Happy New Year from all of us at SIAC and best wishes for a happy, healthy and successful 2023.
As we welcome the new year, we look back fondly at some of the key highlights of 2022.
1. Inaugural SIAC Symposium
In August 2022, the inaugural SIAC Symposium was held in conjunction with the Singapore Convention Week. This was the first large scale in-person conference SIAC has held since the pandemic.
Co-developed in discussion with the YSIAC, and conceived to be a blend between SIAC’s Congress and the YSIAC Conference, the SIAC Symposium 2022 brought together members of the judiciary, distinguished members of the SIAC Board and SIAC Court of Arbitration, as well as other eminent members and experts from the international arbitration community.
Special highlights of the Symposium programme included a Ministerial Q&A Session with Mr K Shanmugam, SC, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law, Singapore, which was moderated by Ms Lucy Reed, President, SIAC Court of Arbitration, a welcome address delivered by Mr Davinder Singh, SC, Chairman of SIAC, as well as a plenary session titled “International Arbitration – Charting the Next Lap”.
Minister K Shanmugam, SC at the SIAC Symposium 2022.
The panellists for the plenary session were The Honourable Justice Kannan Ramesh, Judge of the Supreme Court of Singapore; the Honourable Justice Philip Jeyaretnam, Judge of the Supreme Court of Singapore; SIAC Court President, Ms Lucy Reed; as well as SIAC Court Members, Professor Lawrence Boo, and Mr Darius Khambata, SC. The plenary session was moderated by SIAC Court Vice President, Mr Toby Landau KC.
Left to right: Professor Lawrence Boo, Justice Kannan Ramesh, Justice Philip Jeyaretnam, Ms
Lucy Reed, Mr Darius J. Khambata, SC at the SIAC Symposium 2022.
The plenary session was followed by panel discussions on “Ethics in International Arbitration: A Legal Quagmire?”, which included SIAC Court Members, Ms Funke Adekoya San and Prof Benjamin F. Hughes, a Lunch Conversation titled “Generations in Arbitration – Observations on Building an Arbitration Practice Then and Now”, a “Townhall on the SIAC Rules Revision” involving SIAC Court Members Mr John Bang, Mr Chan Leng Sun, SC, Ms Karina Goldberg, Professor Bernard Hanotiau and Mr Thomas R. Snider, as well as an ArbxTalk and panel discussion titled “The Brave New World: International Arbitration and Web 3.0 – the Metaverse, Cryptocurrency and NFT Disputes”involving industry experts and practitioners in the field.
Left to right: Mr John P. Bang, Professor Bernard Hanotiau, Mr Chan Leng Sun, SC,
Ms Karina Goldberg and Mr Thomas Snider at the SIAC Symposium 2022.
2. New Co-General Editor for the Asian International Arbitration Journal
In 2022, SIAC Court President, Ms Lucy Reed, joined Professor Lawrence Boo, SIAC Court member, as General Editors of the Asian International Arbitration Journal (AIAJ).
The AIAJ which commenced publication in 2005, is published by Wolters Kluwer, and seeks to be the thought leader on issues in international arbitration in the Asia-Pacific region by providing a forum for original thinking and incisive analysis. The journal carries articles, notes on awards, legislation updates and book reviews.
AIAJ, Volume 18, Number 1, 2022.
The latest edition of the AIAJ includes articles analysing the arbitration reforms in China, the enforcement of arbitral awards in South Korea, disclosure and challenge of arbitrators under the Indian Model BIT, the ‘Group of Companies’ Doctrine in Cox Kings v. SAP India, and the enforcement of foreign awards against non-signatories in Gemini Bay Transcription Pvt Ltd. v. Integrated Sales Service Ltd.
3. Reorganisation of the SIAC Secretariat
In 2022 the SIAC Secretariat was reorganised and restructured to introduce new supervisory levels and a team structure. SIAC also strengthened its Secretariat workforce with eight hires in the past year and the Secretariat is now comprised of 15 international arbitration lawyers who are qualified in 13 jurisdictions.
