HALLIBURTON V CHUBB: THE DUTY OF IMPARTIALITY & THE OBLIGATION OF ARBITRATORS TO MAKE DISCLOSURE

In the recent United Kingdom Supreme Court (“UKSC”) decision of Halliburton Company v Chubb Bermuda Insurance Ltd (formerly known as Ace Bermuda Insurance Ltd) [2020] UKSC 48 (“Halliburton v Chubb”), the UKSC dealt with the requirement for arbitrators to not appear to be biased and the obligation of arbitrators to make disclosure, particularly in the context of accepting multiple appointments with overlapping subject matter but only one common party.

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Xian Ying Tan
SILVERLINK RESORTS LIMITED V MS FIRST CAPITAL INSURANCE LIMITED

The High Court decision of Silverlink Resorts Limited v MS First Capital Insurance Limited [2020] SGHC 251 (“SR v MS”) is a cautionary tale of why parties need to consider and draft their dispute resolution clauses carefully if they elect for a hybrid dispute resolution mechanism of submitting some types of disputes to arbitration and others to litigation.

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Xian Ying Tan
CONSIDERATION NEEDED FOR VARIATION / MODIFICATION OF A PRE-EXISTING CONTRACT

The concept of consideration in contract law is one over which much ink has been spilled. In the recent Singapore Court of Appeal (“SGCA”) decision of Ma Hongjin v SCP Holdings Pte Ltd [2020] SGCA 106 (“MHJ v SCP”), the 5-member SGCA dealt with the issue of whether consideration is needed insofar as the variation or modification of a pre-existing contract is concerned in an unanimous judgment delivered by Andrew Phang Boon Leong JA.

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Xian Ying Tan
CLAUSE 14.2(E) PSSCOC – CHANGE OF (ALL) LAW?

The Public Sector Standard Conditions of Contract, or commonly referred to as the PSSCOC, is no doubt a familiar standard form contract to many contractors. In this regard, one of the common questions that we have encountered is whether compliance with the rules and regulations in relation to the various COVID-19 measures would trigger Clause 14.2(e) PSSCOC entitling the Contractor to an extension of time. In other words, would any change of laws suffice to trigger Clause 14.2(e) PSSCOC, entitling a Contractor to an extension of time? In this short blog, we take a quick look at this issue.

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Xian Ying Tan
WHAT IS THE "DEFAULT" LAW OF THE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT IN THE ABSENCE OF ANY EXPRESS CHOICE OF LAW?

One of the more vexing issues in international arbitration is the issue of what should the governing law of the arbitration agreement be in the absence of any specific choice of law by the parties. In the United Kingdom Supreme Court decision of Enka Insaat Ve Sanayi AS v OOO Insurance Company Chubb [2020] UKSC 38 (“Enka v OOO”), this issue led to a split decision by the United Kingdom Supreme Court.

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Xian Ying Tan
CONFIDENTIALITY AND INVESTMENT-TREATY ARBITRATION

Confidentiality is one of the key aspects of arbitration, and for many parties, confidentiality is a key reason why they favour arbitration over litigation. But does the obligation of confidentiality in an arbitration extend to an investment-treaty arbitration? In this brief update, we take a look at the recent Singapore High Court decision of Republic of India v Vedanta Resources PLC [2020] SGHC 208 (“Vedanta”) which touched on this issue.

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Xian Ying Tan
THE DIFFERENCE A “DAY“ MAKES

What a difference a “day” makes”, so begins the High Court in Trustee of the Late Tay Choon Huat Estate v Soon Kiat Construction & Maintenance Pte Ltd [2020] SGHC 212 (“SKC”). While it may surprise some readers, the word “day” is often fought over by the parties in adjudication under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act as it can have a significant impact on the adjudication proceedings.

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Xian Ying Tan