What this guide covers
- Which rules apply, and what is new
- Commencement — the Notice of Arbitration
- The Response, and the 14-day problem
- Prima facie jurisdiction
- Choosing a track: Streamlined, Expedited or full
- Constituting the tribunal
- Disclosure and challenge
- Conduct, written submissions and issues for determination
- Seat, language and applicable law
- Third-party funding
- Hearings, witnesses and experts
- Interim relief, preliminary determination and early dismissal
- Security for costs and security for claims
- The emergency arbitrator — 24 hours
- Inside the Streamlined Procedure
- Inside the Expedited Procedure
- Closure, the award and Registrar scrutiny
- Correction, interpretation and additional awards
- Deposits and costs
- Confidentiality, information security and waiver
- Frequently asked questions
SIAC’s 7th Edition Rules run three procedural tracks rather than two, answer in 14 days rather than 30, and appoint an emergency arbitrator within 24 hours. They also removed the automatic Singapore seat that many clauses were drafted against. This is the sequence from Notice of Arbitration to award, with the rule numbers.
Which rules apply, and what is new
The 7th Edition came into force on 1 January 2025 and applies to any arbitration commenced on or after that date unless the parties agreed otherwise (Rule 1.5). The Schedules form part of the Rules (Rule 1.3), and the Registrar may issue Practice Notes to supplement them (Rule 1.4).
What the 7th Edition added: the Streamlined Procedure (Rule 13 and Schedule 2), preliminary determination (Rule 46), coordinated proceedings (Rule 17), security for claims as distinct from security for costs (Rules 48 and 49), and an express information security obligation (Rule 61). It also removed the default Singapore seat. Any precedent written against the 2016 Rules should be re-checked.
Commencement — the Notice of Arbitration
The claimant delivers a Notice of Arbitration to the Registrar and to the respondent, and may file it online through SIAC Gateway (Rule 6.1). The date the Registrar receives the Notice is the date the arbitration commences (Rule 6.2).
The Notice must contain a demand that the dispute be referred to arbitration, the parties and their representatives, the date and mode of delivery to the respondent, the arbitration agreement and the underlying contract or treaty, a statement of the nature and circumstances of the dispute with the relief sought and an initial estimate of the claim amount, comments on applicable law, seat, language, number of arbitrators and the constitution procedure, a statement on the existence of any third-party funding agreement and the identity of the funder, and payment of the Claim Filing Fee (Rule 6.3).
The claimant may also serve its Statement of Claim with the Notice (Rule 6.4(b)) — worth doing where speed matters, because it lets the respondent’s defence follow immediately.
If the Notice does not comply or substantially comply, or the filing fee is unpaid, the Registrar may set a period to remedy it; failing that the Registrar may terminate the arbitration, though without prejudice to filing again (Rule 6.6).
The Response, and the 14-day problem
The respondent delivers its Response to the Registrar and the claimant within 14 days of commencement or of receiving the Notice, whichever is later (Rule 7.1). This is the tightest response period of any major institution — DIAC allows 30 days, arbitrateAD 21, the ICC 30.
The Response must confirm or deny the claims, raise any jurisdictional objection under Rule 8.1 or Rule 31.2, describe any counterclaim, cross-claim or set-off with an initial estimate, comment on law, seat, language and the tribunal, and disclose any third-party funding (Rule 7.1). Where the claimant served a Statement of Claim, the respondent may — but need not — serve its Statement of Defence and Counterclaim at this point (Rule 7.2).
Failure to respond does not prevent SIAC administering the arbitration and making decisions under the Rules (Rule 7.4). In practice the 14 days is a planning problem rather than a legal one: a respondent who lets it pass loses the opportunity to influence the number of arbitrators, the track, the seat and the language at the only moment those are genuinely open.
Before the tribunal is constituted a party may amend or supplement its Notice or Response with the Registrar’s leave (Rule 9.1), and the Registrar may hold administrative conferences to settle procedural directions (Rule 11.1).