4. Reorganisation of the Business Development Team to Strategy & Development Group and Growth of Representative Offices
In 2022, the Business Development department at SIAC was re-designated as the Strategy & Development Group, and was expanded to include a specialised Knowledge Management team to support content development for SIAC’s programmes, as well as engage in market research and insights. Our new colleagues who joined the Strategy & Development Group are:
- Ms Swati Jhaveri, Knowledge Management Consultant, who is qualified in England & Wales and Hong Kong;
- Mr Clement Lin, Manager (Legal), Knowledge Management;
- Ms Jazmeen Kaur, Manager (Legal), Strategy & Development, who is qualified in Singapore;
- Ms Hannah Wee, Manager (Legal), Strategy & Development, who is qualified in New Zealand; and
- Mr Kenneth Lim, Manager (Events), Strategy & Development.
SIAC Deputy Centre Director, Ms Michelle Chiam, was re-designated as Director, Strategy & Development.
Our Representative Offices also saw new additions. In July, Ms Vanessa Shen, Business Development Manager (China), Strategy & Development joined Mr Cunyuan Zhang, Head (China), at the SIAC China Representative Office in Shanghai, while in December, Ms Steffi Mary Punnose, Strategy & Development Manager (South Asia), Strategy & Development joined Ms Shwetha Bidhuri, Head (South Asia), at the SIAC South Asia Representative Office in India.
5. SIAC Academy course and expansion of partner universities for the SIAC and Institutional Arbitration Module
The vision of the SIAC Academy is to nurture and develop future generations of international arbitration experts by providing practical, skills-based arbitration training programmes.
In 2022, three new SIAC Academy courses were launched, the Investment Arbitration 101: A Primer course as well as Parts 1 and 2 of the Specialist Arbitration Series courses focusing on Construction Arbitrations and Energy, Oil & Gas Arbitrations respectively.
Left to right: Lecturers Ms Abby Cohen Smutny, Dr Claudia Annacker, Mr Nigel Blackaby
KC, Mr Philippe Pinsolle, Mr Salim Moollan KC, Mr Albert Marsman and Ms Charis Tan,
at the SIAC Academy – Investment Arbitration 101: A Primer course.
In addition, four other courses, a Review of Key Arbitration Developments and Decisions in 2021: Singapore and United Kingdom seminar, an Arbitration 101: Understanding the International Arbitration Legal Framework course, a Practicum on Discovery and Document Production in International Arbitration, as well as a Tribunal Secretaries in International Arbitration training course were also held.
Left to Right: Lecturers Ms Deborah Barker, SC, Mr Tan Chuan Thye, SC, Mr Stuart Isaacs
KC and Ms Anneliese Day KC, at the SIAC Academy “Review of Key Arbitration
Developments and Decisions in 2021: Singapore and United Kingdom” seminar.
Left to right: Lecturers Mr Timothy Cooke, Mr Tomas Furlong, Mr Samuel Chacko, Mr
Aditya Singh, Ms Margaret Joan Ling, Ms Gerui Lim, and Mr Rohit Bhat, at the SIAC
Academy – Arbitration 101: Understanding the International Arbitration Legal
Framework course.
The SIAC Academy Annual lecture, which is in its second year, featured Dr Michael Hwang, SC, who delivered a lecture on “Can and Should the rule in Browne v. Dunn apply to International Arbitration?”
Left to Right: Dr Michael Hwang, SC, Mr Kabir Singh, Prof Darius Chan, Ms Julie
Raneda at the SIAC Academy Annual Lecture 2022.
The SIAC and Institutional Arbitration Module (SIAC Module), which introduces participants to the role and function of arbitral institutions in guiding and shaping the practice and development of international arbitration, and to the complex issues that arbitral institutions face in the administration of arbitrations, continued to be conducted in collaboration with leading law schools in Singapore and in the region in 2022.
