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Click on the names of chairpersons and speakers below to show/hide the profiles in each session.

Conference Chairperson
Mr. Johnny Tan

Mr. Johnny Tan – Chairman, Conference Organising Committee; Partner, M/s LT & T Architects, Singapore

Johnny Tan is the Managing Partner of LT&T Architects. He has been an active member in the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators, having held appointments as Council Member and Honorary Secretary. He is presently Vice-President of the Institute. He is also an active member of the Singapore Institute of Architects having served on the Council, as Chairman of the Contracts Committee and the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee. He has held appointments as its Honorary Secretary, 2nd Vice-President and 1st Vice-President. Johnny has had several years experience as an arbitrator on construction disputes. He is on the Singapore Institute of Architects’ and Singapore Institute of Arbitrators’ Panel of Arbitrators and on various international panel of arbitrators including Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC), Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) and Kuala Lumpur Regional Arbitration Centre (KLRAC) He is also an Accredited Adjudicator with the Singapore Mediation Centre under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act [2004].

Session 1: Legislative Framework for Arbitration
Mr. Mohan Pillay · Professor Lawrence Boo · Dr. H Priyatna · Mr. Samuel Wong

Mr. Mohan Pillay – Managing Partner, M/s MPillay; Adj. Assoc. Prof., Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore; Visiting Professor, Centre of Construction Law & Management, King's College London; Council Member, Singapore Institute of Arbitrators, Singapore

Consistently identified as a leading Asian and Singapore lawyer in construction and arbitration, Mohan has 20 years experience appearing before both Singapore Courts and arbitration tribunals. He has represented clients in complex disputes involving building construction, civil engineering, power and incineration plants, and oil and gas production facilities, in various jurisdictions and under ICC, UNCITRAL, SIAC and other arbitration rules.

Mohan is a Panel Arbitrator of the SIAC, Singapore Institute of Arbitrators and the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration. He is also a Principal Mediator with Singapore Mediation Centre and a Fellow of the Singapore and Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He is an accredited Adjudicator under the Building & Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2004. He has acted as Adjudicator, Arbitrator and Mediator.

Mohan has recently been appointed Consultant to Pinsent Masons, which ranks in the top 15 of UK law firms and the top 100 of law firms globally in term of size. He is the managing partner of the Singapore legal firm, “MPillay”.

In addition to an active practice, Mohan is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore, and a Visiting Professor at the Centre of Construction Law & Management, King’s College London, University of London.

Professor Lawrence Boo – Deputy Chairman, Singapore International Arbitration Centre, Singapore

Professor Lawrence Boo was the first Chief Executive Officer and Registrar of SIAC. In 1996, he left to set up The Arbitration Chambers. Before his return to SIAC in May 2004, Professor Boo, a chartered arbitrator, sat as professional arbitrator in more than 150 cases and as mediator in more than 50 disputes.

Professor Boo is also active in the academic circle. He leads the teaching of international commercial arbitration at the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore since 1994 and is the Course Director for the Graduate Certificate in International Arbitration. He also supervises postgraduate research candidates in the field of ADR. He is a Visiting Professor of Wuhan University School of Law, China and is also on the adjunct faculty of Bond University, Australia. He is the author of the "Arbitration" title of Halsbury's Laws of Singapore (1998 and 2003 re-issue) and the chapter on Singapore in the book International Handbook of Commercial Arbitration (1996 and 2002 Re-issue).

Professor Boo is a law reform consultant to the Attorney-General's Chambers and Singapore's Representative to UNCITRAL Working Group (Arbitration and Conciliation) and Singapore’ s National Correspondent to UNCITRAL's Case Law on UNCITRAL Text (CLOUT).

Professor Boo was appointed as a District Judge on 2 April 2007.

 

Topic: Legislative Framework and the Amendments to UNCITRAL Model Law for International Commercial Arbitration

Dr. H Priyatna – Chairman, Indonesian National Board of Arbitration (BANI), Chartered Arbitrator, London-UK (Prof., DR., SH., Ph.D., FCIArb., FHKArb., FCBArb., C.IISL., D.IAA., Fell.BIS., LAA.)

Dr. Priyatna holds the following qualifications:
Bachelor of Law; Master of Law; Doctor of Air & Space Law; Doctor of Philosophy / International Law; Alumni: Military Cadre School; Army Staff and Command School; National Defence College of Indonesia.