Prima facie jurisdiction
Where a respondent files no Response, or a party objects to the existence, validity or applicability of the arbitration agreement, the arbitration proceeds and jurisdiction is for the tribunal — unless, before constitution, the Registrar refers the matter to the SIAC Court for a prima facie determination (Rule 8.1).
The Court then decides on a prima facie basis whether and to what extent the arbitration proceeds, without prejudice to the tribunal ruling on its own jurisdiction (Rule 8.2). If the Court determines it shall not proceed, the Registrar terminates it (Rule 8.3).
Choosing a track: Streamlined, Expedited or full
The 7th Edition runs three tracks, and which one applies is decided largely by value.
Streamlined applies automatically where the amount in dispute does not exceed S$1,000,000 before the tribunal is constituted, or where the parties agree to it, unless the President disapplies it on a party’s application (Rule 13.1). The parties may exclude Rule 13 by written agreement (Rule 13.3).
Expedited applies where the parties agree to it (Rule 14.1), or on application to the Registrar where the amount in dispute does not exceed S$10,000,000 but exceeds S$1,000,000, or where the amount is below S$1,000,000 but the President has disapplied the Streamlined Procedure, or where the circumstances warrant it (Rule 14.2). The President decides after considering the parties’ views (Rule 14.3), and the parties may exclude Rule 14 in writing (Rule 14.4).
Anything else runs the full procedure. Because the Streamlined track is automatic and strips out document production, witness evidence and hearings by default, a party with a sub-S$1m claim that genuinely needs oral evidence should be thinking about Rule 13.3 at drafting stage, not after a dispute arises.
Constituting the tribunal
For a sole arbitrator, the parties may nominate jointly within 21 days of commencement; failing that the President appoints (Rules 21.1 and 21.2).
For three arbitrators, the claimant nominates within 14 days of commencement and the respondent within 14 days of receiving the claimant’s nomination; if either fails, the President appoints on that party’s behalf (Rules 22.1 and 22.2). The President appoints the presiding arbitrator unless the parties agreed another procedure that produces a nomination in time (Rule 22.3).
In a multi-party case with three arbitrators, the claimants jointly and the respondents jointly nominate within 28 days (Rule 23.1). Absent joint nominations from both sides, the President appoints all three and designates the president (Rule 23.2) — the standard consequence of a side that cannot agree internally.
Disclosure and challenge
An arbitrator may be challenged where circumstances give rise to justifiable doubts as to impartiality or independence, where the arbitrator lacks a qualification the parties agreed, or where the arbitrator becomes unable to perform (Rule 26.1). A party may challenge its own nominee only on grounds arising after the appointment (Rule 26.2).
The notice of challenge goes to the Registrar within 15 days of receiving the notice of appointment, or of the grounds becoming known (Rule 27.1), and must state the facts and legal basis and include the Challenge Filing Fee (Rule 27.2). As with arbitrateAD, non-payment of the fee is fatal to the challenge unless remedied in the period the Registrar sets (Rule 27.3).
Conduct, written submissions and issues for determination
The tribunal conducts the arbitration as it considers appropriate, subject to the Rules and the parties’ agreement, ensuring fair and expeditious resolution (Rule 32). Written submissions follow Rule 33.
Rule 34 is worth attention because it is the closest thing SIAC has to the ICC’s abolished Terms of Reference: the tribunal must, in consultation with the parties and at the appropriate stages, use reasonable efforts to identify the issues to be determined and record them in a procedural order. It is lighter than Terms of Reference and iterative rather than front-loaded, but it performs the same function of fixing what the arbitration is actually about.
Seat, language and applicable law
The parties may agree the seat; failing agreement, the Tribunal determines it (Rule 36.1). There is no longer an automatic Singapore seat. Clauses drafted against earlier editions on the assumption that silence produced Singapore should be revisited — under the 7th Edition, silence produces a tribunal decision.
The same structure governs language (Rule 37.1), with the Registrar able to determine the language of administrative communications (Rule 37.3) and either the Registrar or the tribunal able to order translations (Rule 37.2).