In 2022, the SIAC Module was conducted for the first time at Thammasat University, Faculty of Law in Bangkok, Thailand. The course convenor for the module was SIAC Court Member, Professor Lawrence Boo. SIAC Court member, Dr Claudia Annacker, also served as one of the lecturers.
The SIAC Module was also conducted for the fifth year running, at the National University of Singapore law faculty, and for the second year running, at the law faculty of the Singapore Management University. SIAC Chairman, Mr Davinder Singh, SC, served as one of the lecturers in both modules.
SIAC Board and Court members, leading international arbitration practitioners and arbitrators, as well as the SIAC Secretariat served as lecturers in the SIAC Academy courses and SIAC Modules, and contributed to curriculum development with their valuable input and suggestions with particular thanks to SIAC Court Member Mr Alan Thambiayah and members of the SIAC Academy Audit Panel comprising SIAC Court President, Ms Lucy Reed, and SIAC Court Members, Professor Lawrence Boo, Mr Chan Leng Sun, SC and Dr Claudia Annacker.
6. SIAC International Arbitration Events and Webinars, Partnerships, and Representative Office Activities
SIAC organised a total of 32 events and webinars in 2022, with participants tuning in globally across different time zones and in-person events in Bangkok, Beijing, Delhi, Dubai, Mumbai, Seoul, Shanghai and Singapore.
These included joint webinars and events organised with various partner organisations, including the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Singapore Branch (CIArb), Chulalongkorn Faculty of Law (CHULA Law), Madrid International Arbitration Centre (MIAC), NUS Centre for International Law (CIL), Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC), Thailand Arbitration Center (THAC), Universitas Katolik Parahyangan Faculty of Law (UNPAR), and University of Malaya, Faculty of Law (UM). The SIAC-CHULA and SIAC-UNPAR university online public lectures were delivered respectively by SIAC Deputy Chairman, Mr Chong Yee Leong, and SIAC Court Member, Mr Bernard Hanotiau, and the SIAC-UM university lecture was delivered by SIAC Court Member, Mr Chan Leng Sun, SC. An in-person event was also organised during Dubai Arbitration Week, where SIAC Court Member, Mr Thomas Snider, spoke.
Left to right: Mr Eri Hertiawan, Mr Kia Jeng Koh, Ms Nira Nazarudin and Mr
Anthony Cheah Nicholls at the SIAC Indonesia Webinar – Strategies and Practical
Tips for Effective Enforcement of Arbitral Awards.
Discussion topics at these webinars and events included topical issues on the effective enforcement of arbitral awards, the future of energy arbitration, due process in international arbitration, the reform of investor-State dispute settlement in ASEAN, the interplay between common law and civil law traditions in international arbitration, strategies for negotiating contracts and resolving disputes, an inside look at SIAC case administration, as well as the challenges and opportunities in international arbitration.
SIAC also conducted training workshops for members of the judiciary and government agencies from various jurisdictions.
In 2022, SIAC entered into MOUs with, among others (mentioned in the updates on Representative Office Activities below), the Madrid International Arbitration Centre (MIAC), and National Commercial Arbitration Centre in Cambodia (NCAC).
SIAC Overseas Representative Offices
The SIAC Overseas Representative Offices based in India, Korea, USA and China have had a busy year in 2022.
South Asia
SIAC’s South Asia office based in India organised the SIAC India Conferences in Mumbai in June and in Delhi in November, and a special South Asia Webinar in April featuring leading practitioners from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Minister Edwin Tong, SC, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Law, Singapore, graced the SIAC Delhi Conference and participated in a dialogue session, which was moderated by SIAC Court member, Mr Darius Khambata, SC.
SIAC also participated in the India ADR week in October and held a joint session with the Singapore International Mediation Centre.