His appointments include:
Member of Legal Experts: various Indonesia Government Agencies (Minister of Law/Human Rights, Coordinating Minister of Politics-Security; Minister of Mining-Energy; Minister of Communications; Minister of Defense; Advisor: Chief of Staff of the Air Force; Anti Corruption Commission; Professor of: Military Law; Air and Space Law (Aviation, Air Transport, Insurance, Liabilities of the Air Carrier, Telecommunications, Remote Sensing, Direct Broadcasting, Cyber, Satellite Operation, Geo Stationary Orbit), Arbitration/ADR Law, etc. of Law Schools-Indonesia; Director/Honorary Director, International Institute of Space Law (IISL-Paris); Member, International Astronautical Federation (IAF-Paris); Member, International Academy of Astronautics (IAA-Paris); Fellow, British Interplanetary Society-UK, Planetary Society-USA; Member, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA-New York); Panel of Legal Experts/Arbitrators: INTELSAT-USA, ICAO-Montreal, ICSID-World Bank-USA, American Society of International Law-USA; Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London-Hong Kong, Arbitrator: Indonesia, Singapore, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Philippines, Australia, the Netherlands, etc. Member, Asia-Pacific Regional Arbitration Group (APRAG), Sidney-Australia. Member, Commission on Settlement in International Arbitration (CEDR), London-UK.

He has settled more than 75 disputes in Europe, USA, Asia, Indonesia (institutional-ad hoc) under the rules of INTELSAT-ICAO-UNCITRAL-ICSID-ICC, Indonesia.

 

Topic: Arbitration Updates: An Indonesian Perspective

The settlement of disputes by means of arbitration, was since long a well known practice in Indonesia. For instance one of the Pillars of Indonesia Philosophy, the PANCASILA is “musyawarah untuk mufakat”, “meaning discussions being held to come to a peaceful settlement”. The Arbitration Law no 30/1999 concerning Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution, being a replacement of the Code of Civil Procedure, in force as from the year 1849, contains provisions on arbitration and the execution of arbitral awards. Institutionalized arbitration has just come into being on 3rd December 1977, when, at the initiative of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia, Prof. R. Subekti, BANI Arbitration Center was established. BANI entertains a list of national and international Arbitrators consisting of persons of high knowledge and integrity, such as retired Justices of Supreme Courts, law professors, experts in finances and other prominent professionals of various disciplines. BANI Arbitration Center renders services for the settling of disputes, both of national as well as of international characters.

Mr. Samuel Wong – Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators; Barrister at law, Andrew Liao S.C.’s Chambers, Hong Kong (B.A., M.A., MBA (Harvard University) 1978, PCLL (Hong Kong University))

Samuel Wong’s qualifications include:

· Chartered Arbitrator of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
· Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
· Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators
  Fellow
  Chairman, Institutional Development Committee
  President
· Member of OSFA International, London
· On the panel of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Center
· On the panel of the China International Economic & Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC)
· On the panels of the Arbitration Commissions of Wuhan, Guangzhou, Suzhou, Dalian, Shengyang, Weihai (Shandong), Weizhou (Guangdong) and Karamay (Xinjiang) of the Peoples Republic of China
· On the list of arbitrators of the Hong Kong Bar Association

 

He has litigation experience in civil and commercial matters in the High Court of the Hong Kong SAR and arbitration experience in construction, agricultural commodities, insurance, professional negligence, international trade and shipping and China equity joint venture disputes; where he has sat as arbitrator and presiding arbitrator.

 

Topic: Nature and application of legislative framework for arbitration

Session 2: Nature & Role of the Tribunal
Mr. Michael Hwang SC · Mr. Lau Hang Chong · Mr. Lok Vi Ming SC · Mr. Tay Yu-Jin

Mr. Michael Hwang SC – Proprietor, M/s Michael Hwang; Council Member, Singapore Institute of Arbitrators, Singapore

Michael Hwang is currently the Vice Chairman of the ICC International Court of Arbitration and Vice President of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) as well as a Court Member of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) and a Council Member of the International Council of Arbitration for Sports. Michael is the holder of two law degrees from Oxford University, where he was a College Scholar, and is currently a Senior Counsel of the Supreme Court of Singapore. He also serves as the Deputy Chief Justice of the Dubai International Financial Centre. He is a panelist of 16 national arbitration centres as well as the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the ICSID Panel of Arbitrators. He currently practises as an independent barrister and chartered arbitrator. He has served as a Vice Chairman of the Arbitration Committee of the International Bar Association from 2001-2003, a United Nations Compensation Commissioner from 2000-2002, and a Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court of Singapore from 1991-1992. He is Singapore’s Non-Resident Ambassador to Switzerland.