On the merits the tribunal applies the law or rules of law chosen by the parties, failing which what it determines to be appropriate (Rule 35.1), deciding in accordance with the contract and applicable trade usages (Rule 35.2). It may act as amiable compositeur or decide ex aequo et bono only on express authorisation (Rule 35.3).
Third-party funding
SIAC’s funding regime is the most interventionist of the major institutions. Existence and identity of the funder must be disclosed in the Notice or Response, or as soon as practicable after the agreement is concluded (Rule 38.1), and changes must be notified (Rule 38.2).
The provision with teeth is Rule 38.3: after the tribunal is constituted a party shall not enter into a funding agreement that may give rise to a conflict of interest with any member of the tribunal, and the tribunal may direct the party to withdraw from it. A funded party cannot create a conflict and then use it. The tribunal may also order disclosure of funding information (Rule 38.4).
Hearings, witnesses and experts
Hearings are governed by Rule 39, witnesses by Rule 40 and tribunal-appointed experts by Rule 41. Non-participation and non-compliance are addressed by Rule 44, which lets the tribunal proceed and draw appropriate conclusions rather than allowing an absent party to stall the reference.
The tribunal closes the proceedings under Rule 42 once satisfied the parties have had a reasonable opportunity to present their cases, and Rule 43 deals with suspension, settlement and termination — including a consent award where the parties settle.
Interim relief, preliminary determination and early dismissal
The tribunal may grant interim or conservatory relief by order or award and require security for it (Rule 45.1). Applying to a court for the same is not incompatible with the Rules and is not a waiver of the arbitration agreement, but must be promptly notified to the tribunal and the Registrar (Rule 45.2).
Preliminary determination (Rule 46) is new in the 7th Edition. A party may apply for a final and binding determination of any issue where the parties agree, where the applicant shows it is likely to save time and cost, or where the circumstances otherwise warrant it (Rule 46.1). If the tribunal lets it proceed, the decision — with reasons which may be in summary form — is due within 90 days of filing, unless the Registrar extends (Rule 46.4).
Early dismissal (Rule 47) targets a claim or defence that is manifestly without legal merit or manifestly outside jurisdiction (Rule 47.1). The decision is due within 45 days of filing (Rule 47.4).
Neither is available in a Streamlined arbitration (Schedule 2, paragraph 18) — a real trade-off against the speed of that track.
Security for costs and security for claims
SIAC separates two things most rules run together. Security for costs (Rule 48) is an order that a party asserting a claim secure the legal costs and the costs of the arbitration; non-compliance allows the tribunal to make any appropriate consequential direction, and the applicant must disclose material changes in circumstances (Rules 48.2 and 48.3).
Security for claims (Rule 49) is the mirror image: an order that a party responding to a claim provide security for the claim itself. That is a meaningfully different remedy, and it is unusual to find it expressed as a standalone power.
The emergency arbitrator — 24 hours
An application may be filed before, with, or at any time after the Notice, provided the tribunal is not yet constituted (Schedule 1, paragraphs 1 and 2). It must certify that all parties have been given a copy, or explain the steps taken to notify them (Schedule 1, paragraph 3(c)).
The timetable is the tightest in commercial arbitration. SIAC seeks to appoint the emergency arbitrator within 24 hours of the later of receipt of the application and receipt of the filing fee and deposits. Any challenge must be filed within 24 hours of the notice of appointment or of the grounds becoming known, and is resolved on a 24-hour cycle (Schedule 1, paragraphs 9 and 10). The emergency arbitrator establishes a schedule within 24 hours of appointment (paragraph 14) and may make a preliminary order pending submissions (paragraph 16).
The order or award is due within 14 days of appointment unless the Registrar extends, and may not be made until the Registrar has approved it under Rule 53 (Schedule 1, paragraph 17). Before the tribunal is constituted the emergency arbitrator may reconsider, modify or vacate the order, or make an additional order on relief sought but not decided (paragraph 19).