Members of the Indian judiciary, leading international arbitration practitioners and SIAC Board and Court members, including Mr Davinder Singh, SC, Mr Chong Yee Leong, Mr Rajiv Luthra, Mr Siraj Omar, SC, Mr Toby Landau, KC, Mr Darius Khambata, SC, Mr Tejas Karia, and Ms Shaneen Parikh participated in SIAC India Conferences.
Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Minister Edwin Tong, SC at the SIAC Annual India
Conference, Delhi
Left to right: Mr Bharat Chugh, Mr Lomesh Kiran Nidumuri, Ms Pallavi Shroff, Mr Toby Landau KC
Justice Indu Malhotra, Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed, Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi SA and Mr Ritin Rai SA at the
SIAC Annual India Conference, Delhi.
On the sidelines of the SIAC India Conference in Delhi, SIAC also entered into an MOU with the Federation Of Indian Corporate Lawyers (FICL).
Left to right: Mr Rohan Sharma, Ms Gloria Lim, Mr Kevin Nash, Mr S B Mitra and Mr Ashok
Sharma at the signing ceremony of the MOU between the Federation of Indian Corporate
Lawyers (FICL) and SIAC.
In June and November, Ms Gloria Lim, SIAC CEO, Mr Kevin Nash, SIAC Registrar, Ms Shwetha Bidhuri, Head (South Asia) and Deputy Counsel, Mr Pranav Budihal and Mr Rishabh Malaviya participated in various meetings and roundtable discussions with practitioners and in-house counsel in Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai.
In India, Ms Bidhuri was invited to speak at various events, including GAR Connect India, Economic Times Disputes Conclave, and Young Arbitral Women Local Chatter. She also lectured for international arbitration courses at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Jindal Global Law School, Delhi, NALSAR Hyderabad and Rashtriya Raksha University, Ahmedabad, and judged the finals of an International Arbitration Moot competition hosted by the National Law School of India University, Bangalore.
China
In 2022, the SIAC China Representative Office organised four SIAC/YSIAC events conducted in Mandarin, targeted at the Chinese arbitration community.
In September, the SIAC China Representative Office and the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) organised the SIAC-CIETAC Joint Conference in Beijing during the China Arbitration Week, and in November, the SIAC China Representative Office and the Shanghai International Arbitration Centre (SHIAC) organised the SIAC-SHIAC Joint Conference during Shanghai Arbitration Week. SIAC Court Members Prof Lawrence Boo, Mr Lijun Cao and Ms Jessica Fei, SIAC CEO Ms Gloria Lim, experienced practitioners, arbitrators, in-house counsel, representatives of arbitration institutions and scholars from mainland China, Hong Kong SAR and Singapore spoke and participated in the two joint events. Mr Cunyuan Zhang, Head (China), was invited to speak and participate in other events and panels during China Arbitration Week and Shanghai Arbitration Week.
2022 SIAC-SHIAC Conference
In December, the SIAC China Representative Office organised the YSIAC Shanghai Workshop and YSIAC Beijing Conference, with the support of the YSIAC Committee Members based in China, Mr Yuxian Zhao, Mr David Gu and Ms Vicky Zhao.
In 2022, SIAC entered into respective MOUs with the Chongqing Yuzhong District People’s Government, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Hangzhou Committee and the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law (SHUPL).
Left to right: Mr Cunyuan Zhang and Mr Deng Guanghuai at the signing
ceremony of the MOU between the Yuzhong District People’s Government
Chongqing Municipality and SIAC.
North East Asia
With borders reopening in 2022, SIAC’s North East Asia office based in Seoul organised several in-person engagements in Korea and Japan.
In July, SIAC’s North East Asia office hosted a lecture in Seoul by the SIAC Court President, Ms Lucy Reed. Ms Reed discussed due process in international arbitration and was joined by SIAC Court Member Dr Eun Young Park for a discussion following the lecture.