Mr. Lau Hang Chong – Managing Director of Projects Infosys Sdn Bhd; Principal of Jurukur Bahan SPL, Brunei

Lau Hang Chong is a Chartered Quantity Surveyor, with a degree in Quantity Surveying and a master degree in Construction Management. He had many years of experience working with a large regional Quantity Surveyor and Cost Consultancy Group, in all aspects of the Construction Industry.

He actively provides litigation support services and contract advisory services to parties involved in the construction and the oil and gas industry, both in Brunei and in Malaysia. Besides advisory services, he also acts on behalf of clients to negotiate settlement agreement on dispute and liaise with legal teams. He has also appeared many times as expert witness at court or arbitral hearings and/or as part of supporting team of counsels in arbitrations. He is also a council member of the Arbitration Association of Brunei Darussalam.

 

Topic: Tribunal’s attitude towards expert evidence

Mr. Lok Vi Ming SC – Partner, Rodyk & Davidson LLP, Singapore

Lok Vi Ming SC is a Partner in Rodyk & Davidson LLP's Litigation & Arbitration Practice Group and heads the firm's Aviation Practice.

Vi Ming is an internationally renowned aviation lawyer who is also experienced in ship mortgage enforcement matters. Vi Ming is recognised in international publications as a leading international insurance lawyer and has distinguished himself by pioneering what is widely recognised as the leading aviation insurance practice in Singapore.

He is one of the world's leading aviation practitioners and was named in the 2005 and 2006 editions of the International Who's Who of Aviation Lawyers. He has represented clients in every major litigation relating to aviation law in Singapore in recent years. He successfully defended Silk Air in the MI 185 crash and continues to defend Singapore Airlines in the SQ 006 crash litigation. He also succeeded in his client’s defence in the Slim 10 case, a landmark decision on product liability litigation in Singapore.

Vi Ming is a Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators and Singapore Academy of Law. He is also a member of the Regional Panel of Arbitrators with the Singapore International Arbitration Centre. Vi Ming is Consultant of the Singapore Court Practice 2006 and Contributing Writer of the Singapore Precedents of Pleadings, 2006.

 

Topic: Appointment and Challenge of Tribunals

Mr. Tay Yu-Jin – Senior Associate, Shearman & Sterling LLP, Singapore
Yu-Jin is a senior associate in Shearman & Sterling’s international arbitration group. Currently based in Singapore, he has previously practised in London, Paris, and Washington, D.C., and specialises in representing multinational corporations and states in investment treaty arbitrations and international arbitrations concerning M&A, oil and gas, defence procurement, general commercial and construction and engineering disputes. Since 2002, he has served as the first Regional Representative for Asia in the LCIA’s Young International Arbitration Group (YIAG). He is a member of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators, Australasian Forum for International Arbitration (AFIA), International Arbitration Institute (IAI) and other arbitration associations. Yu-Jin is listed in the Euromoney Guide to the World’s Leading Experts in Commercial Arbitration 2006.  

Topic: Jurisdiction challenge

Session 3: Role of the Courts
Mr. Richard Tan · Mr Wilfred Abraham · Prof. Ian Bailey SC · Mr. Sundaresh Menon

Mr. Richard Tan – Senior Partner, M/s Lee & Lee; Director, Lovells Lee & Lee; Council Member, Singapore Institute of Arbitrators, Singapore

Richard Tan is a senior partner in the Singapore law firm Lee & Lee and heads the firm’s arbitration, construction, projects and intellectual property practice area groups. He is also a director of the international joint venture law corporation, Lovells Lee & Lee. He is the Immediate Past President of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators. He has acted as arbitrator and counsel in many domestic and international arbitrations, and has been appointed as arbitrator by institutions such as the SIAC, the ICC International Court of Arbitration and the London Court of International Arbitration and as a panel adjudicator by the World Intellectual Property Organization and under the SMC-SIAC Singapore Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy. He is on several arbitration panels, including the SIAC, HKIAC, WIPO, SIAC SGX-DT Panel, Singapore Institute of Arbitrators, Singapore Institute of Architects. He is an Advisory Board member to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development on a programme for dispute resolution. He is also an Adjunct Assoc. Professor at the National University of Singapore teaching in the King’s College/NUS MSc Programme on Construction Law and Arbitration. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators. He is on the approved list of tutors of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators and has been the course director on the International Entry Courses on arbitration and an assessor on the Fellowship Assessment workshops. He has been named by the Euromoney Legal Media Group as one of the world’s leading experts in commercial arbitration, by Asia Law as a leading lawyer in dispute resolution, and by the Legal 500 as a leading lawyer in dispute resolution and recommended by Global Counsel 3000 in the area of projects work.