Inside the Streamlined Procedure
A sole arbitrator is always appointed (Schedule 2, paragraph 1). The parties have three days from notification to nominate jointly, failing which the President appoints as soon as practicable (paragraphs 2 and 3). A challenge must be filed within three days (paragraph 5), and the SIAC Court may decide it without giving reasons (paragraph 7).
The tribunal holds a case management conference within five days of its constitution (paragraph 8). Unless it determines otherwise after hearing the parties: the arbitration is decided on written submissions and documentary evidence; no party may request document production; and no party may file fact or expert witness evidence (paragraph 11). No hearing is held unless the tribunal considers one necessary or accepts a party’s request, and any hearing is remote by default (paragraph 12).
Reasons are given in summary form unless the parties agree none are required (paragraph 13), and the final award is due within three months of the tribunal’s constitution (paragraph 15). Costs are capped: tribunal and SIAC fees shall not exceed 50 per cent of the maxima in the Schedule of Fees (paragraph 16).
Streamlined terms take precedence over contrary terms in the arbitration agreement, including a clause providing for three arbitrators (paragraph 17). The tribunal may, with the Registrar’s approval, order that the arbitration no longer proceed on that track — but the same tribunal continues (paragraph 20).
Inside the Expedited Procedure
A sole arbitrator is appointed unless the President determines otherwise (Schedule 3, paragraph 1). The dispute is decided on written submissions and documentary evidence unless a party requests a hearing or the tribunal decides one is appropriate — a materially more generous position than the Streamlined track. Any hearing is held remotely unless the parties agree or the tribunal decides on an in-person or hybrid hearing (paragraph 3).
The tribunal may decline document production or limit the number, length and scope of written submissions and witness evidence (paragraph 3(d)). Reasons are in summary form unless the parties agree none are needed (paragraph 4), and the final award is due within six months of the tribunal’s constitution unless the Registrar extends (paragraph 6).
As with the Streamlined track, the Expedited provisions take precedence over contrary terms of the arbitration agreement, including a clause requiring more than one arbitrator (paragraph 7).
Closure, the award and Registrar scrutiny
Where there is more than one arbitrator the award is made by majority; failing a majority, the presiding arbitrator alone makes it (Rule 51.2). If an arbitrator fails to participate after a reasonable opportunity, the remaining arbitrators may proceed, must notify the Registrar, the parties and the absent arbitrator, and must explain in the award why they proceeded (Rule 51.3) — a truncated-tribunal power that also requires them to weigh the effect on enforceability.
The award is in writing and signed, with the majority’s signatures sufficing provided the reason for any omission is stated (Rule 52.1); it may be signed in counterpart or electronically (Rule 52.2). It states its reasons unless it is a consent award (Rule 52.3) and is deemed made at the seat on the date stated (Rule 52.4). The tribunal may award simple or compound interest (Rule 51.5), and the award is final and binding with an irrevocable waiver of appeal so far as validly made (Rule 51.6).
Scrutiny runs on a defined clock. Within 30 days of the last directed submission the tribunal must give the parties and the Secretariat an estimate of when it will submit the draft (Rule 53.1), and must submit the draft no later than 90 days after that submission unless the Registrar determines otherwise (Rule 53.2). The Registrar may suggest modifications to form and draw attention to points of substance (Rule 53.3), and no award may be issued until the Registrar has approved its form (Rule 53.4).
The award is delivered to the parties upon settlement of the costs of the arbitration (Rule 52.5).
Correction, interpretation and additional awards
A party may request correction of computational, clerical or typographical errors within 30 days of receiving the award, and the tribunal, if it considers the request justified, makes the correction within 30 days of receiving it (Rule 54.1). The tribunal may correct on its own initiative within 30 days (Rule 54.2). A request for interpretation of a specific point or part of the award follows the same 30-day/30-day structure (Rule 54.3), and any correction or interpretation forms part of the award.
Rule 55 additionally provides for remission, allowing a court-remitted award to be dealt with under the Rules.
