SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Chou Sean Yu, Wendy Lin, Monica Chong Wan Yee and Frank Oh Sheng Loong, WongPartnership LLP
Subject to any contrary agreement between the par - ties, the tribunal will decide whether to hold oral hear - ings for presentation of evidence or oral arguments, or whether the arbitration proceedings shall be con - ducted on the basis of documents only (Article 24 ML, Section 25 (1) AA). 7.3 Powers and Duties of Arbitrators An arbitrator has (among various powers) the power to order interim measures (see 6. Preliminary and Inter- im Relief ), and the power to determine the admissibil - ity, relevance, materiality and weight of any evidence (Article 19 (2) ML, Section 23 (3) AA). Arbitrators are expected to be fair and impartial (see 4.4 Challenge and Removal of Arbitrators and 4.5 Arbitrator Requirements ). They are expected to pro - vide parties with a reasonable opportunity to present their case, address disputes falling within the terms of the parties’ submission (and not decide on mat - ters beyond the scope of arbitration) and conduct the arbitration in accordance with the arbitral procedure agreed by parties and in accordance with the relevant statutory provisions; otherwise, the arbitral award may be set aside. 7.4 Legal Representatives There are no particular requirements for legal repre - sentatives acting as counsel in arbitrations in Singa - pore. The Legal Profession Act 1966 expressly per - mits foreign lawyers to represent parties in arbitrations governed by the IAA and AA. However, for court applications relating to arbitration, a party may only engage counsel qualified to practice in Singapore. In exceptional situations, the court may admit a King’s Counsel or person holding an appoint - ment of equivalent distinction in another jurisdiction with special qualifications or experience, where the court is satisfied that there is a special reason to do so. 8. Evidence 8.1 Collection and Submission of Evidence Arbitrators have broad discretion to determine the approach to collection and submission of evidence;
however, they will commonly refer to (and recommend that parties agree to the use of) the International Bar Association Rules on the Taking of Evidence in Inter - national Arbitration (the “IBA Rules”), which addresses (among other matters) the procedures for discovery and disclosure, privilege and use of witness state - ments. As Singapore is a common law jurisdiction, cross- examination of witnesses is typically (although not always) a feature of arbitrations in Singapore, although parties are free to agree to a documents-only arbitra - tion. Under Section 12 (3) IAA, a tribunal also has the power to adopt inquisitorial processes if it thinks fit (unless the parties have agreed to the contrary). 8.2 Rules of Evidence Although there are no mandatory rules of evidence applicable to arbitral proceedings seated in Singa - pore, arbitrators will commonly refer to (and recom - mend that parties agree to the use of) the IBA Rules. The rules of evidence in Parts 1, 2 and 3 of the Evi - dence Act 1893 (which are applicable to all judicial proceedings in Singapore) do not apply to Singapore arbitrations. 8.3 Powers of Compulsion Unless otherwise agreed, where a party fails to appear at the hearing or produce documentary evidence, the arbitrator may continue the proceedings and make the award on the evidence before it. Apart from the above, the IAA and AA do not provide the tribunal with powers to compel the attendance of witnesses, but under Section 13 IAA and Section 30 AA, a party to an arbitration agreement may request the issuance of an order to attend or to produce doc - uments. If a witness is in Singapore, the court may order that the witness be compelled to attend before a tribunal, give evidence and/or produce specified documents; however, a person must not be com - pelled under such order to produce any document which they could not be compelled to produce on the trial of an action in Singapore.
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