According to SIAC, U.S. parties are consistently among the top foreign users of SIAC and in 2020 alone, over 500 U.S. parties have arbitrated under SIAC’s rules. According to SIAC’s 2019 Annual Report, the United States was the fourth top foreign user of SIAC, coming after India, Philippines, and China. With SIAC opening its offices in New York, U.S. parties will have more options in selecting arbitral institutions and will increasingly consider SIAC when drafting dispute resolution clauses. SIAC may indeed be an appealing competitive option for U.S. parties that have disputes with parties based in Asia. Aside from parties based in Singapore, parties based in India, Philippines, and China are the most frequent users of SIAC. It is also foreseeable that there will be more arbitrators based in the United States who may become members of SIAC’s panel of arbitrators and take on larger roles in SIAC’s Court of Arbitration.
SIAC’s presence in New York is significant in that it can assist in promoting diversity within the arbitration community in the United States. SIAC is an extremely diverse institution and its presence in the Americas may increase diversity within the arbitration community in the United States by bringing a diverse panel of arbitrators and counsels who have experience with SIAC.
SIAC presents a couple of advantages as an arbitral institution. The SIAC rules permit expedited procedures where a final award is issued within six months of the constitution of the tribunal as well as an “emergency arbitrator” procedure whereby an emergency arbitrator is appointed to hear applications for urgent interim relief prior to the constitution of the tribunal. The SIAC rules also offer a procedure for the early dismissal of claims and defenses. Parties may make an application for such early dismissal of a claim or defense if a claim or defense is manifestly without legal merit or manifestly outside the jurisdiction of the tribunal.
According to SIAC, it is currently reviewing and revising its 2016 Rules in order to “take into account recent developments in international arbitration practice and procedure, and is aimed at better serving the needs of businesses, financial institutions and governments that use SIAC.” With new rules that are improved in accordance to the recent trends in international arbitration, such as the use of artificial intelligence and aspirations on diversity, SIAC’s progress as a global arbitral institution in the next couple of years will be interesting (and exciting) to witness, especially with its presence in the Americas.
