Legal Practice Notes

Third-party funding in Singapore arbitration This Practice Note centres on the statutory scheme governing third-party funding in Singapore arbitration, together with guidance derived from case law and relevant soft law instruments. For an overview of third-party funding in international arbitration generally, see Practice Note: Third-party funding and arbitration. Since its legalisation in 2017, the use of third-party funding has grown across Singapore litigation and arbitration. Although not novel to international arbitration, leading arbitral hubs—including London, Paris and Geneva—have long allowed such funding. Singapore’s statutory framework was introduced in 2017 and, under section 5B of the Civil Law Act, applied to specified dispute resolution proceedings. At the outset, this captured international arbitration and court or mediation proceedings associated with that arbitration. In 2021, the Civil Law ( Third- Party Funding) ( Amendment) Regulations 2021 broadened the regime to domestic arbitration proceedings, certain proceedings before the Singapore...

This Practice Note has been prepared in collaboration with Ms Koh Swee Yen, Senior Counsel and Partner, Mr Joel Quek, Partner, Ms Magdalene Ong, Partner, Ms Divya Harchandani, Foreign Lawyer, and Ms Thea Elyssa Vega, Foreign Lawyer, all of Wong Partnership LLP, Singapore. The 7th Edition of the SIAC Rules took effect on 1 January 2025 and can be accessed here. This Practice Note examines the provisions concerning awards and costs under the Arbitration Rules of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre ( SIAC) (7th edition) 2025 (2025 SIAC Rules). The 2025 SIAC Rules apply to arbitrations begun on or after 1 January 2025, unless the parties have agreed otherwise. Note: Singapore judgments cited in this Practice Note are not reported by Lexis Nexis UK. Definition of the award Under the SIAC Rules, an award encompasses interim, interlocutory, consent, partial, final, or additional awards, and also includes an...

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note was originally prepared for Lexis Advance® Practical Guidance Singapore. An interested person may apply to the Registrar of Designs ( Registrar) or the High Court to revoke a design registration on the grounds that: the design was not new on the date of registration there are additional reasons why the design ought not to have been registered at the time of registration it was a corresponding design to an artistic work in which copyright subsisted, and the registered design rights have expired pursuant to section 22(1) of the Registered Designs Act ( Cap 266) For the definition of “artistic work”, see section 7(1) of the Copyright Act ( Cap 63). In High Court proceedings concerning the Singapore government’s use of a registered design, the government may likewise seek...

This Practice Note forms part of a multi-jurisdictional guide that addresses the essential aspects of establishing specific business entities across global jurisdictions. Leading firms within the Multilaw global law firm network provide responses to key questions on this topic. This guide sets out the main considerations when forming a private limited company in Singapore. Current as of 13 January 2023. Authors: Lau Kiat Wee and Amos Tan, Quahe Woo and Palmer LLC, a Multilaw member firm. Common entities What form of entity is the subject of this questionnaire? What other forms of entities are commonly used in this jurisdiction and are the subject of another questionnaire response? The most prevalent corporate form in Singapore is a company limited by shares that is privately held, commonly referred to as a private limited company (the subject of this response). Identify other types of...

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and not maintained. It was originally prepared for Lexis Advance® Practical Guidance Singapore. Performance rights shield a performer’s live or recorded dramatic and musical performances from unauthorised recording or broadcasting, and from other unapproved dealings. These rights now form a bundle of economic rights in performances encompassing non‑property, property and moral rights, granting performers of qualifying performances the ability to consent to, and to receive equitable remuneration for, specified reproductions of their performances. They are particularly valuable for addressing ‘bootleg’ recordings, that is, when a live performance is captured without the performer’s consent. Unauthorised use of performance The exclusive rights afforded to performers for their performances under the Copyright Act ( Cap 63) can be grouped into two principal categories: a primary right against the following unauthorised uses where a person: makes a...

ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note seeks to explain the right of appeal in the Singapore International Commercial Court ( SICC) and outlines the steps to challenge a judgment delivered by the SICC. It is no longer updated and is provided for background purposes only. Any monetary figures mentioned in this Practice Note are in Singapore dollars. Right of appeal More and more, parties to high-value, intricate commercial disputes view an appellate route as an essential safeguard, prioritising the accurate application of their chosen law over mere finality. Arbitration affords no appeal on the merits of an award, and the avenues to set aside such an award are narrowly confined. The framework establishing the Singapore International Commercial Court addresses this important element of dispute resolution. An appeal from an SICC decision lies to the Singapore Court of Appeal ( Singapore...

Prepared in collaboration with Ms Koh Swee Yen, Senior Counsel and Partner, Mr Joel Quek, Partner, Ms Magdalene Ong, Partner, and foreign lawyers Ms Divya Harchandani and Ms Thea Elyssa Vega, all from Wong Partnership LLP, Singapore. The SIAC Rules, Seventh Edition, took effect on 1 January 2025 and can be accessed here. This Practice Note outlines what a respondent should do upon receiving a notice of arbitration from the claimant, pursuant to the Singapore International Arbitration Centre ( SIAC) Arbitration Rules, 2025, Seventh Edition (the 2025 SIAC Rules). It addresses respondent steps upon receipt of a Notice under the 2025 SIAC Rules. These Rules took effect on 1 January 2025. Unless the parties have agreed differently, the 2025 SIAC Rules govern arbitrations initiated on or after 1 January 2025. Note: Singapore judgments mentioned in this Practice Note are not reported by Lexis Nexis®...

