Introduction
On 25 June 2025, the Singapore International Commercial Court (“SICC”) in Cooperativa Muratori and Cementisti — CMC di Ravenna, Italy v Department of Water Supply & Sewerage Management, Kathmandu [2025] SGHC(I)16 granted an antisuit injunction to restrain the respondent from pursuing proceedings in Nepal to set aside a decision of a Singaporean arbitral tribunal stating that the seat of an arbitration was Singapore, thereby reinforcing party autonomy in an arbitration. The SICC also assessed when a party could invoke sovereign immunity to prevent injunctive relief being ordered by the Singaporean Courts.
Brief facts
In 2013, the Claimant (“CMC”), an Italian construction company, entered into a contract with the Respondent (“MB”), an implementing agency formed by the Government of Nepal, to develop water supply infrastructure in the Kathmandu Valley to alleviate the chronic water shortage (“Contract”).
The Contract provided for any dispute to be settled by way of an arbitration with the place of arbitration in Singapore pursuant to the Rules of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre.
CMC commenced an arbitration in Singapore against MB. Subsequent to the commencement, a dispute arose as to the seat of arbitration, with MB asserting Nepal and CMC maintaining Singapore. In August 2024, the tribunal issued a Seat Decision confirming Singapore as the seat of the arbitration (“Seat Decision”).
Thereafter, MB initiated annulment proceedings in Nepal to set aside the Seat Decision (“Annulment Application”).
In response, CMC applied to the SICC for an anti-suit injunction to restrain MB from pursuing the Annulment Application, with the main reason being that it constituted a clear breach of the Contract as there was an express agreement between the parties for the arbitration to be seated in Singapore.
