Singapore has harnessed the advantages of location, non-partisan foreign policy, legal, political, technical, and economic infrastructure, and a skilled and growing workforce, to emerge in 2021 as Asia’s most popular, and the world’s second most popular seat of arbitration, say the auythors.
Authors
Harsh Mahaseth, Assistant Professor at Jindal Global Law School, and a Senior Research Analyst at the Nehginpao Kipgen Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Jindal School of International Affairs, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India.
Aadya Narain, law student, Jindal Global Law School; Research Assistant, Nehginpao Kipgen Centre for Southeast Asian Studies, Jindal School of International Affairs, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India.
Summary
The Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) opened a representative office for the Americans in New York in December 2020, the first one outside of Asia. With a record-breaking announcement that its caseload had crossed the 1,000 mark this year, it leaped 125 percent from the 479 cases fled in 2019, despite its relatively short history compared to established arbitration institutions.
Singapore also administers an exceptional number of arbitrations that do not involve local entities and stands out as a neutral venue for the resolution of international commercial disputes.
Situated at the intersection of South and East Asia, with highly advanced administrative, financial and legal systems, Singapore has historically gained popularity as a regional base in Asia for Western firms.
Maintaining steady foreign relations with the opposing superpower China, particularly in the trade and advancement of technology has allowed it to remain a neutral party in the bipolar global order.
This neutrality is reaffirmed by the country’s recent judgments and commitments upholding the right to arbitration of disputing parties and enforcing arbitral awards in all but the most extreme cases.
Published in: The Arbitration Workshop
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