PART 7 | General duties of arbitral tribunal |
| 22. The arbitral tribunal must act fairly and impartially and must give each party a reasonable opportunity of presenting the party’s case. |
| Determination of rules of procedure |
23.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the parties are free to agree on the procedure to be followed by the arbitral tribunal in conducting the proceedings.| (2) Failing such agreement, the arbitral tribunal may, subject to the provisions of this Act, conduct the arbitration in any manner that it considers appropriate. |
| (3) The power conferred on the arbitral tribunal under subsection (2) includes the power to determine the admissibility, relevance, materiality and weight of any evidence. |
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| Statements of claim and defence |
24.—(1) Within the period of time agreed by the parties or, failing such agreement, as determined by the arbitral tribunal, the claimant must state —| (a) | the facts supporting the claimant’s claim; | | (b) | the points at issue; and | | (c) | the relief or remedy sought, |
| and the respondent must state the respondent’s defence in respect of the particulars set out in this subsection, unless the parties have otherwise agreed to the required elements of such statements. |
| (2) The parties may submit to the arbitral tribunal with their statements, all documents they consider to be relevant or other documents which refer to those documents, or other evidence. |
| (3) Except as otherwise agreed by the parties, either party may amend or supplement his, her or its claim or defence during the course of the arbitral proceedings, unless the arbitral tribunal considers it inappropriate to allow the amendment, having regard to the delay in making the amendment. [12/2012] |
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| Hearings and written proceedings |
25.—(1) Subject to any contrary agreement by the parties, the arbitral tribunal must determine if proceedings are to be conducted by oral hearing for the presentation of evidence or oral argument or on the basis of documents and other materials.| (2) Unless the parties have agreed that no hearings are to be held, the arbitral tribunal must, upon the request of a party, hold such hearings at an appropriate stage of the proceedings. |
| (3) The parties must be given sufficient notice in advance of any hearing and of any meeting of the arbitral tribunal for the purposes of inspection of goods, other property or documents. |
| (4) All statements, documents or other information supplied to the arbitral tribunal by one party must be communicated to the other party. |
| (5) Any expert report or evidentiary document on which the arbitral tribunal may rely in making its decision must be communicated to the parties. |
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| Consolidation of proceedings and concurrent hearings |
26.—(1) The parties may agree —| (a) | that the arbitral proceedings are to be consolidated with other arbitration proceedings; or | | (b) | that concurrent hearings are to be held, |
| on such terms as may be agreed. |
[12/2012] | (2) Unless the parties agree to confer such power on the arbitral tribunal, the tribunal has no power to order consolidation of arbitral proceedings or concurrent hearings. [12/2012] |
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27.—(1) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the arbitral tribunal may —| (a) | appoint one or more experts to report to it on specific issues to be determined by the tribunal; and | | (b) | require a party to give the expert any relevant information or to produce, or to provide access to, any relevant documents, goods or other property for the expert’s inspection. |
| (2) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, if a party so requests or if the arbitral tribunal considers it necessary, the expert must, after delivery of the expert’s written or oral report, participate in a hearing where the parties have the opportunity to put questions to the expert and to present other expert witnesses in order to testify on the points at issue. |
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| General powers exercisable by arbitral tribunal |
| 28.—(1) The parties may agree on the powers which may be exercised by the arbitral tribunal for the purposes of and in relation to the arbitral proceedings. [12/2012] (2) Without affecting the powers conferred on the arbitral tribunal by the parties under subsection (1), the tribunal has powers to make orders or give directions to any party for —| (a) | security for costs; | | (b) | discovery of documents and discovery of facts; [Act 31 of 2022 wef 01/11/2022] | | (c) | giving of evidence by affidavit; | | (d) | a party or witness to be examined on oath or affirmation, and may for that purpose administer any necessary oath or take any necessary affirmation; | | (e) | the preservation and interim custody of any evidence for the purposes of the proceedings; | | (f) | samples to be taken from, or any observation to be made of or experiment conducted upon, any property which is or forms part of the subject matter of the dispute; and | | (g) | the preservation, interim custody or sale of any property which is or forms part of the subject matter of the dispute. |
