The Singapore High Court has interpreted a potentially defective arbitration clause, which selected the “China International Arbitration Center” (a non-existent institution), as an agreement to CIETAC arbitration and therefore upheld an award issued by a CIETAC Tribunal. The Court held that, provided the parties objectively intended to refer to the same arbitral institution (rather than … Read more

Hong Kong has officially published a Bill that would allow lawyers to agree outcome-based fees for arbitration work in the territory. If, as expected, the Bill passes into law later this year, it will allow lawyers in and outside Hong Kong to agree fees based on their clients’ success in the arbitration. This is a sea-change for … Read more

On 1 November 2021, a bill to permit Conditional Fee Arrangements (CFA) had its first reading in the Singapore Parliament. If the bill is passed, it will permit law firms and lawyers in Singapore to enter into CFAs with their clients in respect of certain types of disputes (whether relating to proceedings in Singapore or … Read more

From 28 June 2021, Singapore will permit third-party funding of proceedings in the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC), domestic arbitration proceedings and related mediation proceedings. Before this, Singapore permitted third-party funding for international arbitration proceedings and related court and mediation proceedings only (as reported in our blog post of January 2017). In making these changes, … Read more

Herbert Smith Freehills has secured an important victory in Hong Kong proceedings with far-reaching consequences for arbitration disputes around the world. Many commercial contracts contain “escalation clauses” requiring parties to take certain steps before formal arbitration begins – such as a requirement to “negotiate in good faith” before starting arbitration. Previously, failure to comply with … Read more

Since Indonesia announced its intention to terminate and replace “all of its 67 bilateral investment treaties” (BITs) in 2014, the State has actively re-negotiated several BITs. Starting with some of its largest trading partners in the region, Indonesia signed new BITs with Singapore in 2018 and Australia in 2019. On 9 March 2021, the Agreement … Read more

Disruption, downturn and recovery tend to generate more disputes – and in Asia Pacific cross-jurisdiction operations and investments increase that risk. Our 2021 Guide to Dispute Resolution in Asia Pacific is your roadmap to potential problems in these fast-changing times, especially for those new to the region’s complex legal landscape. From the basics of each … Read more

The long-running case of Xiamen Xinjingdi Group Co Ltd v Eton Properties Limited and Others [2020] HKCFA 32 finally came to an end when the Court of Final Appeal (the CFA) handed down its decision on 9 Oct 2020. In the judgment, the CFA clarifies that in a common law enforcement action on an arbitral … Read more