SIAC CEO, Ms Gloria Lim, joined Ms Reed in Seoul and SIAC’s North East Asia office hosted several events, including a roundtable discussion with Korean in-house counsel (co-organised with the Korea In-House Counsel Association); a closed-door discussion with senior arbitration practitioners in Korea and SIAC’s Korea-based Court members Dr Eun Young Park, Mr John Bang, and Mr Benjamin Hughes; and a networking event organised jointly by YSIAC and KCAB Next. Ms Reed also gave the keynote address at a breakfast briefing on commercial dispute resolution hosted by the British Chamber of Commerce in Korea and the Singapore Chamber of Commerce in Korea.
Ms Lucy Reed at the SIAC Lecture in Seoul
SIAC also entered into a MOU with the In-House Counsel Forum of Korea (IHCF), Korea’s largest in-house counsel association, to strengthen ties to the Korean business community. The MOU was signed by SIAC CEO, Ms Lim, at a signing ceremony in Seoul, which was attended by Ms Reed and SIAC Court Members Dr Eun Young Park and Mr Benjamin Hughes.
In November, SIAC’s North East Asia office participated in the Seoul ADR Festival where we organised a hybrid seminar on global construction projects with the Society of Construction Law (Korea). SIAC Registrar, Mr Kevin Nash, travelled to Seoul for the Festival. SIAC Court Member Mr John Bang, Mr Nash, and SIAC’s Head (North East Asia), Michele Sonen, spoke at the seminar.
Left to right: Ms Anne K. Hoffman, Mr Ng Kim Beng, Mr Park Ki Jeung and Mr Zachary Sharpe
at the SIAC and SCL Korea Seminar.
In other highlights from the Seoul ADR Festival, Mr Nash spoke about the future of institutional arbitration at the 11th Asia-Pacific ADR Conference, and Mr Nash and Ms Sonen met with senior leadership of the Korean Bar Association.
In Japan, Ms Sonen was invited to speak at the 8th Annual International Arbitration and Corporate Crime Summit. She also guest lectured international arbitration courses at Keio University Law School and the Japan campus of the Beasley School of Law at Temple University, and toured the facilities of the Japan International Dispute Resolution Center in Tokyo.
Ms Michele Sonen with students of an international arbitration course at Keio University Law
School; co-lecturers Ms Yoshimi Ohara and Mr Tony Andriotis (co-lecturer Mr Joaquin Terceno is
not pictured); and guests Mr Yoshifumi Fukunaga and Michael Mroczek
Earlier in the year, in conjunction with SIMC and the ASEAN-Japan Centre, the SIAC’s North East Asia office released a five-part video series addressing the dispute resolution challenges of Japanese companies doing business in ASEAN. The series answered questions posed by Japanese companies about effective dispute management and building strong business relationships when conducting business overseas in Southeast Asia.
Episode 1 of “Addressing the Dispute Resolution Challenges of Japanese Companies
Doing Business in ASEAN” produced by the ASEAN-Japan Centre, SIAC, and SIMC
Americas
The SIAC Americas Office based in New York also had a busy year with over a hundred meetings with government bodies, law firms, in-house counsel, arbitrators, and student groups. It also participated in over 20 speaking engagements, including those organised by the Boston International Arbitration Council, California Association of Lawyers, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Washington, D.C. Chapter), Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (North America Branch), Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Seattle Chapter), Peruvian Institute of Arbitration, and Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Centre, amongst others.
The SIAC Americas Office took part in significant events in the arbitration calendar, including the 10th Annual Georgetown International Arbitration Month, 11th Peruvian Institute of Arbitration Congress, California Arbitration Week, CIArb Americas Conference, IBA Conference, International Congress of Arbitration Centres by the Peruvian Institute of Arbitration, New York Arbitration Week, and São Paulo Arbitration Week.
The SIAC Americas Office also presented in panels and moots organised by various universities such as those with the American University in Washington, D.C., Brigham Young University in Utah, Harvard Law School in Massachusetts, New York University Abu Dhabi, Osgoode Hall Law School of York University in Canada, Queen Mary University of London, and California-based Santa Clara University School of Law, Stanford Law School, University of California Berkeley School of Law, and University of California Hastings College of Law.
