Amendments to the Singapore International Arbitration Act

On 5 October 2020, the Singapore Parliament passed a bill (the “Bill”) to amend the International Arbitration Act (Cap 143A). The Bill will now be scrutinised by the Presidential Council and will come into operation on a date that the Minister appoints by notification in the Gazette.
 
The Bill follows a public consultation conducted by the Singapore Ministry of Law. The amendments include an express recognition of the power of an arbitral tribunal to enforce confidentiality obligations, and the introduction of a default process for the appointment of arbitrators in multi-party situations.

 

We consider the recent amendments, some proposals from the Consultation that did not find their way into the Bill, and provide a comparison with the equivalent legislation in certain key jurisdictions in Asia, such as Hong Kong SAR, Korea and Japan.

 

Click here to read our briefing note in full.