17 January, 2017
Happy New Year from all of us at SIAC and best wishes for a happy, healthy and successful 2017.
As we welcome the new year, we look back fondly at the top ten highlights of 2016, a year in which SIAC celebrated its 25th Anniversary.
New Chairman of SIAC
Davinder Singh, SC
In December 2016, Mr Davinder Singh, SC was appointed as the new Chairman of SIAC. The former Chairman, Mr Lucien Wong, stepped down following the announcement of his appointment as the next Attorney-General of Singapore.
Mr Wong leaves an impressive legacy, his dynamic leadership having guided SIAC through an exciting and transformative period of growth and expansion. All of us at SIAC extend our heartfelt thanks to Mr Wong for his invaluable contributions, and wish him every success for the future.
Mr Singh is the Chief Executive Officer of Drew & Napier LLC, and is widely recognised as a leading disputes practitioner. He was in the first batch of Senior Counsel appointed in Singapore. In addition to being a top litigator, he has an active international arbitration practice involving complex commercial disputes and multiple jurisdictions.
New Member of the SIAC Court of Arbitration
In February 2016, Mr Darius Khambata, Senior Counsel, a highly regarded member of the Indian legal community and leading international arbitration practitioner, joined the SIAC Court of Arbitration.
Mr Khambata practises before the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court of India. He has previously held distinguished public law offices and has appeared in several important constitutional, corporate and commercial matters and in significant domestic and international commercial arbitrations.
Darius Khambata, Senior Counsel
New Registrar and Promotion of Deputy Registrar
In May 2016, SIAC welcomed its new Registrar, Ms Delphine Ho. Ms Ho was previously in private practice with leading Singapore local firms, where her areas of practice included international and domestic arbitrations, cross-border commercial disputes, and building and construction as well as company and shareholder matters. Prior to joining SIAC, she was in public service as an Assistant Registrar of the Supreme Court of Singapore.
Also in May 2016, Mr Kevin Nash, Deputy Registrar, who served as the Acting Registrar of SIAC during the interim period prior to Ms Ho’s commencement as Registrar, was promoted to Deputy Registrar and Centre Director. Mr Nash’s new responsibilities include business development and the recruitment and professional development of the SIAC Secretariat.
New SIAC Rules 2016; New SIAC Investment Arbitration Rules 2017
The sixth edition of the Arbitration Rules of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC Rules 2016) came into effect on 1 August 2016.
Some of the key highlights of the SIAC Rules 2016 include new provisions on consolidation, multiple contracts, and joinder of additional parties to facilitate the cost-effective and efficient resolution of disputes; the introduction of an innovative procedure for the early dismissal of claims and defences, making SIAC the first amongst the world's major commercial arbitration centres to adopt this provision in its Rules; and delocalisation of the seat of arbitration. In addition, further enhancements have been made to the popular Expedited Procedure and Emergency Arbitrator special procedures (both of which were first introduced in July 2010), to better serve the needs of users from all over the world.
Capping off a busy and exciting year for SIAC was the release of the first edition of the SIAC Investment Arbitration Rules 2017 (SIAC IA Rules 2017), a specialised set of rules to address the unique issues present in the conduct of international investment arbitration. The SIAC IA Rules 2017 came into effect on 1 January 2017.
Some of the key highlights of the SIAC IA Rules 2017 include a default list procedure for the appointment of the sole or presiding arbitrator and an opt-in mechanism for the appointment of an Emergency Arbitrator; strict timelines on challenges to arbitrators with built-in discretion for the arbitration to proceed during the challenge; a procedure for early dismissal of claims and defences; provisions for submissions by non-disputing parties and to enable the Tribunal to order the disclosure of third-party funding arrangements and to take such arrangements into account when apportioning costs; timelines for the closure of proceedings and the submission of the draft Award; and provisions relating to confidentiality and the discretionary publication of key information relating to the dispute.
Launch of SIAC Representative Office in Shanghai
In March 2016, SIAC held a cocktail reception to celebrate the official launch of its third overseas office (after Mumbai and Seoul). SIAC’s Shanghai office will be instrumental in promoting SIAC’s world-class international arbitration services to Chinese users. Chinese parties have consistently ranked amongst the top five foreign users of SIAC in the last five years, and were the top foreign user of SIAC in 2012 and 2014. The Shanghai office will work with mainland Chinese arbitration commissions to promote the development of international arbitration and global best practices, by organising training workshops and networking events for arbitrators and practitioners.
SIAC Celebrates 25th Anniversary with SIAC Congress Week 2016
On 25 to 27 May 2016, SIAC successfully concluded its first-ever SIAC Congress Week.