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(3) The power of the arbitral tribunal to order a claimant to provide security for costs as mentioned in subsection (2)(a) must not be exercised by reason only that the claimant is —| (a) | an individual ordinarily resident outside Singapore; or | | (b) | a corporation or an association incorporated or formed under the law of a country outside Singapore, or whose central management and control is exercised outside Singapore. |
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| (4) All orders or directions made or given by an arbitral tribunal in the course of an arbitration are, by permission of the Court, enforceable in the same manner as if they were orders made by the Court and, where permission is so given, judgment may be entered in terms of the order or direction. [Act 25 of 2021 wef 01/04/2022] |
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| Powers of arbitral tribunal in case of party’s default |
29.—(1) The parties may agree on the powers which may be exercised by the arbitral tribunal in the case of a party’s failure to take any necessary action for the proper and expeditious conduct of the proceedings.(2) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, if, without showing sufficient cause —| (a) | the claimant fails to communicate the claimant’s statement of claim in accordance with section 24, the arbitral tribunal may terminate the proceedings; | | (b) | the respondent fails to communicate the respondent’s statement of defence in accordance with section 24, the arbitral tribunal may continue the proceedings without treating the failure in itself as an admission of the claimant’s allegations; and | | (c) | any party fails to appear at a hearing or to produce documentary evidence, the arbitral tribunal may continue the proceedings and make the award on the evidence before it. |
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(3) If the arbitral tribunal is satisfied that there has been inordinate and inexcusable delay on the part of the claimant in pursuing the claimant’s claim, and the delay —| (a) | gives rise, or is likely to give rise, to a substantial risk that it is not possible to have a fair resolution of the issues in that claim; or | | (b) | has caused, or is likely to cause, serious prejudice to the respondent, |
| the tribunal may make an award dismissing the claim. |
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| Order to attend and order to produce documents |
| 30.—(1) Any party to an arbitration agreement may request for the issue of an order to attend or an order to produce documents. [42/2005] [Act 31 of 2022 wef 01/11/2022] (2) If a witness is in Singapore, the Court may order that —| (a) | an order to attend be issued to compel the witness to attend before an arbitral tribunal and give evidence; or | | (b) | an order to produce documents be issued to compel the witness to attend before an arbitral tribunal and produce specified documents. |
[Act 31 of 2022 wef 01/11/2022] |
| (3) The Court may also issue an order under section 38 of the Prisons Act 1933 to bring up a prisoner for examination before an arbitral tribunal. |
| (4) A person must not be compelled under an order mentioned in subsection (1) or (2)(a) or (b) to produce any document which the person could not be compelled to produce on the trial of an action. [42/2005] [Act 31 of 2022 wef 01/11/2022] |
[Act 31 of 2022 wef 01/11/2022] |
| Court’s powers exercisable in support of arbitral proceedings |
31.—(1) The Court has the following powers for the purpose of and in relation to an arbitration to which this Act applies:| (a) | the same power to make orders in respect of any of the matters set out in section 28 as it has for the purpose of and in relation to an action or matter in the Court; | | (b) | securing the amount in dispute; | | (c) | ensuring that any award which may be made in the arbitral proceedings is not rendered ineffectual by the dissipation of assets by a party; | | (d) | an interim injunction or any other interim measure. [12/2012] |
| (2) An order made by the Court under this section ceases to have effect in whole or in part (as the case may be) if the arbitral tribunal, or any arbitral or other institution or person having power to act in relation to the subject matter of the order, makes an order which expressly relates to the whole or part of that order of the Court. [26/2009] |
(3) The Court, in exercising any power under this section, is to have regard to —| (a) | any application made before the arbitral tribunal; or | | (b) | any order made by the arbitral tribunal, |
| in respect of the same issue. |
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| (4) Provision may be made by Rules of Court for conferring on the Registrar of the Supreme Court (within the meaning of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1969) or other officer of the Court all or any of the jurisdiction conferred by this Act on the Court. |
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