SIAC Americas office organised several business trips. In January, SIAC Registrar, Mr Kevin Nash visited California. In March, SIAC CEO, Ms Gloria Lim, travelled to New York. In August, SIAC Head (Americas), Ms Adriana Uson, spoke at a conference in Arequipa. Ms Uson, together with SIAC Court Member Mr Jose Daniel Amado, also met with arbitration stakeholders in Lima. In October, SIAC Court Member Ms Karina Goldberg, Mr Nash and Ms Uson met with the arbitration community in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. In the same month, Mr Nash and Ms Uson attended conferences and meetings in Miami. In November, Ms Lim and Ms Uson spoke at various panels in San Francisco and Palo Alto.
Left to right: Ms Adriana Uson, Ms Silvia Rodríguez, Ms Ludovina Villanueva, and
Mr Fausto Albuja Guarderas, at the 11th Peruvian Institute of Arbitration (IPA)
Regional Arbitration Congress organised by IPA and the Arequipa Chamber of
Commerce and Industry Arbitration Center.
Meet and Greet with Ms Marianella Ventura, Secretary General of the Lima Chamber of
Commerce and her team.
In May, SIAC entered into an MOU with the National and International Arbitration Centre of the Lima Chamber of Commerce (LCC). SIAC also embarked into a strategic partnership with FedArb, a Palo Alto based arbitration organisation, to form a joint model clause which combines the institutions’ panel lists for intellectual property matters.
7. YSIAC Events and Webinar
The 38-member YSIAC Committee, is chaired by Mr Daryl Chew and Ms Wendy Lin, and comprises young arbitration practitioners from Brazil, China, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, UK, USA, and Vietnam.
Special highlights of the YSIAC Events and Webinars in 2022 included a YSIAC Club event titled “Functions and Policies of Decision Making In Investment Arbitral Awards”, a joint YSIAC-DIS40 webinar titled “Who is Afraid of Due Process?”, an in-person YSIAC-KCAB Next Happy Hour in Seoul featuring SIAC Court President, Ms Lucy Reed and Prof Hi-Taek Shin, as well as YSIAC seminars in Beijing and Shanghai conducted in Mandarin, and a YSIAC Vietnam Webinar titled “Arbitration Proceedings under the SIAC Rules” conducted in Vietnamese.
Left to right: Dr Mary Mitsi, Mr Lin Chunlong, Ms Jae Hee Suh, Ms Samantha Tan, and
Mr Benson Lim at the YSIAC Club Event – Functions and Policies of Decision Making in
Investment Arbitral Awards
2022 YSIAC Shanghai Workshop
Left to right: Mr Hieu Nguyen, Mr Pham Minh Thang, Mr Hop Dang, Ms Duong Hoang,
and Ms Dinh Anh Tuyet at the YSIAC Vietnam Webinar: Arbitration Proceedings under
the SIAC Rules.
SIAC will continue to work closely with YSIAC, to explore how we can do even more on this important platform to serve the needs of young practitioners, and increase opportunities for learning, gaining international exposure and useful networking opportunities for our YSIAC members.
8. Launch of New SIAC Website
SIAC’s new and refreshed website (www.siac.org.sg) was launched in end August 2022. The new website features, among others, a refreshed and mobile-friendly user interface, a searchable directory for Panel of Arbitrators, a Multimedia page for easy access to event recordings and podcasts, and an online payment platform for SIAC’s events and courses.
SIAC Website, homepage.
SIAC Website, searchable panel directory.
We would like to express our sincere thanks and appreciation to members of the SIAC Board, SIAC Court and the YSIAC Committee as well as all of our partners and friends in the local and international legal and business communities for their invaluable contributions and participation in SIAC’s initiatives and activities.
Thank you for your support, and we look forward to working with you in 2023!
With best regards,
The SIAC Team