SIAC sets record in new cases filed, total sum in dispute in 2015

THE Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) has set a new record last year in the number of new cases filed, number of cases administered, as well as quantum in dispute.

In its 2015 annual report released on Thursday, the centre said it received 271 new cases from parties from 55 jurisdictions.

This was a 22 per cent increase from the 222 new cases filed in 2014 and an increase of almost 5 per cent from the previous record of 259 new cases filed in 2013.

The top three foreign users were India, China, and South Korea, with the United States and Australia in fourth and fifth places, respectively.

Of the total new cases filed, SIAC administered 244 cases in 2015 - another new high - where it provided case management services such as financial management, fixing and payment of arbitrators' fees, cost determinations and scrutiny of draft awards to minimise the risk of errors.

The remainder of the new cases received were ad hoc cases involving arbitrator appointments, said SIAC.

It added that the top three most common nature of disputes filed last year were trade (29 per cent), commercial (19 per cent), and corporate and maritime disputes (17 per cent).

The centre also set a new record in terms of the total sum in dispute, which grew 24 per cent year on year to S$6.23 billion from a year ago. The highest claim amount, it said, was S$2.03 billion.

Over the past decade, SIAC's case filings have increased by more than 300 per cent.

Said Lim Seok Hui, CEO of SIAC: "SIAC's administered caseload has grown steadily over the years, and reflects user confidence globally in the quality and efficiency of the case management services provided by the SIAC Secretariat working closely with the SIAC Court of Arbitration."