Administered Arbitration
Administered Arbitration
General flow of arbitral proceedings
1. Pre-constitution
I. Commencing an arbitration at SIAC:
- Parties have agreed (pre/post-dispute) to refer a dispute to arbitration to be administered by SIAC and/or arbitration in accordance with the SIAC Rules;
- Filing a Notice of Arbitration; and
- Payment of the requisite non-refundable Case Filing Fee.
II. Commencement of Arbitration:
- Date of commencement;
- Estimated maximum costs of arbitration, and advance on costs;
- Filing of Response to Notice of Arbitration;
- Determination of pre-constitution applications by SIAC, such as:
- Consolidation;
- Joinder; and
- Expedited Procedure.
2. Constitution of Tribunal
I. Sole Arbitrator
- Parties have agreed on nominee for sole arbitrator: Rule 9.3 of the SIAC Rules, 2016;
- Parties have not agreed on nominee for sole arbitrator: Rule 10.2 or Rule 12.1 of the SIAC Rules, 2016;
- SIAC will proceed to conduct conflicts check with prospective arbitrator in accordance with the applicable SIAC Rules.
- Prospective arbitrator after returning duly signed [Code/Declaration], will be appointed by the President of SIAC Court.
- Parties to be informed of the appointment of sole arbitrator, and thereby, the constitution of the Tribunal.
II. Three-member Tribunal:
Parties have selected respective nominees for co-arbitrator: Rule 9.3 of the SIAC Rules, 2016;
A party fails to make nomination of co-arbitrator: Rule 11.1 of the SIAC Rules, 2016;
SIAC will proceed to conduct conflicts check with prospective co-arbitrator in accordance with the applicable SIAC Rules.
- Prospective co-arbitrator after returning duly signed [Code/Declaration], will be appointed by the President of SIAC Court.
- Parties to be informed of the appointment of co-arbitrators.
Presiding arbitrator to be nominated and appointed under Rule 9.3, Rule 11.3, or Rule 12.2 of the SIAC Rules, 2016.
3. Post-constitution
I. Conduct of Proceedings:
- Preliminary meeting with the parties under Rule 19.3 of the SIAC Rules, 2016.
II. Applications before Tribunal
- Jurisdiction of the Tribunal under Rule 28 of the SIAC Rules, 2016;
- Early Dismissal of Claims and Defences under Rule 29 of the SIAC Rules, 2016;
- Interim and emergency interim relief under Rule 30 of the SIAC Rules, 2016;
- Additional Powers of the Tribunal under Rule 27 of the SIAC Rules, 2016.
III. Award / Consent Award
- Close of proceedings; and submission of draft award to the Registrar for scrutiny; consent award in the event of parties’ settlement: Rule 32 of the SIAC Rules, 2016.
- Registrar’s determination on the final costs of the arbitration under Rule 34.7 of the SIAC Rules, 2016.
- Correction, interpretation of awards; additional awards: Rule 33 of the SIAC Rules, 2016.
IV. Certification / Authentication of Awards
Under the Singapore International Arbitration Act 1994 and the Singapore Arbitration Act 2001, the Registrar and Deputy Registrar are persons appointed to authenticate any award or arbitration agreement or to certify copies thereof. Please see SIAC’s “Authentication & Certification Service” for more information on this process.
Administered Arbitration
Types and Quantum in dispute
Speed of proceedings
Level of complexity
Languages
Expert Tribunal/Arbitrators
Cost Effectiveness/Transparency on Costs
Enforceability of Awards
Types and Quantum in dispute
- SIAC administers a wide range of disputes, including, among others, corporate and commercial, trade and investment, construction/engineering, shipping/maritime, insurance, intellectual property, and banking and finance.
- SIAC has been handling cases with a wide range of quantum in dispute, there is no minimum or maximum amount in dispute for cases to be administered by SIAC.
Speed of proceedings
- The mean duration of cases at SIAC is 13.8 months, and the median duration is 11.7 months. Please see the SIAC Costs and Duration Study for a more detailed breakdown on duration. Please note that these are aggregate figures which may not be representative of the duration of any particular case. The actual duration of any case will depend on, among other factors, the number of arbitrators, total amount in dispute, complexity, schedule for submissions, interlocutory applications, discovery, factual witnesses and/or expert witnesses, hearing days and the respective calendars of parties and the Tribunal.
- Emergency Arbitration – within 1 day of acceptance of application to appoint emergency arbitrator; within 14 days of appointment of emergency arbitrator to issue interim order / award (unless the Registrar extends the time under the applicable Rules)
- Expedited Procedure – within 6 months upon constitution of tribunal to issue final award in arbitration (unless the Registrar extends the time under the applicable Rules)
- Standard Track – averaging within 14 months to conclude proceedings and issue award
Level of complexity
- SIAC Rules are designed to provide a state-of-the-art procedural framework for efficient, expert and enforceable resolution of international disputes of all sizes and complexities involving parties from diverse legal systems and cultures.
- Less complex disputes may be decided on basis of documentary evidence only.
Languages
- The SIAC Court and Secretariat has fluency in English as well as Bahasa Indonesia, Chinese, French, Georgian, Hindi, Nepali, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese, among others. If the arbitration agreement so requires, SIAC is generally able to administer the case in languages other than English. Where necessary, parties may be asked to provide translations of documents.
Expert Tribunal/Arbitrators
- SIAC’s Panel of Arbitrators is comprised of experienced, qualified and well-known arbitrators from over 40 jurisdictions, being proficient and experienced in the areas of Energy, Engineering, Procurement and Construction. SIAC also maintains a specialist Panel of Arbitrators for Intellectual Property Disputes.
- To develop the next generation of arbitrators and for the purpose of keeping costs down on lower value disputes, SIAC also has a ‘Reserve Panel’ of younger arbitrators from which the President may make an appointment in appropriate circumstances.
Cost Effectiveness/Transparency on Costs
- Arbitrations at SIAC operate on an ad valorem system, in which the costs of the arbitration are generally based on the value of the claim.
- When an arbitration is first commenced, SIAC will estimate the maximum costs of the arbitration based on the total value of the claim(s) and counterclaim(s) in the arbitration proceedings in accordance with the SIAC Schedule of Fees. SIAC will then call for deposits based on these estimated maximum costs of the arbitration. The actual costs of the arbitration are only determined at the end of the arbitration proceedings based on a proportion of the estimated maximum costs of arbitration.
- Parties may wish to use SIAC’s online Fee Calculator to arrive at an approximation of the costs of arbitration. Parties may alternatively consult SIAC’s Schedule of Fees to calculate the maximum costs of arbitration.
Enforceability of Awards
- Awards in SIAC arbitrations are generally enforceable outside Singapore. SIAC and Singapore awards have been enforced in various jurisdictions, including Australia, China, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, UK and USA.
- Further, there is enforceability of Singapore-issued arbitral awards in more than 160 countries through the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York, 1958) (New York Convention) (subject to any local/domestic legislation and/or requirements).
- Additionally, pursuant to Rule 32.3 of the SIAC Rules 2016, prior to making any award, the Tribunal is required to submit the award in draft form to the Registrar. The Registrar may suggest modifications to the form of the award and, without affecting the Tribunal’s liberty of decision, may also draw the Tribunal’s attention to points of substance. No award shall be made by a Tribunal until it has been approved by the Registrar as to its form.
- Fee Calculator to arrive at an approximation of the costs of arbitration. Parties may alternatively consult SIAC’s Schedule of Fees to calculate the maximum costs of arbitration.
