In recent years, the international dispute resolution landscape in Asia has evolved at a rapid pace. In particular, Singapore and Hong Kong have emerged as leading global centres for dispute resolution, and have been at the forefront of many institutional and legislative developments. There have been significant developments across Asia including major legislative changes, arbitration rules revisions, and the opening of new state-of- the-art facilities for mediation and arbitration. This article focuses on Singapore and Hong Kong.

A Rise up the Rankings: Seats and Institutions -

The choice of arbitral seat is a key decision for the successful resolution of any dispute. As a general rule, if a party is not willing to litigate in the courts of a particular jurisdiction, it should be wary of seating its arbitration there – because it is those courts which will supervise and support (or undermine) the arbitral process and rule on the validity of an arbitral award, if challenged. It is therefore not a good idea to experiment with seats.