Sunita P. Advani<\/strong><\/a>, Arbitral Assistant to Mr Michael Lee<\/a> of Twenty Essex<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The 7th<\/sup> edition of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (\u201cSIAC\u201d) Rules<\/a> came into force on 1 January 2025 (\u201cSIAC Rules 2025<\/strong>\u201d), eight years after the last edition of the rules were released.\u00a0 The key procedural amendments are detailed below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A new \u201cStreamlined Procedure\u201d has been introduced in Rule 13 of the SIAC Rules 2025 for the resolution of disputes of low value and complexity. This applies where:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Streamlined Procedure, set out in Schedule 2 of the SIAC Rules 2025, requires the tribunal to issue its final award within three months of being constituted, and caps the tribunal\u2019s fees and the SIAC\u2019s fees at 50% of the maximum limits under the Schedule of Fees. The Streamlined Procedure thereby promotes cost-effectiveness and expeditiousness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The monetary threshold for the Expedited Procedure has been increased from $6 million under the 6th edition of the SIAC Arbitration Rules\u00a0(\u201cSIAC Rules 2016<\/strong>\u201d)<\/a> to S$10 million under Rule 14<\/a> of the SIAC Rules 2025 as well as where \u201cthe circumstances of the case warrant\u201d it (which is a higher standard than that stipulated in the SIAC Rules 2016 of \u201cexceptional urgency\u201d).\u00a0 Schedule 3 of the SIAC Rules details the Expedited Procedure and, in particular, now expressly provides that if any party requests for a hearing, then a hearing must be held.\u00a0\u00a0 Under the Expedited Procedure, the tribunal must issue its final award within 6 months of its constitution, unless the Registrar extends the time for making such a final award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The SIAC Rules 2025, and in particular at Rule 12<\/a> and Schedule 3<\/a>, refines the emergency arbitration process by permitting parties to apply for emergency interim or conservatory relief prior to the filing of the Notice of Arbitration, provided that the party files its Notice of Arbitration within 7 days of applying for such relief.\u00a0 Further, emergency arbitrators now have the power to issue protective preliminary orders on an ex parte<\/em> basis, the determination of which must take place within 24h of the emergency arbitrator being appointed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rule 17<\/a> of the SIAC Rules 2025 introduces provisions on coordinated proceedings.\u00a0 In particular, where the same Tribunal is constituted in two or more arbitrations, and a common question of law or fact arises out of or in connection with all the arbitrations, a party to the arbitrations may apply to the Tribunal for the coordination of the arbitrations.\u00a0 Such coordination could take the form of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This provision would help mitigate complicated risks arising from the segmentation of disputes and increases procedural efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rule 19.7<\/a> of the SIAC Rules 2025 requires the presiding arbitrator or sole arbitrator to be of a different nationality to the parties where the parties are of different nationalities.\u00a0 The only exceptions are where the parties agree otherwise or the President of the SIAC determines it to be appropriate otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moreover, Rule 19.10<\/a> of the SIAC Rules 2025 provides that if the method of constitution of the tribunal set out in the arbitration agreement creates a substantial risk of unequal treatment that may risk affecting the validity or enforceability of the award, the President of the SIAC may, after considering the views of the parties, take any necessary measure to constitute an independent and impartial tribunal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, Rule 19.6<\/a> of the SIAC Rules 2025 requires the President of the SIAC to consider whether the arbitrator has sufficient availability to conduct the arbitration in a prompt and efficient manner appropriate to the nature of the dispute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rule 26<\/a> of the SIAC Rules 2025 provides an additional ground for the challenge of arbitrators, namely where the arbitrator becomes de jure or de facto unable to perform his or her functions.\u00a0 While the interpretation of this additional ground by the SIAC remains to be seen, it is anticipated that it may cover situations where an arbitrator is unable to fulfil his adjudicatory functions in a timely manner, for example due to illness, incapacity or scheduling conflicts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rule 11<\/a> of the SIAC Rules 2025 provides that the Registrar may, at his or her discretion, conduct administrative conferences with the parties to discuss any procedural or administrative directions to be made by the Registrar, prior to the constitution of the Tribunal.\u00a0 It also states that the administrative conference may be held via video conference, teleconference or any other form of electronic communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rule 34.1<\/a> of the SIAC Rules 2025 requires Tribunals to, in consultation with the parties, and at the appropriate stages of the arbitration, use reasonable efforts to identify the issues to be determined in the arbitration and record them in a procedural order.\u00a0 This rule would potentially assist in supporting the enforceability of awards, as an award that addresses and determines issues in such a procedural order would reduce the risk of a successful challenge due to lack of jurisdiction or breach of natural justice.\u00a0 As parties\u2019 cases often evolve throughout the proceedings, this rule also acknowledges that the list of issues may need to be updated at various stages of the proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rule 46 of the SIAC Rules 2025 expressly confers on tribunals the power to issue a preliminary determination of any issue in dispute if:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rule 27<\/a> of the SIAC Rules 2016 listed the additional powers of the Tribunal and empowered the Tribunal to order any party to provide security for legal or other costs in any manner the Tribunal thinks fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rules 48<\/a> and 49<\/a> of the SIAC Rules 2025 comprise express provisions empowering the Tribunal to, upon application by a party, order either security for costs<\/a> or security for claims<\/a>.