Mr Wilfred Abraham – Head of the Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Group, M/s Zul Rafique & Partners, Malaysia

Wilfred Abraham is head of the Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Group. He was called to the Bar on 20th June 1975, after finishing his Bar final exams and being called to the Honourable Society of Middle Temple. He started practice with Messrs Shearn Delamore & Co until his exit from the firm, and came on board Zul Rafique & Partners as of 1st January 2001. Wilfred’s particular area of practice is alternative dispute resolution, with particular emphasis on arbitration. In the long years of practice that he has registered, he has appeared as Counsel and Arbitrator in many arbitrations, including arbitrations conducted under the auspices of various bodies such as the International Chamber of Commerce, the FIDIC form as well as the Architects Form of Contract and the KLRCA rules as well as the UNCITRAL rules.

In addition to his contentious work, Wilfred provides advice and drafts building contracts for specialised projects such as cement mills, power generation plants, and other infrastructure projects.

Wilfred has written various articles on aspects of arbitration in Malaysia and has co-authored the FIDIC Chapter and how it could be used in Malaysia.

 

Topic: Interim Measures: A Malaysian Perspective

Professor Ian H Bailey SC – Institute of Arbitrators & Mediators Australia, Australia

A Senior Counsel since 2004 and a practising barrister since 1983, Professor Ian Bailey SC specialises in construction and related claims throughout Australia.

He is also a Professorial Fellow of the University of Melbourne, Co-Director of Studies for the Construction Law Graduate Program and Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Law at UTS, Sydney.

Professor Bailey is a Court appointed Referee in numerous NSW Court proceedings. He was a practicing architect from 1970 to 1980.

He has been the National Vice-President of the Institute of Arbitrators and Mediators Australia since 2004 and was the Chairman of the NSW Chapter from 2000 to 2003. He is also a Fellow and Grade 1 Arbitrator of IAMA and accredited mediator.

 

Topic: How much misconduct and how wrong can one be?

Mr. Sundaresh Menon – Senior Partner, M/s Rajah & Tann, Singapore

Sundaresh Menon is the Senior Partner of the Firm. He is admitted to the Bar in Singapore and in the State of New York. Sundaresh graduated with First Class Honours from the National University of Singapore and later took a Masters degree from Harvard Law School where he again achieved academic distinction. He has been practising in the field of commercial arbitration and
litigation for 20 years.

During that time, he has advised and represented clients as lead counsel in complex and technical disputes throughout Asia including in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Hong Kong, Brunei, Taiwan, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Sri Lanka and has appeared in arbitration proceedings in various jurisdictions including London, Paris, Geneva, Singapore and Hong Kong. His experience in arbitration extends to numerous cases governed by various Rules of Arbitration including the ICC Rules, the UNCITRAL Rules, the SIAC Rules, the HKIAC Rules, and the LCIA Rules. He has also acted as sole arbitrator in a number of cases and has served as the Chairman of arbitration tribunals constituted under the auspices of the ICC. [Read more]

 

Topic: Courts and Arbitration: A Question of Balance

  • Challenges to arbitrators
  • Enforcement of awards
  • What the courts can do to support an arbitral process

Session 4: Legislative & Procedural Framework for Enforcement
Dr. Philip Chan · Mr. Mohanadass Kanagasabai · Dr. Anne Netto · Mr. Gary Soo · Mr. Andre Yeap SC

Dr. Philip Chan – Associate Professor, Department of Building, School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore, Singapore

Dr Philip Chan is an Associate Professor with the Department of Building, School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore. He is the Deputy Head for Finance and Administration in the Department of Building. He is also the Programme Director of the KCL-NUS MSc (Construction Law and Arbitration) programme, and teaches the MSc (Project Management) programme as well as the March programme.

