Singapore blooms as hub for dispute resolution

The city-state remains a prominent arbitration destination for many countries, including India, and growth is on the cards, says Ban Jiun Ean, CEO at Maxwell Chambers

Maxwell Chambers CEO Ban Jiun Ean gives insights in a Q&A on why Singapore has maintained its position as an eminent seat of arbitration and its favoured status will continue to flourish as it embraces AI.

Q. How do you view the popularity of Singapore as a seat of arbitration for Indian parties? Has the city-state continued to maintain its eminent position?

Singapore has always been a very popular seat of arbitration for Indian parties and continues to grow in this way. For reference, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre enjoyed a record year in case filings in 2023, and Indian parties remain one of the top three sources of SIAC cases. This shows the willingness of Indian parties to use Singapore as a seat and, in particular, the SIAC as the arbitral centre, is on a strong growth trajectory.

Q. What strengths does Maxwell Chambers possess for Indian parties that have chosen Singapore as a seat of arbitration?

Singapore enjoys many advantages for arbitrating parties, and these can be broadly described as geography, cultural composition, business environment and legal infrastructure.

For geography, Singapore is four hours away from India, a convenient distance not just in terms of flying time, but also with regards to time zones, which makes business travel between both countries convenient. But Singapore is also within seven hours’ flight of most of the world’s population, including the most dynamic economic region in the world. Major cities like Tokyo, Beijing, Seoul, Taipei, Perth, Manila, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Jakarta and Bangkok are all within this radius. This makes Singapore an attractive choice for parties as a meeting location for dispute resolution.

For cultural composition, Singapore is very comfortable for Indian parties, due to the large native Indian population in Singapore and the wide range of South Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine available here. Many business leaders and government officials in Singapore are of Indian descent and ethnicity, which accounts for the warmth at the highest level between the two nations.

For business environment, Singapore is regarded as one of the easiest places in the world to do business, consistently ranking near the top in surveys by companies. Pragmatic and effective regulations and a business-friendly mindset in the government make Singapore extremely welcoming to parties coming to make deals or resolve disputes.

For legal infrastructure, Singapore is among the top jurisdictions in terms of arbitration-friendly laws and policies. The Singapore International Commercial Court, which hears matters arising out of arbitrations seated in Singapore, comprises top commercial judges from all over the world who are extremely well regarded and experienced in a wide range of matters. The Singapore Convention on Mediation, which came into force in 2019, is another prominent example of the country’s commitment to international dispute resolution of the highest quality. Singapore has many strong dispute resolution institutions, such as the Singapore International Arbitration Centre and the Singapore International Mediation Centre. Furthermore, top international bodies like the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the Arbitration and Mediation Centre of the World Intellectual Property Organisation, and the International Centre for Dispute Resolution, have set up regional offices in Singapore, reflecting their confidence in the city-state as a hub for dispute resolution.

All these various strengths come together to make Singapore a compelling destination for Indian parties looking for a good arbitral seat.

Q. With the effects of the pandemic fading, what are some of the hybrid/virtual practices that have continued to remain in vogue at arbitral centres in Singapore?

Remote hearings have continued in some form or other since the end of the worst days of the pandemic, but the biggest change has been the move to hybrid hearings by default in most international cases. What this looks like is that arbitral tribunals largely continue to sit in person for cases, preferring the synergy that comes from having all the tribunal members meeting in person for the whole hearing. Lead counsel from both parties, as well as a small supporting team, also generally prefer to appear in person, with advocates saying that they do their best work in front of the tribunal in person. Key witnesses, especially those with large amounts of testimony to be delivered, also tend to be brought before the tribunal in person. But all the rest – including junior counsel, observers representing the clients and witnesses with small amounts of testimony – now largely participate only remotely. This results in huge cost savings for clients and time on the part of these individuals, and is increasingly the preferred approach for most cross-border disputes.

An interesting variation has also arisen, where a hearing is held in another city, but one party or some witnesses will dial in remotely from Singapore, using Maxwell Chambers as the remote location. This is because of our superior room setup and technological infrastructure, which ensures seamless and clear communication with the tribunal throughout the remote hearing process. We expect these practices to continue well into the future.

Q. What changes do you foresee in the arbitration landscape in 2024?

An increasing challenge for arbitration is the focus on sustainability. Clients are more aware than ever about the environmental impact of dispute resolution, and continue to demand changes to the way lawyers and institutions run the hearings. It is clear that digital documents will inevitably replace paper and boxes in most cases, and even the physical meetings will be limited to when they involve substantive matters, rather than procedural or administrative matters.

Q. Has Maxwell Chambers observed an increase in the use of their services by Indian parties post-covid? What are some trends or changes by Indian parties?

There has certainly been an increase in Indian parties using Maxwell Chambers post-pandemic, as explained earlier. An oft-cited reason is the smoothness with which matters proceed here, including if interlocutory matters require the intervention of the Singapore courts. Parties are also finding that while the worst of the pandemic may be behind us, there are still instances of resurgence of the virus and small outbreaks all around the world. Singapore remains one of the safest destinations because of our strong medical infrastructure and tough stance on dealing with the spread of covid in the past, and our high vaccination rates among the local populace. This gives foreign visitors and business travellers the confidence to come here and do their work. Another reason for Singapore’s attractiveness in the immediate aftermath of covid is that most of our hospitality and travel industry remained intact due to aggressive and heavy government support throughout the pandemic years, ensuring that when the borders reopened, we were quickly able to return to pre-pandemic levels of travel and hospitality activity with no loss in service quality.

These have all contributed to Singapore being a popular destination for Indian parties.

Q. How can India embrace and integrate modern technologies, in particular artificial intelligence (AI) to ensure the responsible and effective use of AI in the arbitration process?

An important point to remember is that if properly applied, AI will not result in the loss of jobs, but rather a gain in productivity. An AI-powered robot commandeered by a technician from a location that can do the work of five street cleaners is not putting four people out of work, but allowing for five times as much cleaning to be done than previously possible. This must be the mindset that we have when approaching the use of AI. It is something that requires safeguards due to the possible harms it can unleash, including providing misleading or outright false information in the guise of reliable answers, but if used responsibly and in appropriate ways, has the potential to transform every industry, including the arbitration process. Drafting and due diligence are examples of areas where AI can provide assistance to legal teams, and it can even be used in a “Red Team” role to throw up counter arguments to stress-test legal arguments and points of attack during case preparation.

In all this, parties must continue to keep an eye on the global conversation about AI governance and regulation, so they can gain the benefits of AI while avoiding the dangers and pitfalls that as yet are not well understood.