- Singapore ranked in top five most preferred seat of ICC Arbitration in the world for 10 years.
- Singapore has consistently, been the number 1 seat of ICC arbitration in ASIA Over the last 5 years.
The International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has announced strong growth in Asia in 2015, confirming Singapore’s place as the fourth most chosen seat globally for arbitration hearings and retaining its position in the top five most chosen cities for the tenth consecutive year.
In 2015, over 6% of all new ICC cases named Singapore as the seat of arbitration upholding the city’s ranking as the number one seat of ICC Arbitration in Asia. As a reputed seat of arbitration for Singaporean and foreign parties alike, Singapore ranked the 4th most preferred seat of arbitration in the world.
The 2015 ICC Dispute Resolution Statistics to be published next month also indicate that while the number of Singaporean parties remained constant over the last 12 months, the number of foreign parties choosing Singapore as a seat for arbitration is on the rise.
In over 71% out of all new Singapore seated arbitrations filed in 2015, one or more of the parties was not Singaporean while in close to half of these cases, a non-Singapore arbitrator was appointed.
“It is important to highlight that under ICC Rules of Arbitration, parties do not require any Singaporean connections to arbitrate in Singapore. They also have the flexibility to choose an arbitrator of any nationality despite the seat of arbitration,” said Abhinav Bhushan, ICC’s recently appointed Regional Director for South Asia.
In 2015 the Court recorded the second highest number of new cases in its 93-year history, with some 801 cases filed over the course of 2015. New cases administered by the Court involved a total of 2,283 parties—with multiparty disputes accounting for more than 30% of the total new caseload for the first time.
New records were set in 2015 for the average value of new ICC disputes and the aggregate value of cases before the Court. The average monetary value in dispute in new ICC cases rose to US$84 million from US$63 million in 2014—with the largest dispute valued at over US$1 billion. The aggregate value of all disputes pending before the Court at the end of the year stood at US$286 billion.
Commenting on the release of these results, President of the ICC Court Alexis Mourre said: “The figures show the unrivalled and growing reach of ICC Arbitration. We are particularly delighted with the strong growth of ICC Arbitration in North America and Asia—reflecting the establishment of new representative offices in these regions in recent years.”
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About The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is the world’s largest business organization with a network of over 6.5 million members in more than 130 countries. We work to promote international trade, responsible business conduct and a global approach to regulation through a unique mix of advocacy and standard setting activities—together with market-leading dispute resolution services. Our members include many of the world’s largest companies, SMEs, business associations and local chambers of commerce.