[Interview] Reforming Arbitration: SIAC’s Vision Under Vivekananda Neelakantan, Registrar

As the Registrar of the SIAC Court, my role is to lead the SIAC Secretariat in the administration of arbitrations and the provision of case management services to our users.

As you may be aware, SIAC recently introduced the 7th Edition of the SIAC Rules (the SIAC Rules 2025). These Rules are the result of a comprehensive process of rules revision involving consultation with our users and working extensively with the eminent members on the SIAC Court of Arbitration. These new Rules contain various tools and one-of-a-kind procedural innovations intended to enhance time and cost efficiency in resolving disputes.

My remit and vision as the Registrar of the SIAC Court is to ensure the continuation of a strong ethos of focus on quality case management, user friendliness, fairness in the conduct of the process, and efficiency in the administration of cases by the SIAC Secretariat and the effective implementation of the new SIAC Rules 2025 on our cases. SIAC is long known as a quality, credible, and trusted international arbitral institution and it is my privilege to be in this position and continue the traditions of case management that have been well-received and appreciated by our users over the years.

The SIAC Rules 2025 mark SIAC’s first comprehensive revision since the 2016 SIAC Rules. Over the past eight years, SIAC has seen a steady increase in new case filings and growing use from diverse industries and jurisdictions. In 2024, we received 625 new cases from users from 72 different jurisdictions. Since 2016, SIAC has administered over 3,000 cases. The revisions to the rules reflect the deep experience from administering these cases at SIAC and were driven by extensive consultations with arbitration end users, practitioners, arbitrators, corporates, and other stakeholders, ensuring that the rules align with evolving business needs and international best practices.

Since 2010, the SIAC Rules have provided a toolkit of efficiency tools and the SIAC Rules 2025 generously add to the list of options for users. Further, the rules include design tweaks to ease case administration and provide clarity to parties and arbitral tribunals on various procedural matters and tools at their disposal.

Among the key updates, two notable innovations stand out: Preliminary Protective Order and the Streamlined Procedure for low-value disputes.

The Preliminary Protective Order (PPO) mechanism is a unique procedural tool, which allows a party to apply for the appointment of an emergency arbitrator on an ex parte basis, to consider the request for a preliminary order from the emergency arbitrator on an ex parte basis where the preliminary order is sought to direct the other party not to frustrate the purpose of the emergency interim measure sought. The PPO mechanism is an added option within the existing framework for emergency arbitrators under the SIAC Rules which have been in place since 2010 and are very popular among users.

The Streamlined Procedure is a one-of-a-kind procedural tool, which enhances accessibility to international arbitration for small value and low complexity claims where time spent and cost incurred are critical factors that go to whether claims are brought to arbitration. Under the Streamlined Procedure, users can now receive the final award in three months from the date of the constitution of the tribunal, and the tribunal’s and SIAC’s fee caps in principle will not exceed 50 percent of the maximum limits set out in the SIAC Schedule of Fees.

For a dispute to be eligible to be conducted under the Streamlined Procedure, the total sum in dispute should not exceed the equivalent amount of SGD 1,000,000 (about INR 6.5 crore) prior to the constitution of the tribunal. Parties can also agree to apply the Streamlined Procedure in their contracts or in a post-dispute agreement prior to the constitution of a tribunal.

The new Rules also introduce other efficiency tools such as Coordinated Proceedings and Preliminary Determination. Coordinated Proceedings are intended to promote efficiency in the conduct of arbitrations by allowing parties to apply for multiple proceedings to be coordinated procedurally. This may be suitable where the arbitrations are not otherwise consolidated under the rules. Preliminary determination promotes efficiency by providing a cue to parties and tribunals to consider determining discrete issues separately on a final and binding basis, where such determinations can contribute to cost and time savings.

The new Rules continue to encourage early settlement of disputes and the use of mediation or the adoption of other amicable dispute resolution methods such as the SIAC-SIMC Arb-Med-Arb Protocol. The SIAC Rules now codify the tribunal’s power to consult with parties on the potential for the settlement of all or part of the dispute at a first case management conference, including through the adoption of amicable dispute resolution methods

We understand and recognise that cost and time efficiency, digitalisation, sustainability, upholding arbitrators’ ethical obligations, and ensuring enforceability of awards, remain key areas of focus for users of international arbitration across jurisdictions. The SIAC Rules 2025 incorporate key advancements to align with global arbitration trends in all these areas.

As discussed above, there are a number of additional efficiency tools in the SIAC Rules toolkit to provide parties and tribunals the ability to achieve cost and time efficiency.

In addition to the ones stated above, the provisions on the Expedited Procedure, which is one of the most popular procedural tools among SIAC users, have been enhanced. The threshold amount has been increased from SGD 6 million to SGD 10 million (about INR 65 crore) to allow a wider range of cases to be potentially conducted under the Expedited Procedure. Since 2010, SIAC has received more than 1,000 applications for the Expedited Procedure, and roughly over half of those applications have been accepted for arbitrations to run under the Expedited Procedure. Under this procedure, the arbitration is to be completed within 6 months from the date of the constitution of the tribunal. The new Rules have also removed the need to make an application to the President of the SIAC Court where the parties have agreed to the application of the Expedited Procedure prior to the constitution of the tribunal, thereby reducing the time taken in constituting tribunals in such cases.

