Recent Amendments to the International Arbitration Act

On 9 April 2012, the International Arbitration (Amendment) Bill was passed to amend the International Arbitration Act (IAA) (Chapter 143A of the 2002 Revised Edition) and to make related amendments to the Arbitration Act (Chapter 10 of the 2002 Revised Edition).This Bill is in line with the Singapore Government's efforts in developing Singapore as a hub for international arbitration since the mid-2000s. The amendments seek to improve the efficacy of the arbitration process in Singapore thus further enhancing Singapore's status in the arena of international arbitration.

The definition of an arbitration agreement has been expanded to cover any arbitration agreement that has been concluded orally, by conduct or through other means. ¹ Section 2A (4) IAA now specifically states that an arbitration agreement is in writing if its content is recorded in any form, whether or not the arbitration agreement or contract has been concluded orally, by conduct or by other means.