Dr Chan has been recently appointed as a co-Editor of the Asian International Arbitration Journal and a member of the Editorial Board of the International Construction Law Review. He had been appointed Deputy President by the Minister of Law under the Land Titles (Strata) Act to sit on the Strata Titles Board. He had received training as an English barrister and is an advocate and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore. He also practises as a lawyer under his law firm of Messrs Philip CF Chan. He is a Fellow and Council member of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators (SIArb) and is in the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) Regional Panel of Arbitrators and in the Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA) Panel of Arbitrators.

Dr Chan is a practising arbitrator and had been appointed as a sole arbitrator in an ICC arbitration. He has been invited by several public and private organisations to give talks and carry out in-house training on matters of construction law including the use of standard form of building contracts and arbitration. Dr Chan’s work experience spans across the construction industry, the courtrooms and arbitration rooms, and the lecture theatres and seminar rooms. He had graduated with a Diploma in Building from the Singapore Polytechnic in 1976 and worked in the construction industry. He worked for the contracts section of Housing and Development Board, WT Partnership (Brunei Office), BEC Consultants, Lilley International, and Fudo Construction. He went on to obtain his LLB and LLM and was called to the English and Singapore bar. He worked for the legal department of the Housing and Development Board and the law firm of Donaldson and Burkinshaw. He joined Ngee Ann Polytechnic in 1988 and obtained a diploma in education from the University of London. In 1991, he became a lecturer in the School of Building and Estate Management. He was seconded to Singapore International Arbitration Centre as its Executive Director and Registrar in 1996. He then completed his PhD with the University of London under the supervision of Duncan Wallace QC. The title of his thesis is “The Development of Construction Law in Singapore”.

Mr. Mohanadass Kanagasabai – Malaysian Institute of Arbitrators, Malaysia

Mohanadass Kanagasabai is a partner of Shook Lin & Bok, Kuala Lumpur. He frequently appears as counsel in domestic and international arbitrations on a range of disputes including oil and gas, telecommunications, construction and engineering, and commercial matters. His current assignments include a dispute involving the construction of a national highway in India with a Delhi seat, a shareholders dispute in an oil and gas project with a Singapore seat, a claim on an EPCC contract in respect of well head platforms with a Kuala Lumpur seat, and an ICC arbitration, also on an oil and gas dispute, to be heard in Switzerland. He has appeared previously in LCIA, KLRCA and UNCITRAL arbitrations. The Asia Pacific Legal 500 describes him as follows; “Shook Lin & Bok’s Mohanadass Kanagasabai has an established name in construction arbitration in both Kuala Lumpur and beyond.”“Shook Lin & Bok has in Mohanadass Kanagasabai one of its most admired partners, boasting solid experience in construction disputes. He has also been involved in several construction arbitrations throughout Malaysia”.

 

Topic:

Dr. Anne Netto – Singapore

Dr Anne Magdaline Netto LLB, MSc, PhD, is currently practicing as a specialist construction lawyer and arbitrator. She has wide ranging experience in the academia, litigation and in commercial dispute resolution. As a construction lawyer she has advised on many of the standard forms of contract (with amendments sought by the parties) used both locally and internationally. She has authored numerous articles on construction law in Singapore and the UK which have been published in leading journals. She participates frequently, both as speaker and chair, in conferences and seminars both locally and internationally.

 

Topic: Legislative and Procedural Framework for Enforcement

Mr. Gary Soo – President, Hong Kong Institute Arbitration, Hong Kong

Gary is a practising Barrister and Chartered Engineer. He is a Fellow of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators, a Member of the Institution of The American Society of Civil Engineers, The Institution of Structural Engineers, The Institution of Civil Engineers, The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers and The Chartered Quality Institute.

He has been practising in areas of civil litigation involving commercial and construction disputes and arbitration and is the co-author of the book “Construction Law and Practice in Hong Kong” and a contributing editor to the book “Arbitration in Hong Kong: A Practical Guide”.

Gary is a listed panelist for domain name disputes of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre and the China International Economic Trade Arbitration Commission. He has been an arbitrator of a number of arbitration commissions in Mainland China, including those at Suzhou, Weihai, Karamay, Yantai, Wuhan and Dalian of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association I-CASS scheme for cyberspace arbitration.

