PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
SEPTEMBER 2018
Time has flown by and the end of 2018 will soon be upon us. It is thus opportune to reflect on some of our initiatives this year and the road ahead.
Education and Training is a core function of SIArb and it has as always been an eventful year. The Committee chaired by Naresh Mahtani conducted the International Entry Course (“IEC”) on 27, 28 & 30 April 2018 and 40 participants passed the examination. The next Fellowship Assessment Course (“FAC”) is scheduled for 18, 19, 26, 27, 29 October 2018. Course Director Leslie Chew SC will be introducing some fresh changes to the course syllabus, with an increased emphasis on practice sessions in addition to the award-writing component. The Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration (“SCMA”) has also been in talks with us on a potential collobation on holding a course on accreditation for maritime arbitrators in 2019.
SIArb presently administers arbitrations conducted under two such schemes, namely the Committee for Private Education (“CPE”) Mediation-Arbitration Scheme, and the Council for Estate Agencies (“CEA”) Dispute Resolution Scheme. The arbitration rules for the CPE Mediation-Arbitration Scheme were revised and put into effect in April 2018. The Committee also seeks to promote scheme arbitrations in other areas and industries and to expand the number of schemes to be administered by SIArb in partnership with other organizations and bodies. The Committee led by Chia Chor Leong is presently pursuing initiatives to develop scheme arbitrations for disputes in the areas of telecommunications, commerce and sports.
The next Regional Arbitral Institute Forum (“RAIF”) Conference will be hosted by the Indonesian Arbitrators Institute (IArbI) in Jakarta on 28-29 November 2018. Details of this event are on our website and I encourage members to make the trip to Jakarta. There is a lot to be gained not only in terms of networking but also in keeping abreast with the latest developments in Arbitration in the region.
Members will recall being consulted on an initiative to publish a journal on Singapore Arbitration at the 36th AGM on 28 Sep 2017. Mohan Pillay and Yeo Boon Tat have been hard at work on this exciting initiative. We will be launching the Singapore Arbitration Journal in 2019 and there is a call for expressions of interest for Assistant Editors within this newsletter. This will be an excellent platform for members to contribute in terms of thought leadership regarding legal developments in Arbitration.
2018 marks the tenth time that SIArb’s Arbitration Bar Committee has convened the Commercial Arbitration Symposium. It will once again be held at the historic Old Parliament House on 15 November 2018 and we have a stellar lineup of panellists featuring Ms Smitha Menon, Ms Sue Hyun Lim, Ms Ariel Yu, Ms Sapna Jhangiani, Ms Judith Gill and the Honourable Justice Belinda Ang. This will follow on the heels of our Annual Dinner on 14 Novembers 2018.
On 22 November 2018, Professor Khory McCormick will share personal reflections on the market place dynamics which may govern success or failure for arbitration service providers in the region.
He will also provide insights into the potential impact of the Singapore Convention on Mediation in this context.
As you can see, it has been an eventful 2018 and there is more to look forward to in 2019.
President,
SIArb 2017-2019