Behind the emergency arbitrator experience at SIAC

Parties often require urgent interim relief at the time of commencement of arbitration proceedings, be it securing assets that form the subject matter of the arbitration, preserving documents or property, or any other form of interim relief to ensure maintenance of the status quo until the dispute has been decided. Traditionally, a party can only seek interim relief from an arbitral tribunal once it is properly constituted. The constitution of an arbitral tribunal can take time, particularly where the tribunal comprises three arbitrators, which is more often the case in international arbitration agreements. During this period, there may be a fundamental change in the circumstances of the dispute and often the subject matter of the arbitration proceedings or assets can be dissipated.

So there is very much a need for a remedy – the possibility of obtaining immediate interim relief at the very commencement of the arbitration.

Although most arbitral institutions including the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) permit recourse to domestic courts for obtaining interim relief, parties often wish to avoid litigating in foreign jurisdictions. This may be a particularly strong consideration for a foreign party in arbitration where the court with jurisdiction to provide interim relief has a notoriety for delays in the judicial system; or if its judges are not known to be supportive of the arbitration process.

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