NO&T Dispute Resolution Update
NO&T Asia Legal Review
On 9 December 2024, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (“SIAC”) announced that the new SIAC Arbitration Rules (7th edition) will come into force on 1 January 2025 (“New Rules”). This will replace the 6th edition of the SIAC Arbitration Rules, which came into effect on 1 August 2016 (“2016 Rules”). The New Rules have many notable new procedures and enhancements to the existing processes, which were adopted after extensive public consultation with SIAC’s users and stakeholders. We previously reported here on the draft 7th edition that was circulated for public consultation in December 2023. This article examines two key changes: (i) the new Streamlined Procedure that automatically applies to claims equal to or under SGD 1 million and the expanded application of Expedited Procedure, and (ii) the enhancements to the Emergency Arbitrator procedure. Capitalised terms bear the same meaning defined in the New Rules.
Under the 2016 Rules, the parties had the option of either applying the standard arbitration procedure, or the Expedited Procedure. With the New Rules, users are now availed of three types of procedures to suit the needs of their particular case: (1) (new) Streamlined Procedure, (2) (revised) Expedited Procedure, or (3) standard procedure. The key features of each set of rules is summarised in the table below.
Feature | (New) Streamlined Procedure | (Revised) Expedited Procedure | Standard Procedure |
---|---|---|---|
Eligibility |
Applies if parties agree OR Automatically applies if the amount in dispute < SGD 1 million, unless otherwise determined |
Applies if parties agree OR A party can apply to SIAC to apply the Expedited Procedure if:
|
Automatically applies, unless Streamlined Procedure or Expedited Procedure is applicable |
Number of arbitrators | 1 | 1 unless otherwise determined | 1 by default, unless otherwise determined to be 3 or agreed |
Evidentiary process | No document production and no witness evidence unless otherwise determined | Tribunals are expressly empowered to refuse document production and limit scope of submissions and witness evidence | Typical arbitration proceedings will have document production and witness evidence |
Hearing | No hearing unless otherwise determined or a party requests and the tribunal accepts |
No hearing unless a party requests and the tribunal accepts Online hearing unless otherwise agreed or determined |
Hearing as long as a party requests it, unless otherwise agreed to have no hearing |
Timeline for Award | Final award within 3 months from date of tribunal constitution, unless extended | Final award within 6 months from date of tribunal constitution, unless extended | No specific deadline |
Fees | ≤ 50% of maximum fees in SIAC’s Schedule of Fees | SIAC’s Schedule of Fees | SIAC’s Schedule of Fees |
It is crucial to note that, by default, the Streamlined Procedure will automatically apply to claims equal to or under SGD 1 million unless expressly excluded by agreement in writing. This is different from the draft 7th edition that we had reported on in 2023, where a party had to make an application for the Streamlined Procedure to apply and the SIAC President had to decide so before it would apply. The Streamlined Procedure is essentially a documents-only arbitration, with no document production, witness evidence or hearings save in exceptional circumstances. This may come as a surprise to users as previously, anything other than the standard procedure were typically applicable only if agreed between parties or decided by SIAC. That said, the Streamlined Procedure allows simple, low value cases to be resolved relatively quickly at low cost, which businesses will likely find attractive.
The New Rules, unlike the 2016 Rules, allow for a party to apply for an Emergency Arbitrator’s appointment to seek emergency interim relief (1) even before the filing of a Notice of Arbitration and (2) without notice to the counterparty. On top of that, the applicant may also concurrently make a “protective preliminary order application” for a preliminary order directing the counterparty not to frustrate the purpose of the requested emergency interim relief. This is a new process that had not been included in the draft 7th edition either. The Emergency Arbitrator must determine the protective preliminary order application within 24 hours of its appointment, and any such order will expire within 14 days of issuance. While this is a novel arbitral mechanism – essentially a “pre-emergency interim relief” without any notice to the counterparty – that is usually only available through the courts, the efficacy of such an order may be limited as a successful applicant will still have to convert such order (that only has a short validity of 14 days) to a court judgment before it can be enforced against a non-compliant counterparty.
The New Rules are a welcome refresh of the 2016 Rules with innovative and well-considered mechanisms that we believe will continue to meet the demands and expectations of both sophisticated and first-time users. In view of the numerous changes in the New Rules, we will continue addressing the notable ones in our next Dispute Resolution Update.
This newsletter is given as general information for reference purposes only and therefore does not constitute our firm’s legal advice. Any opinion stated in this newsletter is a personal view of the author(s) and not our firm’s official view. For any specific matter or legal issue, please do not rely on this newsletter but make sure to consult a legal adviser. We would be delighted to answer your questions, if any.
(February 2025)
Kenji Tosaki, Takahiro Hatori (Co-author)
Kenji Tosaki, Nozomi Kato (Co-author)
Annia Hsu, Kennosuke Muro (Co-author)
(November 2024)
Oki Mori, Mai Umezawa (Co-author)
Annia Hsu, Kennosuke Muro (Co-author)
(October 2024)
Junichi Ikeda, Tomohiko Nabeshima, Akiko Inoue (Co-author)
(July 2024)
Oki Mori, Eriko Ogata, Saki Kurachi, Natsuki Ito (Co-author)
Keiji Tonomura, Akira Komatsu, Chie Komiya, Simon Clemens Wegmann (Gleiss Lutz) (Co-author)
Annia Hsu, Kennosuke Muro (Co-author)
Claire Chong, Kennosuke Muro (Co-author)
(July 2024)
Oki Mori, Eriko Ogata, Saki Kurachi, Natsuki Ito (Co-author)
Claire Chong, Kei Kajiwara (Co-author)
Annia Hsu, Kennosuke Muro (Co-author)
(November 2024)
Kaori Sugimoto
(October 2024)
Junichi Ikeda, Tomohiko Nabeshima, Akiko Inoue (Co-author)
Bertrice Hsu, Yuji Ibaraki (Co-author)
Shunsuke Minowa, Poonyisa Sornchangwat, Niparat Pothong (Co-author)
Yuan Yao Lee
Nga Tran
Annia Hsu, Kennosuke Muro (Co-author)
Shunsuke Minowa, Poonyisa Sornchangwat, Niparat Pothong (Co-author)
Yuan Yao Lee
Nga Tran
Annia Hsu, Kennosuke Muro (Co-author)
Annia Hsu, Kennosuke Muro (Co-author)
Claire Chong, Kennosuke Muro (Co-author)
Bertrice Hsu, Yuji Ibaraki (Co-author)
Kara Quek, Yuji Ibaraki (Co-author)