Deposits and costs
Deposits are governed by Rule 56, the costs of the arbitration by Rule 57 and the parties’ legal and other costs by Rule 58. Unless the parties agree otherwise, the final award specifies the Registrar’s determination of the costs of the arbitration and the tribunal’s apportionment of them (Rule 51.4).
SIAC states its scale as maxima and, unlike DIAC and arbitrateAD, calculates each band as a base plus a percentage of the excess over the threshold rather than a percentage of the whole sum. Our arbitration cost calculator implements that arithmetic and compares SIAC against DIAC, arbitrateAD and the LCIA.
Confidentiality, information security and waiver
Confidentiality is governed by Rule 59 and publication of awards by Rule 60. New in the 7th Edition is Rule 61, an express information security obligation, alongside Rule 62 on document retention — a recognition that the practical risk to confidentiality in a modern arbitration is the handling of the data rather than the discretion of the participants.
Finally, waiver. Rule 64 deems a party that proceeds without promptly objecting to a known non-compliance to have waived its right to object. As with the ICC and arbitrateAD, no fixed number of days is given, which makes an immediate written objection the only safe course.
Frequently asked questions
Which SIAC Rules apply to my arbitration?
The 7th Edition, which came into force on 1 January 2025 and applies to any arbitration commenced on or after that date unless the parties agreed otherwise (Rule 1.5). The 7th Edition introduced the Streamlined Procedure, preliminary determination and a restructured emergency arbitrator regime, so a note written against the 2016 Rules will be out of date on all three.
How long does a respondent have to answer at SIAC?
14 days from commencement or from receipt of the Notice, whichever is later (Rule 7.1). That is the shortest response period among the major institutions — half DIAC's 30 days and two thirds of arbitrateAD's 21. Failure to respond does not stop the arbitration being administered (Rule 7.4), but it does forfeit the practical opportunity to shape the tribunal and the track.
What is the Streamlined Procedure?
New in the 7th Edition. It applies automatically where the amount in dispute does not exceed S$1,000,000, or by agreement (Rule 13.1), unless the President disapplies it. A sole arbitrator is appointed, the case is decided on documents with no document production and no witness evidence, and the final award is due within three months of the tribunal's constitution. Tribunal and SIAC fees are capped at 50% of the maximum (Schedule 2).
What is the default seat of a SIAC arbitration?
There is no longer an automatic Singapore default. Under Rule 36.1 the parties may agree the seat and, failing agreement, the Tribunal determines it. Earlier editions defaulted to Singapore unless the tribunal decided otherwise, so a clause drafted on that assumption no longer produces a guaranteed Singapore seat.
Can SIAC dismiss a hopeless claim early?
Yes. Rule 47 allows early dismissal of a claim or defence that is manifestly without legal merit or manifestly outside the tribunal's jurisdiction, with a decision due within 45 days of the application. Separately, Rule 46 allows a binding preliminary determination of any issue, due within 90 days. Neither is available in a Streamlined arbitration (Schedule 2, paragraph 18).
How fast is the SIAC emergency arbitrator?
The fastest of the major institutions. SIAC seeks to appoint an emergency arbitrator within 24 hours of receiving the application and the filing fee, any challenge must be brought within 24 hours, the emergency arbitrator sets a schedule within 24 hours of appointment, and the order or award is due within 14 days of appointment (Schedule 1).
Does SIAC scrutinise draft awards?
Yes. The tribunal must give the parties an estimate of when it will submit the draft within 30 days of the last submission, and must submit the draft no later than 90 days after that submission (Rules 53.1 and 53.2). The Registrar may suggest modifications to form and draw attention to points of substance, and no award may be issued until the Registrar has approved its form (Rule 53.4).
Can a party take on litigation funding mid-case?
Not freely. After the tribunal is constituted a party shall not enter into a third-party funding agreement that may give rise to a conflict of interest with any member of the tribunal, and the tribunal may direct the party to withdraw from it (Rule 38.3). Funding must be disclosed in the Notice or Response, or as soon as practicable after it is concluded (Rule 38.1).