Singapore arbitration statistics reveal record involvement from foreign jurisdictions

According to SIAC’s statistics, which were recently published as part of its 2023 Annual Report (25-page / 9MB PDF), it experienced its second-highest ever caseload last year, with 663 new cases filed. Of these, as much as 93% were international, which is an increase from 88% in 2022. In addition, parties involved in the cases filed with SIAC in 2023 represented a record 66 jurisdictions.

Greater China including Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), India and the US emerged as the top three foreign users during the year, followed by the Middle East, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, Thailand, France and the UK, highlighting SIAC’s broad appeal across continents.

Scheherazade Dubash, an international arbitration expert at Pinsent Masons, said the centre’s appeal had crossed new frontiers, with the latest statistics demonstrating SIAC’s growing influence and the international community’s confidence in its arbitration processes. She also highlighted India’s increase in SIAC participation, noting that Indian parties were involved in 160 cases in 2023, a significant rebound from 89 in 2022 after approaching a peak of 187 in 2021.

According to Dubash, this trend reflected a robust and sustained preference for SIAC’s arbitration mechanisms among Indian businesses and legal professionals, and demonstrated a reliance among Indian corporations on SIAC’s expertise in managing intricate and high-value disputes.

“Over the past decade, Indian entities have consistently turned to SIAC for the administration of their international commercial arbitrations,” she said.

“To date, SIAC has witnessed the involvement of over 2,000 Indian parties in arbitration proceedings, with more than 1,300 cases featuring Indian parties. The diversity of legal frameworks in these cases is notable, with the application of laws from 27 different jurisdictions in 2023 alone. Predominantly, the legal systems of Singapore, the UK and India were employed. This reflects the seamless integration and flexibility of SIAC’s arbitration rules and the recognition of its awards within the Indian legal context.”

“As India continues to ascend as a formidable force in the global economy, its commercial sectors are increasingly involved in international transactions that necessitate dependable and effective dispute resolution avenues. The synergy between SIAC’s arbitration mechanisms and India’s legal principles is pivotal, ensuring that Indian businesses have access to fair and efficient adjudication on the international stage.”

She also noted a spike in cases from Hong Kong SAR, which surpassed the combined total from the next nine top foreign users, as an intriguing development. While the cause remains unclear, it echoes a previous surge linked to related case sets in 2020.

The total amount under dispute across all 663 of the arbitrations filed with SIAC in 2023 was US$11.9 billion, with an average value per case filing of US$37.31 million. The highest sum in dispute last year for a single administered case was US$5.48 billion.

Trade disputes dominated the caseload accounting for 47% of cases, followed by commercial disputes with 14%, maritime and shipping with 13%, and construction and engineering with 8%.

Reflecting its commitment to diversity, SIAC’s panel of arbitrators in 2023 hailed from 38 jurisdictions, with the majority from Singapore, UK, Australia, India, and the US. Of the 164 arbitrators appointed, 60 were female.

The cases were administered by the SIAC Secretariat, consisting of arbitration lawyers qualified in 13 jurisdictions and speaking 16 languages. This further underscored the centre’s multilingual and multi-jurisdictionally qualified team’s capacity for effectively administering complex global disputes, Dubash said.