Singapore High Court: Whether Failure to Raise Jurisdictional Challenge Amounts to Submission to the Tribunal’s Jurisdiction  In 2021, the Dubai International Financial Centre Arbitration Institute (“DIFC”) was abolished by Decree No 34 of 2021 (the “Decree”) issued by the Dubai government. The Decree abolished DIFC and transferred its assets to DIAC. Consequently, the Dubai International Financial Centre – London Court of International Arbitration Rules (the “DIFC-LCIA Rules”) ceased to be operative.  Later, the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (“DIAC”) was established and on ..read more

Singapore High Court: Conflicting Dispute Resolution Clauses and Transnational Issue Estoppel in Parallel Proceedings In Sacofa Sdn Bhd v Super Sea Cable Networks Pte Ltd and another  [2024] SGHC 54, the Singapore High Court inter alia dealt with issues related with conflicting dispute resolution clauses of two contracts in a peculiar situation. While deciding the issues, the Court shed some light on the concept of centre of gravity in the parties dispute to decide which dispute resolution clause is invocable correctly. Importantly, the Court has also discussed the concept of transnation ..read more

Supreme Court of India: Whether Section 29A of Indian Arbitration Act as amended in 2019 is Prospective or Retrospective in Nature. Section 29A of the Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (Arbitration Act) in its original form, provided a deadline for passing of an arbitral award which was 12 months from the period when the arbitral tribunal has entered its reference. This provision was introduced in the Arbitration Act with effect from 23 October 2015. At the time of its introduction, the deadline was made applicable to all arbitrations i.e., domestic as well as international commer ..read more

Supreme Court of India: Limitation Period to file an Application seeking Appointment of Arbitrator in India An application seeking appointment arbitrator by Court is filed under Section 11(6) of the Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act (“A&C Act”). However, it does not prescribe any limitation period within which such an application can be filed. In this regard, reference can be made to Section 43 of the A&C Act which provides that the Indian Limitation Act, 1963 (“Limitation Act”) applies to arbitrations as it applies to the court proceedings. Limitation Period to file Section 11 ..read more

Supreme Court: Whether Unilateral Increase in Fees by the Tribunal Can be A Ground to Terminate its Mandate? Under the Indian arbitration regime, an arbitrator has a continuous duty of disclosure in respect of circumstances which may give rise to ‘justifiable doubts’ about his / her ‘independence and impartiality’. Under the Indian Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 (‘Act’), the Fifth Schedule contains a broader list for disclosures (i.e. circumstances provided under the Red and Orange list of the IBA Guidelines on Conflict of Interest) to be made by the arbitrator at the time of appoin ..read more

In Lombardi Engineering Limited v. Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited decided on 06.11.2023, the issue which fell for consideration of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India was whether an arbitration clause providing for a mandatory pre-deposit of 7% of the total claim as a condition precedent to invoke arbitration is violative of Article 14 (Equality before the law) of the Indian Constitution of India, 1950 (‘the Indian Constitution’). The Court was also called to decide as to whether the arbitration clause empowering only one party i.e., the Principal Secretary/Secretary of Uttarakhand Jal V ..read more

Delhi High Court: Attachment before Judgement as an Interim Measure in aid to Arbitration The powers of a court under Section 9 of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 (‘A&C Act’) to direct interim measures of protection in aid of arbitration are wide. Such measures can be passed before, during or after the arbitral proceedings. In appropriate cases, the court can direct furnishing of a security to secure the claims of the applicant pending the conclusion of the arbitral proceedings. However, it is equally well settled that the powers available to a court for making orders under S ..read more

Which Law governs the Subject-matter Arbitrability at the Pre-Award Stage? In an interesting series of judgments passed by the Singaporean and Indian Courts, one of the most important questions related with arbitration has been discussed, analysed and elaborated upon. In doing so, the Courts have dealt with issues such as the applicable law of arbitration to be applied in a pre-award situation, effect of arbitrability of disputes at the seat court vis-à-vis the place of enforcement of award etc. to name a few. In this write-up, the anti-suit injunction passed by the Singapore High Court in fa ..read more

Delhi High Court: Starting Point of Limitation to Challenge the Award in Case a Correction is made in the Award In the facts of this case, the Arbitral Tribunal failed to reflect the claim amount in the award even though it has found in favour of a party. To get such an error rectified, such party filed an application before the Arbitral Tribunal praying to pass a corrected award reflecting figures of amounts awarded. This application was adverted to by the Tribunal which has passed an order correcting the award. However, for some reason this order of correction was not received by the aggrie ..read more

Singapore High Court: Applicable Standard to set aside an Award on the Ground of Breach of Natural Justice In the facts of CZO v CZP [2023] SGHC 237, parties entered into a contract (‘Contract’) wherein CZO agreed to design, develop and manufacture for CZP, certain units of a digital tablet which allows diners to order food and beverage and pay for it, all at their tables. The Contract inter alia provided specifications for the degree to which the tablet’s enclosure is required to protect its interior from the ingress of water and possibly other liquids. Accordingly, CZO manufactured many uni ..read more