SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Chou Sean Yu, Wendy Lin, Monica Chong Wan Yee and Frank Oh Sheng Loong, WongPartnership LLP
also permit registered foreign lawyers to appear and represent parties in stipulated relevant proceedings. However, for court applications relating to arbitration, a party may only engage counsel qualified to practise 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 address (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. It is generally accepted that arbitral proceedings (and their constituent parts, including the pleadings, docu - ments and award) are confidential. This may be pro - vided for in the relevant rules applicable to the arbitra - tion proceedings. For example, Rule 59 SIAC Rules 2025 provides that, unless otherwise agreed by the parties or as otherwise provided in the Rules, the par - ties, witnesses and members of the tribunal are under a continuing obligation to treat all matters relating to the proceedings as confidential. Also, under the IAA, the tribunal is expressly empowered to enforce any obligation of confidentiality that the parties to an arbi - tration agreement have agreed to in writing, under any written law, or under the rules of arbitration agreed to or adopted by parties. Independent of any rules, there is an implied obliga - tion of confidence in arbitral proceedings under Sin - gapore law, which requires parties not to disclose or use for any other purpose any documents prepared for and used (or disclosed or produced in the course of the arbitration), transcripts or notes of the evidence in the arbitration or the award, save with the consent of the other party (see AAY v AAZ [2011] 1 SLR 1093 at [33]). Recognised exceptions to the aforementioned implied obligation include, for example, where the party who produced the material provides express or 9. Confidentiality 9.1 Extent of Confidentiality
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