 

Topic: Opposing Enforcement of Mainland China Arbitral Awards in Hong Kong

An arbitral award is not necessarily the end of disputes between the parties. In Hong Kong, arbitral awards of various arbitration commissions in Mainland China are enforceable under a legislative and procedural framework that allows only the grounds for challenging such enforcement as those in the New York Convention. Obviously, how these grounds are approached by the Hong Kong courts in operation is an important matter for all involved. This paper provides an updated review of the legal landscape and operation principles for opposing enforcement of Mainland China awards in Hong Kong. It further seeks to highlight various matters of practice that can become important in such a process. By illustrating with recent case examples, it also provides a checklist highlighting the matters that those involved in enforcing or opposing the enforcement of such arbitral awards in Hong Kong need to be alerted to.

Mr. Andre Yeap SC – Partner, M/s Rajah & Tann, Singapore

Called to the Bar in 1986 Andre was first among his peers to be appointed Senior Counsel in January 2003. Andre has developed a broad-based corporate and commercial litigation and insolvency-related practice which includes banking, securities, shareholder disputes, fraud, breach of fiduciary duties, trust and estate matters. He is also active in international and domestic arbitrations. Many of his cases are landmark cases, setting precedent for various areas of the law. The Asia Pacific Legal 500 (2005/2006) stated that “Andre Yeap SC is a pillar of strength in commercial matters”. Andre has also been appointed as a member of the Competition Appeals Board.

Andre has acted and advised in various insolvency and liquidation matters. He has represented the Official Assignee / Receiver of the State of Queensland in this respect and was also responsible for the compulsory liquidation of Daewoo Singapore Pte Ltd with debts well in excess of $400 million, one of the largest insolvencies in the Singapore corporate scene. He has also represented the Commissioner of Estate Duty in a valuation dispute relating to one of the largest estates in Singapore. In addition to his corporate and commercial litigation practice, Andre has a significant construction law practice. He acts for publicly listed property, construction and engineering companies on construction disputes in and outside Singapore and has appeared as Counsel in numerous construction disputes both in Court and in arbitrations. Apart from disputes relating to building projects, he has been involved in cases concerning the construction of vessels and oil rigs.

 

Topic:

Session 5: Practical Considerations to Assist Enforcement
Mr. Naresh Mahtani · District Judge Leslie Chew · Mr. Christopher Chuah · Mr. Justyn Jagger · Dr. Colin Y. C. Ong

Mr. Naresh Mahtani (FSIArb, FCIArb) – Consultant, M/s Alban Tay Mahtani de Silva; Council Member, Singapore Institute of Arbitrators, Singapore

Naresh has been in legal practice for the past 25 years in commercial litigation, construction projects and dispute resolution. He is currently Chairman of the Society for Construction Law and a Council Member of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators. He is a member of several dispute resolution panels, including the Regional Panel of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, Asia-Pacific Regional Grouping (APRAG) Panel of Arbitrators; Disputes & Compensation Resolution Panel of Singapore Wholesale Electricity Market, Adjudication Panel of the Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Panel; as well as an Accredited Adjudicator at the Singapore Mediation Centre. He is currently a consultant at Alban Tay Mahtani & de Silva (ATMD), a firm which he co-founded, and is engaged as an advisor in construction projects and in dispute resolution as arbitrator and counsel in Singapore and the region.

District Judge Leslie Chew – District Judge, Subordinate Courts of Singapore, Singapore

Leslie Chew was a practicing lawyer for 26 years. The last 7 years he practiced as Lead Counsel, having been appointed a Senior Counsel in 2000. He has been an active arbitration practitioner for the last 10 years and is a past President of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators. He is a Fellow of the Singapore and Chartered Institutes of Arbitrators as well as being accredited with several regional arbitral centres, including the SIAC and SIArb. He is a regular teacher and speaker on arbitration and is the author of the Singapore Arbitration Handbook (LexisNexis Butterworths, 2003).

Presently, he is a District Judge in Singapore.

 

Topic: Importance of the Seat of Arbitration

a. Choice of Venue of Arbitration as the seat of arbitration
  difference between venue and seat
  why is choice of seat important
b. Legal and Practical considerations
  the physical infrastructure
  communications
  the legal framework
  the courts at the seat of arbitration
c. The consequences of the choice of seat
  physical and legal implications
  other considerations
d. Impact of choice of seat on Enforcement of Award
 

Recognition of the Award elsewhere

  Relevance of NY Convention
 

Impact of local procedures/laws at seat

Mr. Christopher Chuah – Partner, M/s WongPartnership, Singapore

Christopher Chuah heads the Infrastructure, Projects & Construction Practice and is a Partner in the China Practice. His main areas of practice encompass construction disputes, in both litigation and arbitration; and he is a specialist in Building and Construction Law. Christopher has acted for contractors in various arbitration disputes both in Singapore and the PRC. He currently leads a team of lawyers acting for Resorts World at Sentosa Pte Ltd, part of the Genting Group of Companies, in relation to the development and construction of the Integrated Resort Project at Sentosa.