The SIAC Congress Week kicked off with a YSIAC Lunchtime Talk by Mr Toby Landau QC, member of the SIAC Court of Arbitration and an eminent barrister and arbitrator. The standing-room only event attracted 193 attendees.
The next event was the SIAC-CIArb Debate, which featured a stellar cast of international arbitration luminaries comprising the President and members of the SIAC Court of Arbitration, namely, Mr Gary Born, Professor Bernard Hanotiau, Mr Toby Landau QC and Ms Lucy Reed. Mr Francis Xavier, SC acted as the moderator. The Debate was attended by 198 delegates.
SIAC’s flagship biennial event, the SIAC Congress 2016, attracted 363 delegates. Highlights of the Congress programme included a Keynote Address by the Guest of Honour, Minister K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law, and a Q&A session with Minister Shanmugam and Mr Gary Born, moderated by Mr Toby Landau QC, followed by two plenary sessions which focused on the new provisions in the SIAC Rules 2016.
Q&A Session with Minister K Shanmugam, Toby Landau QC and Gary Born
The social highlight of the SIAC Congress Week was the SIAC Charity Gala Dinner, a black-tie event held in celebration of SIAC’s 25 years in arbitration, which included a charity auction in support of the Community Justice Centre (CJC). Thanks to the generosity of the international and Singapore legal and business communities, SIAC was able to raise SGD125,000 in auction proceeds, cash pledges and ticket sales for the CJC’s charitable programmes from the SIAC Charity Gala Dinner.
Board & Court Members, former SIAC management, SIAC Congress Organising Committee, SIAC Secretariat, Guest of Honour SMS Indranee Rajah
In conjunction with the SIAC Congress Week, SIAC also organised the second YSIAC Essay Competition, which received a total of 47 entries from 17 jurisdictions. The winner was Mr Rajat Rana of Dechert LLP. The 1st Runner Up was Mr Arie Chase Eernisse of Shin & Kim and the 2nd Runner Up was Ms Sinyee Ong of Ashurst LLP.
SIAC Rules 2016 Roadshow – User’s Guide to the SIAC Rules 2016
From September to November 2016, SIAC went on a global roadshow to promote the new SIAC Rules 2016. Cities visited included Hong Kong (6 September), Tokyo (15 September), Mumbai (30 September), Delhi (1 October), Shanghai (27 October), Jakarta (16 November), London (2-3 November) and Manila (24 November).
Panellists included the President and members of the SIAC Court of Arbitration, as well as distinguished Singapore and international arbitration practitioners. The events were well-attended by private practitioners, in-house counsel, government officials and members of the academe.
YSIAC Advocacy Workshops 2016
The YSIAC Advocacy Workshops 2016 featured a mock emergency arbitration scenario and provided younger lawyers with an opportunity to put their advocacy skills to the test before panels comprised of leading arbitration practitioners from multiple jurisdictions, including the President and members of the SIAC Court of Arbitration. In addition to lively rounds of oral argument, panel members gave tips on oral advocacy to the workshop participants.
The YSIAC Advocacy Workshops were held in Tokyo (15 September), Mumbai (29 September), Seoul (13 October), Shanghai (26 October) and Manila (25 November).
SIAC Costs and Duration Study
In October 2016, SIAC released its Costs and Duration Study based on actual cases filed with SIAC under the SIAC Rules 2013. The study results showed that the mean duration of cases was 13.8 months, and the median duration was 11.7 months. The mean total costs of arbitration were USD80,337 (SGD109,729), and the median total costs of arbitration were USD29,567 (SGD40,416). The Study underscores SIAC’s firm commitment to providing greater transparency, certainty and efficiency for its users from all parts of the world.
Memorandum of Agreement to Establish GIFT City Office
Left to right: Pranav Mago, Lim Seok Hui, Ajay Pandey, Dipesh Shah
Under the Memorandum of Agreement, signed in May 2016, SIAC will establish a representative office in India's first-ever International Financial Services Centre in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, which will work closely with our existing Mumbai office to promote SIAC’s services to businesses and investors in GIFT City and India.
We would like to thank members of our Board, Court and YSIAC Committee as well as all of our partners and friends in the local and international legal and business communities, for your extraordinary contributions and unstinting support, which were critical to the success of our various projects and initiatives.
Please mark your calendars for two upcoming major events in 2017, our Annual Appreciation Event on Friday, 10 March 2017 (when our 2016 case statistics will be unveiled) and the 2nd biennial YSIAC Conference to be held in Singapore on Friday, 9 June 2017.
With best regards,
The SIAC Team
