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

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

The decision of the Singapore Court of Appeal on 15 December 2020 in Denka Advantech Pte Ltd & another v Seraya Energy Pte Ltd & another [2020] SGCA 119, has affirmed that, under Singapore law, the rule against penalties remains as stated by Lord Dunedin in Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company, Ltd v New Garage and … 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

Tomorrow marks an important day for dispute resolution users as the Singapore Mediation Convention comes into force, just over a year after its signing ceremony on 7 August 2019.   The UNCITRAL Working Group II’s aim to implement an international regime for the enforcement of mediated settlements broadly akin to the 1958 New York Convention for … Read more

Singapore’s Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act (the “IRDA“), together with 48 pieces of subsidiary legislation, comes into force today, 30 July 2020 (available here). The IRDA consolidates Singapore’s personal and corporate insolvency and debt restructuring laws into a single piece of legislation. It also introduces a number of significant reforms designed to simplify and modernise … Read more

On 2 August 2019, the Wenzhou Intermediate People’s Court of Zhejiang Province (Wenzhou Court) issued the Civil Ruling (2017) Zhe 03 Xie Wai Ren No. 7 (the Wenzhou Court Ruling) to recognise Judgement No. S139/2012 (Judgment) rendered by the Singapore High Court (Singapore Court) on 15 February 2013 (Oceanside Development Group Ltd. v. Chen Tongkao … Read more