Christopher graduated from the London School of Economics and was admitted to the Bar of England and Wales in 1984, and the Singapore Bar in 1990. Apart from a law degree, Christopher has a Diploma in Surveying (Distinction) from the College of Estate Management, Reading, UK.
Christopher is a legal advisor to the Singapore Contractors Association Limited ("SCAL"), as well as a member of the Committee for International Construction and Building Contracts. He is a Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators and Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, as well as the Chartered Institute of Building. He has also been appointed to the Singapore International Arbitration Centre's Main Panel of Arbitrators. Christopher was appointed an accredited Adjudicator under the Building & Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2004, as part of the first group of such appointments. Christopher is currently serving as the President of the Chartered Institute of Builders Singapore Centre.

 

Topic: Setting aside an award for breach of natural justice/grounds of public policy

a. Natural Justice as a ground for setting aside an award
  S 24(b) IAA and S 48(1)(vii) AA
  What are the rules of natural justice?
  Challenging an award for failure to adhere to rules of natural justice:
    Which rule was breached?
How was it breached?
Causal nexus between the breach and the award made
Has there been prejudice to the rights of the party?
b. Setting aside/refusing enforcement of an award on grounds that award is contrary to public policy
  Art 34(2)(b)(ii), Art 36(1)(b)(ii) UNCITRAL Model Law and S 48(b)(ii) AA
  Not a vague "catch-all" provision
  What is contrary to public policy?
c. Practical Considerations
  Judicial philosophy of minimal interference
 

Recent Court of Appeal decisions of Soh Beng Tee & Co Pte Ltd v Fairmount Development Pte Ltd [2007] SGCA 28, and PT Asuransi Jasa Indonesia (Persero) v Dexia Bank SA [2007] 1 SLR 597"

Mr. Justyn Jagger – Director, DLA Piper, Singapore

Justyn is admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales (1994). Justyn moved to Singapore in 1999 and became a partner of DLA Piper's Insurance and Arbitration Group in 2004. Justyn has conducted a wide range of ICC, SIAC, UNCITRAL, LCIA and ad-hoc arbitrations across Asia. He specialises in insurance, reinsurance and construction arbitrations and has extensive experience of contractor's all risks, general liability and property damage disputes. He advises insureds, insurers and reinsurers on all aspects of non-marine insurance. Justyn has been named as a leading individual in arbitration and litigation in Singapore in the 2000 to 2005 editions of the Asia Pacific Legal 500.

 

Topic: Practical issues concerning enforcement - including issues such as failure of party to participate, lack of notice, procedural problems, local rules for enforcement

Dr. Colin Y. C. Ong – Managing Partner, Dr. Colin Ong Legal Services, Brunei

Among his various portfolios, Dr. Colin Ong is a Panel Member of the ASEAN Protocol on Enhanced Dispute Settlement Mechanism, ASEAN; Former Principal Legal Consultant, ASEAN Centre for Energy; Barrister of Essex Court Chambers and of 3 Verulam Buildings (London); Adjunct Associate Professor of National University of Singapore and Visiting Fellow, Queen Mary, University of London; President of the Arbitration Association of Brunei Darussalam; Independent Arbitrator and Registered Foreign Law Consultant (Singapore).

He has acted as arbitrator, lead counsel, counsel, mediator, conciliator and expert witness in both ad hoc and institutional commercial arbitrations around the world. Colin is an Accredited Arbitrator and Panellist of over 15 international and national institutions. He has authored several legal books and numerous articles and serves as Advisory/Editorial board member of several international arbitration and law journals including Amicus Curiae (IALS, London); Asian Int. Arbitration Journal (Singapore); Business Law International (IBA, London); Maritime Risk International (London) and others. He is also a Drafting Committee member for Malaysian PAM 2005 Standard Building Forms of Contract. He has been consistently recommended as leading counsel or arbitrator in the International Who’s Who (Commercial Arbitration, Banking and Int. Commercial Litigation); Chambers & Partners and Asia-Pacific Legal 500 directories.

 

Topic: Manner in which arbitration conducted