Singapore Court of Appeal rules that arbitral award should not be reopened despite alleged conflict with public policy

The Singapore Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court judgment setting aside an arbitral tribunal’s decision on public policy grounds. The tribunal had found that a settlement agreement entered into between the parties was legal and enforceable. The High Court set aside the arbitral tribunal’s decision on the basis that the settlement agreement was illegal and, by enforcing the illegal agreement, the tribunal breached the public policy of Singapore. The Court of Appeal ruled that the alleged conflict with Singapore’s public policy did not entitle the High Court to re-open the arbitral tribunal’s findings of fact and overturned the High Court’s ruling.  Please click here to read our post on our Arbitration blog.