Arbitration Lecture in Singapore on 4 August 2011. Details of the speaker and topic will be available in due course. The 2010 inaugural lecture was given by Bernard Hanotiau on the topic "International Arbitration in a Global Economy: the Challenges of the Future". Bernard Hanotiau's text will be published in the April 2011 issue of the Journal of International Arbitration.

Global Arbitration News: France

By a decree dated 13 January 2011, France enacted a reform of its domestic and international arbitration law. This will be of interest to any regular user of international arbitration given the prominence of Paris as an arbitral seat. The reform makes two particularly noteworthy changes:

• The need for any formal requirement (such as writing) for an arbitration agreement in international arbitration has been removed.
   
  • By contrast, although Singapore's International Arbitration Act (the "IAA") expanded the definition of "arbitration agreement" on 1 January 2010 to include electronic communications, including email, there remains a requirement that the arbitration agreement must be in writing.
     
• The French reform also provides that, in international arbitration, the parties may waive the right to apply to the courts to set aside the award, which previously was not possible. The option of a losing party to resist enforcement would however remain.
   
  • In Singapore, section 24 of the IAA allows for the courts to set aside an arbitral award on certain grounds, in addition to those set out in Article 34 of the Model Law. There is no provision for the parties to waive such right.

The reforms will come into force on 1 May 2011. Full details of the developments can be found here

Arbitration-related caselaw

Summaries of the most important recent decisions of the Singapore courts can be found here