If you’ve been served a Notice of Arbitration, or you’re reading the clause for the first time
If you’ve landed on this page late at night, it’s usually one of two reasons. You’ve just been served a Notice of Arbitration from SIAC or ICC and you’re trying to work out what’s binding and what isn’t. Or the contract you signed three years ago has gone wrong, and you’re trying to read the arbitration clause for the first time before you decide whether to sue, arbitrate, or settle.
I’m Wahab. I run A.W. Law LLC in Chinatown. I appear in arbitration proceedings at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) and hold full rights of audience at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts, which matters when the dispute crosses jurisdictions.
The first 10 minutes of advice are free. Nothing commits you.
What international arbitration in Singapore actually is
International arbitration is a private process for resolving cross-border commercial disputes. Two or more parties (usually from different countries, or one Singapore party and one foreign party) agree to have their dispute decided by a tribunal of one or three arbitrators, instead of by a national court. The tribunal issues a binding arbitral award, enforceable in over 170 countries under the New York Convention (formally, the 1958 Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards).
Singapore is one of the most-used arbitration seats in the world, alongside London, Paris, and Hong Kong. The reasons it gets chosen:
- The International Arbitration Act 1994 (IAA). Singapore-seated arbitrations run under the IAA, which imports the UNCITRAL Model Law. The Act is supportive: the High Court intervenes only to enforce an award or to hear a narrow set-aside application.
- The Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC). The main institution for Asia-related commercial arbitration, with a published fee schedule, an Expedited Procedure for claims up to S$10 million, and an Emergency Arbitrator route for urgent interim relief.
- A pro-arbitration judiciary. Singapore courts will pause any court proceedings where a valid arbitration clause exists, and they enforce foreign awards routinely.
Other institutions you’ll see on Singapore-seated and Asia-region matters: the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris, HKIAC in Hong Kong, LCIA in London, AIAC in Kuala Lumpur, and CIETAC in Mainland China. Which one applies depends on the wording of the contract clause and the seat the parties chose.
If your matter is a domestic civil dispute or a family mediation, see our mediation and arbitration page. For a contract that’s broken down without a clear arbitration clause, see contract disputes or breach of contract.
When international arbitration is the right route
International arbitration isn’t always better than going to court. Before we file at SIAC, I ask:
- Does the contract have an arbitration clause, and is the seat clearly stated? “Arbitration in Singapore under SIAC Rules” is a clean clause. “Disputes settled by arbitration” with no seat or institution is the start of a preliminary fight before the real fight.
- Where is the other side’s money? An award is only as useful as the place where you enforce it. If the respondent’s assets sit in a country that hasn’t signed the New York Convention, arbitration may not give you a usable result.
- Is privacy worth the cost? Arbitration is confidential by default. Court hearings in Singapore are mostly public. For sensitive commercial information or a reputational dispute, that confidentiality has real value.
- What’s the dispute size? Full SIAC arbitration isn’t economic for a S$50,000 claim. The Expedited Procedure helps, and so does mediation, but small disputes usually belong in court or in contract disputes territory.
- Is there an urgent need for interim relief? Where assets risk dissipation or a counterparty is about to act, the Emergency Arbitrator can grant relief within 14 days, and the Singapore courts can grant freezing orders in support.
The two patterns we see most often are:
- Singapore-seated, foreign respondent. A Singapore company has a contract with a counterparty in Indonesia, Vietnam, India, or the Middle East, the clause says SIAC, and the deal has gone wrong. We act for either side.
- Foreign-seated award, Singapore enforcement. The arbitration runs in Hong Kong, London, or Paris, the award is issued there, and the winning party needs it enforced against assets held in Singapore.
Our blog on resolving business disputes without going to court covers the practical side of choosing arbitration over litigation.
What to expect from SIAC arbitration, honestly
How long it takes.
A standard SIAC arbitration runs 9 to 18 months from Notice of Arbitration to the final award. Smaller cases qualify for the Expedited Procedure and target an award within 6 months. The Emergency Arbitrator procedure can grant interim relief within 14 days of filing. ICC arbitrations typically run 12 to 24 months. Complex multi-party international matters can take over 2 years.
How much it costs.
Three layers, all separate. The institution fee (charged by SIAC, ICC, or the chosen institution) follows a published schedule tied to the sum in dispute. The tribunal fee (one or three arbitrators) scales with the same number: for a S$1 million claim, SIAC’s tribunal and institution fees together usually total S$45,000 to S$85,000, shared between the parties. The third layer is counsel fees, which we quote in writing as a capped engagement in three milestone tranches: (i) clause review and Notice of Arbitration, (ii) pleadings and document production, (iii) hearing and post-hearing. The 10-min Discovery Session is free, and no paid work begins until you’ve seen and accepted the estimate.
On the DIFC angle.
For UAE-Singapore commercial disputes, I hold full rights of audience at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts, the English-language common-law court that sits inside the DIFC Free Zone in Dubai. That matters where a contract has a DIFC jurisdiction clause, where an arbitral award needs DIFC enforcement, or where a Singapore judgment needs to be registered against UAE assets through the DIFC’s “conduit jurisdiction” route.
What’s hard.
Three things tend to surprise first-time clients in international arbitration. Document production is heavier than in a Singapore court action, often run under the IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence, and a sloppy production response can wreck a strong case. Witness statements are more tightly drafted than affidavits, and witnesses are usually cross-examined live at the merits hearing. Finally, an arbitral award is final on the merits: setting one aside under the IAA requires showing a procedural defect, not that the tribunal got the facts or the law wrong. Preparation has to be right the first time.
How we handle international arbitration at A.W. Law
- One director, start to finish. The director who takes your Discovery Session runs the matter through to award.
- Clause and seat review first. Before any filing, you get a written memo on the clause’s strengths, gaps, the proper seat, and the realistic strategy.
- Honest route advice. If your matter belongs in a Singapore court, in mediation, or with foreign counsel as lead, we’ll say so before any work starts.
- Capped fees, in writing, in three tranches. Notice of Arbitration; pleadings and document production; hearing and post-hearing.
- Cross-border reach. SIAC, ICC, HKIAC, LCIA, AIAC, CIETAC, and DIFC Courts. We co-counsel with foreign firms where local admission is needed.
- WhatsApp evenings until 10pm on weekdays.
- Multilingual. English, Malay, or Tamil.
We’re at 133 New Bridge Road, #20-03 Chinatown Point. Two minutes from Chinatown MRT, Exit E.
What happens next
If you’ve been served a Notice of Arbitration, or you’re trying to read an arbitration clause before things escalate, the next step is simple. Book a free 10-min International Arbitration Discovery Session using the form on this page, or message us on WhatsApp using the button anywhere on the screen.
Nothing commits you. Most sessions end with a short list of things to gather: the contract, the clause, the correspondence, the rough numbers, and where the assets sit. You’ll leave knowing whether SIAC, ICC, another seat, or the Singapore courts is the right route, and what a realistic timeline and cost look like.
