2017 has been a significant year for Arbitration in Singapore and for the SIArb. As the year comes to an end, it is a time not only to reflect and give thanks but also to recharge and prepare for 2018.
SIArb celebrated its 36th Anniversary with a memorable dinner at Aura, National Gallery on 1 November. The organisers of the dinner, led by Tan Weiyi and assisted by our secretariat, Intellitrain repeated the success of last year’s dinner at the same venue. We thank our Guest of Honour, Mr VK Rajah SC, for his insights on the important issue of ethics in International Arbitration which has given us much food for thought. We also just concluded an excellent Symposium on 16 November at the iconic Old Parliament House. Kudos to Tay Yu-Jin and his committee on a sterling job done.
2017 saw Singapore implement legislation to allow third party funding for international arbitration. SIArb introduced guidelines for third party funders after a public consultation. These guidelines are on our website and to-date, 6 established funders have publicly expressed their support and endorsement for these guidelines. I would like to thank my fellow working group members, Chan Leng Sun SC, Tay Yu-Jin and Sapna Jhangiani for their invaluable assistance on these guidelines. Another SIArb Working Group comprising Chan Leng Sun SC, Mohan Pillay, Rian Mathews and Adriana Uson have recently completed draft guidelines on party representative ethics. Arbitration is ultimately but a process where the ultimate objective is justice. Ethics are integral to this end objective. These guidelines are presently in the public consultation phase. We welcome your views on the draft guidelines. Read More
Dinesh Dhillon
President,
SIArb 2017-2019