Loan market and developments Offer a concise summary of your jurisdiction’s loan market conditions and any notable recent developments. Singapore stands as a globally respected financial hub, underpinned by an English common law-based legal framework. Per the Monetary Authority of Singapore ( MAS), as at December 2024, roughly 132 commercial banks operated in Singapore, alongside numerous other financial institutions. Beyond domestic corporates, a wide range of regional businesses source funding from banks running their operations out of Singapore. Alongside lending, Singapore banks provide extensive services, spanning investment banking and treasury solutions. The MAS may require banks with sizeable retail footprints, and those deemed systemically important, to incorporate locally. Presently, seven banking groups are classified as systemically important, including three leading institutions headquartered in Singapore. Please outline any imminent legal changes or other factors that could influence the loan markets or the answers to the...

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and no longer maintained. It was originally prepared for Lexis Advance® Practical Guidance Singapore. Duration of copyright The ethical rationale for intellectual property is to provide creators with a temporary monopoly that encourages creation, with the expectation that works will ultimately pass into the public domain for the wider good. Copyright operates on the same principle: its protection must be time‑bound so that, once it lapses, the work becomes available to all. The question, naturally, is how long that protection should endure. Duration of copyright— Berne Convention Article 7(1) of the Berne Convention (for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works) sets the minimum term for copyright across its member states. In essence, protection lasts for the author’s lifetime and a further fifty years after death. For clarity, that additional fifty‑year period is measured from 1 January of the year...

Banking regulation— Singapore— Q& A guide This Practice Note provides a jurisdiction-specific Q& A guide to banking regulation in Singapore, published as part of the Lexology Getting the Deal Through series by Law Business Research ( Law stated at: 17 January 2023). Authors: Wong Partnership LLP— Elaine Chan; Chan Jia Hui 1. What are the principal governmental and regulatory policies that govern the banking sector? Robust local banks remain central to Singapore’s banking landscape, and the policy of preserving domestic banks’ share of total resident deposits at not less than 50% continues unchanged. In view of their systemic significance to the Singapore economy and financial system, local banks must meet capital adequacy standards that exceed Basel III requirements. Alongside this, the government has progressively liberalised the industry to encourage greater participation by foreign banks in wholesale and retail banking, fostering dynamism and...

Challenging the jurisdiction of the tribunal pre-award— Singapore’s Arbitration Act and International Arbitration Act Singapore operates a dual-track arbitration framework: the Arbitration Act, 2001 ( AA) applies to domestic references, while the International Arbitration Act 1994 ( IAA) governs international arbitrations whether the seat is in Singapore or abroad, including those conducted outside Singapore. Both statutes recognise separability, treating the arbitration agreement or clause as autonomous, distinct and independent from the underlying contract. They likewise embody the doctrine of Kompetenz- Kompetenz, vesting the tribunal with competence to rule on its own jurisdiction—including the conclusion that it lacks authority over the parties’ dispute should that be the case. The High Court of Singapore in Malini Ventura v Knight Capital Pte Ltd observed that the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration ( Model Law) empowers the arbitral tribunal to decide if it has...

Silent (or non-affirmative) cyber coverage, and the systemic risk it presents to the insurance market, have been of significant regulatory concern in recent years. This Practice Note explores silent cyber within professional indemnity insurance ( PII), the regulatory concerns it has prompted, and how the market has responded so far. It also reviews the contrasting approaches taken by the International Underwriting Association ( IUA) and the London Market Association ( LMA), and what those positions mean for underwriting practice and minimum terms for regulated professions. Cyber risks cover any exposure to financial loss, operational disruption or reputational harm suffered by an organisation resulting from the failure, unauthorised use or mistaken operation of its IT systems. Such exposures may arise from malicious conduct (including cyberattacks) and from non-malicious events (for example, system outages or accidental data loss). The frequency and visibility of cyber...

What is significant harm? Significant harm forms one of the two limbs in the definition of contaminated land under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, Part IIA ( EPA 1990). Land is contaminated where it appears to the relevant local authority ( LA) that its condition, because of substances present in, on or under it, is such that: significant harm is occurring, or there is a significant possibility of significant harm ( SPOSH), or significant pollution of controlled waters is occurring, or there is a significant possibility of significant pollution of controlled waters For further information, see Practice Note: Contaminated land—definition of contaminated land. ‘ Harm’ is defined as: harm to the health of living organisms, or other interference with the ecological systems of which they form part, and in the case of humans, includes harm to property ‘ Significant harm’ is not defined in the EPA 1990, Part IIA. Whether harm is to be...

