MinLaw seeks comments on proposed amendments to International Arbitration Act until 21 August 2019

9 July 2019

The Ministry of Law (“MinLaw”) has issued a consultation paper on “Proposed amendments to the International Arbitration Act” and has sought comments on proposals to enhance Singapore’s international arbitration regime. The proposed amendments to the International Arbitration Act (“IAA”) are aimed primarily at enhancing the existing framework to provide parties with more options to tailor an international arbitration agreement to suit their unique purposes. Comments are also sought on proposals received from various third parties. The consultation is open from 26 June 2019 to 21 August 2019.

The proposals involve amendments to:

• Introduce a default mode of appointment of arbitrators in multi-party situations
• Allow parties to request an arbitrator to decide on jurisdiction at a preliminary stage
• Recognise that an arbitral tribunal and the High Court have powers to enforce obligations of confidentiality in arbitration
• Allow parties to appeal to the High Court on a question(s) of law arising out of an arbitral award where parties have opted in to such procedure
• Allow parties to agree to waive or limit annulment grounds under the Model Law and IAA
• Provide that the court(s) shall have the power to order costs in certain arbitral proceedings

To read our article on this development, please click here.