SIAC Remains a Popular and Attractive Arbitral Institution

On April 4, 2023, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) released its 2022 Annual Report.

In this client alert, we outline SIAC’s key statistics for 2022, and how it is transitioning into the post-pandemic era and preparing itself for further growth. 

2022 At A Glance

In 2022, the SIAC received a total of 357 new case filings, 336 of which were cases administered by the SIAC. With the boom in disputes triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic fading away, the SIAC’s 2022 caseload dropped below the record high 1,080 new filings in 2020 and the 469 new filings in 2021. Nevertheless, the SIAC has been off to a busy start in 2023, receiving a historical high 332 new cases (including related cases) in the first quarter alone.

The SIAC’s user base in 2022 continued to be predominantly international: 88% of all cases received by the SIAC were international in nature. Parties from 65 jurisdictions arbitrated at the SIAC, with parties from India (89), the United States (87), and China (74) being the top three foreign users. The laws of Singapore (50.7%), the United Kingdom (19.5%), and India (4.2%) were the three most frequently applied governing laws, and other applied laws included New York, Hong Kong, China, and Delaware.

Trade (74), commercial (72), and corporate (53) disputes led the types of disputes referred to the SIAC for arbitration in 2022. Other sectors that saw disputes on the horizon included fintech, cryptocurrency, environment, social & governance, and employment.                                                                                              

Procedural Options Under the SIAC

In addition to publishing case statistics, the SIAC Annual Report also shares data on parties’ utilization of the Emergency Arbitrator (EA) procedure, the Expedited Procedure, and the Early Dismissal procedure. The statistics show that parties continued to leverage these procedural options available under the SIAC Rules.

• The SIAC introduced the EA procedure in 2010 to help parties seek emergency interim relief. A party seeking emergency interim relief may, prior to the constitution of a Tribunal, file an application for emergency interim relief with the SIAC Registrar. If the President of the SIAC Court determines that the SIAC should accept the application, the President will seek to appoint an Emergency Arbitrator within a day to determine the request for emergency interim relief. In 2022, the SIAC received 12 applications to appoint an Emergency Arbitrator and accepted all 12 requests, bringing the total number of Emergency Arbitrator applications accepted by the SIAC since 2010 to 141.
• The Expedited Procedure, also introduced in 2010, allows parties to apply for fast-track dispute resolution (i) if the amount in dispute does not exceed the equivalent of S$6,000,000; (ii) if the parties so agree; or (iii) in cases of exceptional urgency. The final award for a case administered under the Expedited Procedure must be issued within six months of the constitution of the Tribunal, unless the Registrar extends the time limit. In 2022, parties filed with the SIAC a total of 87 requests for Expedited Procedures, 48 of which the SIAC accepted.
• The SIAC added the Early Dismissal procedure to the SIAC Rules in 2016 and was the first major arbitral institution to incorporate an early dismissal procedure. The Early Dismissal procedure affords parties the option to apply to the Tribunal for the early dismissal of a claim or defense on the basis that a claim or defense is manifestly without legal merit or manifestly outside the jurisdiction of the Tribunal. The Tribunal may, in its discretion, allow the application to proceed. If the Tribunal allows the application to proceed, it must in principle make an order or award on the application within 60 days of the application, after giving the parties the opportunity to be heard. In 2022, ten Tribunals in SIAC arbitrations received Early Dismissal applications, five of which allowed the applications to proceed. Three of the five applications were ultimately rejected, and the other two were still pending at the time that the SIAC published the 2022 Annual Report.

With the recent reorganization of the SIAC Secretariat and the expansion of the SIAC team, the SIAC continues building capacity to enhance its offering of dispute resolution services. The SIAC has also been reviewing its arbitration rules with a view to releasing the seventh edition of the SIAC Rules to better cater to the evolving needs and profiles of SIAC users. With these continued and upcoming innovations, we expect that the SIAC will remain a popular and attractive arbitral institution in the region and around the world.