What is significant harm? Significant harm forms one of the two elements of the definition of ‘contaminated land’ in Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 ( EPA 1990). Land is regarded as contaminated where, to the relevant local authority ( LA), its condition—due to substances within, on or beneath it—appears such that: significant harm is occurring, or there is a significant possibility of significant harm ( SPOSH) being caused; or significant pollution of controlled waters is being caused, or there is a significant possibility of significant pollution of controlled waters being caused For further information, see Practice Note: Contaminated land—definition of contaminated land. ‘ Harm’ is taken to mean: harm to the health of living organisms; or other interference with the ecological systems of which they are a part; and in the case of humans, harm to...

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is no longer maintained. It is provided for background purposes only. On 22 August 2023, SIAC opened a public consultation on the Draft 7th Edition of the SIAC Rules. The draft SIAC Rules, 7th Edition, can be accessed here. This Practice Note discusses issues concerning the appointment of the arbitral tribunal under the Arbitration Rules of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre ( SIAC) (6th edition) 2016 (2016 SIAC Rules). The 2016 SIAC Rules apply to arbitrations commenced on or after 1 August 2016, unless the parties have agreed otherwise. For guidance on the 2013 SIAC Rules, see: SIAC arbitration—overview. Number of arbitrators Under the 2016 SIAC Rules, the default is that a sole arbitrator will be appointed to resolve the dispute (2016 SIAC Rules, r 9.1). There are two exceptions to that position: more than one...

An introduction to the SIAC Investment Arbitration Rules (2017) From 1 January 2017, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre ( SIAC) Investment Arbitration Rules ( SIAC IA Rules) took effect, applying—where agreed—to investment arbitrations begun on or after that date. Although tailored for disputes involving states, state-controlled entities or intergovernmental organisations, the SIAC IA Rules draw on features of SIAC’s international commercial arbitration rules to make investment proceedings more straightforward and efficient. They seek to respond to common user concerns, notably the belief that cases last too long and that the process can lack openness. The SIAC IA Rules also introduce several novel provisions tackling current themes, including third-party funding and emergency interim relief. These Rules emerged from a wide public consultation launched on 1 February 2016, when SIAC circulated a draft of the SIAC IA Rules for feedback—see News Analysis: Draft SIAC...

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. It is provided for background information only. On 22 August 2023, SIAC announced the public consultation of the Draft 7th Edition of the SIAC Rules. The draft of the SIAC Rules, 7th Edition can be accessed here. SIAC’s multi-party and multi-contract rules This Practice Note considers the position of multiple contracts, joinder and consolidation under the Arbitration Rules of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre ( SIAC) (6th edition) 2016 (2016 SIAC Rules). The 2016 SIAC Rules apply to arbitrations commenced on or after 1 August 2016, unless the parties have agreed otherwise. The 2016 SIAC Rules contain detailed provisions covering: multiple contracts (2016 SIAC Rules, r 6) joinder (2016 SIAC Rules, r 7) consolidation (2016 SIAC Rules, r 8) In this regard, SIAC follows other international arbitral institutions which have made similar...

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and no longer maintained. It is provided solely for background information. On 22 August 2023, SIAC announced the opening of a public consultation on the Draft 7th Edition of the SIAC Rules. The draft SIAC Rules, 7th Edition, are available to access here. This Practice Note reviews the early dismissal of claims and defences under the Arbitration Rules of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre ( SIAC) (6th edition) 2016 (2016 SIAC Rules). The 2016 SIAC Rules govern arbitrations started on or after 1 August 2016, unless the parties have agreed to a different position. Early dismissal under the 2016 SIAC Rules, r 29 SIAC was among the first leading international commercial arbitration bodies to adopt a mechanism for the early dismissal of claims and defences. The purpose of the rule introduced in the 2016 SIAC Rules is to save time and...

This Practice Note is prepared in collaboration with Ms Koh Swee Yen, Senior Counsel and Partner, Mr Joel Quek, Partner, Ms Magdalene Ong, Partner, Ms Divya Harchandani, Foreign Lawyer, and Ms Thea Elyssa Vega, Foreign Lawyer, all from Wong Partnership LLP, Singapore. The 7th Edition of the SIAC Rules took effect on 1 January 2025 and is available here. This Practice Note reviews the principal provisions of the Arbitration Rules of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre ( SIAC) (7th edition) 2025 (2025 SIAC Rules) on the presentation of evidence. The 2025 SIAC Rules apply to arbitrations commenced on or after 1 January 2025, unless the parties have agreed otherwise. Evidence and conduct of proceedings Under the 2025 SIAC Rules, the tribunal may conduct the arbitration as it deems appropriate, whilst at all times acting fairly and impartially, and with diligence and...

A proprietor of commercial property may choose to permit a tenant or licensee to occupy the premises on a short-term or interim basis. This might be because: they wish to optimise income from the asset while a longer-term solution is arranged; for example, during the period when planning permission is being obtained for redevelopment the parties are working towards a longer-term deal and the occupier wants to move in while a lease is negotiated and completed the operating model relies on short-term lettings or licences, such as traders in a market hall or desks in serviced offices the business needs one or more employees to live on-site to carry out their duties more effectively This Practice Note outlines the practical steps and key issues to weigh up when deciding how best to document these...