\u00a0 Security for claims is a provisional measure requiring a party responding to a claim, counterclaim, or cross-claim to provide financial security against the relevant claim prior to the issuance of the final award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rules 32.4<\/a> and 50.2<\/a> of the SIAC Rules 2025 expressly encourage, unlike the SIAC Rules 2016, the early settlement of disputes through amicable dispute resolution methods, such as mediation under the SIAC-SIMC Arbitration-Mediation-Arbitration Protocol.\u00a0 The Tribunal is advised to consult the parties about such potential for settlement in the first case management conference and may make any necessary directions in respect of the same, including a suspension of the proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rule 38<\/a> of the SIAC Rules 2025 introduces a new requirement for parties to disclose the existence of any third-party funding<\/a> agreement and the identity and contact details of the third-party funder in its Notice of Arbitration or Response or as soon as practicable upon concluding a third-party funding agreement.\u00a0 The Tribunal is also empowered to order the disclosure of details of the third-party funder\u2019s interest in the outcome of the proceedings and whether the third-party funder has committed to undertake adverse costs liability.\u00a0 These codify existing best practices which enhance transparency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rule 61<\/a> of the SIAC Rules 2025 permits the parties to propose and seek to agree on reasonable measures to protect the information that is shared, stored or processed in relation to the arbitration, after which the Tribunal is required to discuss the same at the first case management conference and any other appropriate stage of the proceedings.\u00a0 After considering the views of the parties, the Tribunal may give directions to the parties in relation to information security measures, taking into account the circumstances of the case and relevant best practices on information security, including cybersecurity and cyber resilience.\u00a0 The Tribunal is empowered to take appropriate measures against parties which fail to comply with the information security measures agreed by the parties and\/or ordered by the Tribunal, including issuing an order or award for sanctions, damages or costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The SIAC has introduced a new cloud-based case management system called the \u201cSIAC Gateway\u201d, developed in partnership with Opus 2 and offering e-filing , online payment, in-system document upload and storage as well as case management. The SIAC Gateway is incorporated in the SIAC Rules 2025 at Rules 4<\/a> and 6.<\/a> In particular, Rule 6.1 of the SIAC Rules 2025 allows the Claimant to file its Notice of Arbitration via the SIAC Gateway, and Rules 4.2 and 4.3 empower the Registrar to direct parties to upload all written communications by the parties or their representatives, the Tribunal or the SIAC Secretariat to the SIAC Gateway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These developments aim to better cater to the complexities of modern disputes whilst ensuring cost efficiency as well as expeditiousness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ABOUT THE AUTHOR<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sunita P. Advani<\/strong>\u00a0is an arbitral assistant to Mr\u00a0Michael Lee<\/strong><\/a>, an experienced English arbitrator member of\u00a0Twenty Essex<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0practising principally from London and Singapore. In this role, she serves as tribunal secretary in Mr Lee\u2019s high-value and complex international commercial arbitrations administered by the leading arbitral institutions globally, such as the\u00a0ICC<\/a>,\u00a0LCIA<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0SIAC<\/a>. Sunita previously practiced international arbitration as a Junior Associate at a leading international law firm in Singapore, and is admitted to practice in England & Wales, New York, Singapore and Ireland. She holds an LL.B. from the University of Nottingham, and an LL.M. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. Sunita is the Founder and Chair of SG VYAP (Singapore Very Young Arbitration Practitioners).<\/p>\n\n\n\n *The views and opinions expressed by authors are theirs and do not necessarily reflect those of their organizations, employers, or Daily Jus, Jus Mundi, or Jus Connect.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Key updates in the SIAC Rules 2025 include new procedures, stricter timelines, third-party funding disclosures, enhanced data security, and streamlined arbitration 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Procedure<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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Expedited Procedure<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Emergency Arbitration<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Coordinated Arbitration Proceedings<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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Constitution of the Tribunal<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Arbitrator Challenge<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Administrative Conference<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Issues for Determination<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Preliminary Determination<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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Security for Costs and Security for Claims<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Other Forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution (\u201cADR\u201d)<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Third Party Funding Disclosure<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Information Security<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
SIAC Gateway<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n