The new Rules now provide a more definitive timeline for tribunals to submit draft awards to SIAC for scrutiny, requiring this to be done within 90 days from the last written or oral submission by the parties on the issues being determined in that award. This will enhance timeliness of award drafting by tribunals on SIAC cases.

To leverage technology in arbitration, SIAC introduced SIAC Gateway in 2024. SIAC Gateway is SIAC’s cloud-based case management platform offering features such as electronic filing, an integrated online payment system, secure document upload and storage, and real-time case management, for use by parties and tribunals on SIAC arbitrations, at no additional cost. This digital-first approach enhances convenience for parties and aligns with the global push for greater ease of access and resulting efficiency in arbitration case management.

In response to the growing emphasis on environmentally sustainable dispute resolution, the SIAC Rules promote sustainability and environmentally friendly processes in the administration of disputes. Tribunals now have the express power to consult with the parties on whether it would be appropriate to adopt environmentally sustainable procedures for arbitrations.

SIAC also introduced a new Practice Note for administration of cases under the SIAC Rules and adopted a new Code of Ethics for Arbitrators, both from 1 January 2025. The new Code of Ethics sets out clear obligations of impartiality and independence, and disclosures by prospective arbitrators, and undertakings as to time availability to discharge their duties as an arbitrator diligently.

Some other notable changes include the following:

- The Registrar of the SIAC Court has the express power to convene administrative conferences with the parties to discuss any procedural applications or directions to be made in the conduct of the proceedings.

-  To assist arbitrators in complying with their duty of disclosure, to preserve high standards of impartiality and independence on the part of arbitrators and the overall integrity of the proceedings, the rules now require parties to disclose the existence of any third-party funding agreement and the identity and contact details of the third-party funder. In addition, the rules prescribe that, following the constitution of the tribunal, a party should not enter into a third-party funding agreement which may give rise to a conflict of interest with any member of the tribunal.

- Where an application for consolidation or joinder is made by agreement of all parties prior to the constitution of the tribunal, the President of the SIAC Court decides such applications alone and the decision of the President of the SIAC Court is deemed to be a decision of the SIAC Court.

- Recognising the critical nature of safeguarding sensitive data, the Rules encourage parties and tribunals to consider and propose effective security measures and relevant best practices on information security, including cybersecurity and cyber resilience. Tribunals have the power to take appropriate measures, including issuing an order or award for sanctions, damages or costs, if a party does not take necessary steps to comply with the information security measures agreed by the parties and/or directed by the tribunal.

- The Rules contain clear provisions addressing the appointment of tribunal secretaries which is accompanied by a new Practice Note, also introduced on 1 January 2025.

Even though the SIAC Rules are silent on the use of AI and e-discovery, tribunals in SIAC-administered arbitrations have fairly broad powers to adopt procedures, in consultation with the parties, which would be most suitable for the conduct of the proceedings. Tribunals generally are at liberty to conduct arbitrations in such manner as they consider appropriate provided that they act fairly and impartially and ensure that each party has a reasonable opportunity to present its case.

It is not uncommon for parties to use various available tools for e-discovery, electronic presentation of evidence, and virtual hearing platforms. The use of AI in international arbitration is not regulated extensively currently but it is well known that law firms globally are using AI in different ways in their work, including in international arbitrations.

Ultimately, it is up to the tribunal to determine the admissibility, relevance, materiality, and weight of all evidence, and to determine the claims of the parties based on the submissions and evidence put forth by the parties, and many of the electronic tools at the disposal of parties and practitioners today including AI may have a role to play in the presentation of submissions and evidence in international arbitrations.

In an absolute majority of arbitrations administered by SIAC, parties and tribunals agree on the use of electronic submissions only. As noted above, the SIAC Rules promote sustainability and environmentally friendly processes, and tribunals now have the express power to consult with the parties on whether it would be appropriate to adopt environmentally sustainable procedures for arbitrations. Since at least 2014, SIAC has not required the submission of any hard copy submissions, and we invite parties to correspond with SIAC and tribunals via email. The integration of SIAC Gateway in the administration of arbitrations further reduces or eliminates the need for submission of hard copies of documents and streamlines the case management process and experience for parties and tribunals

Indian businesses and practitioners have been frequent users of SIAC. The SIAC Rules 2025 are designed to further enhance accessibility and efficiency for Indian parties. Users and practitioners from India have valued SIAC’s focus on efficiency in case administration, and the accessibility of the SIAC including through our offices in India in Mumbai and the GIFT city.

The new rules retain the focus on efficiency in the conduct of arbitrations including by way of the new procedures and various procedural tweaks employed to improve the user experience in SIAC arbitrations.

Indian parties have widely used the SIAC Expedited Procedure and Emergency Arbitrator mechanism, and their further refinements will continue to benefit Indian users.

The focus on enforceability of awards through the scrutiny process of draft awards carried out by the SIAC Secretariat is a particular hallmark of the SIAC case administration process. The scrutiny process is intended to ensure the enforceability of awards by seeking to eliminate errors in the award, improve the quality and analysis in awards, and focussing tribunals to issues and submissions which may not have been considered, without affecting the discretion and liberty of the tribunal to determine the substantive issues. We believe that the scrutiny process has contributed significantly to SIAC’s positive track record of enforcement of its awards including in India, over the past decade.

SIAC has also administered a number of high value complex Indian disputes and having administered over a 1,000 Indian disputes over the past decade, has very rich experience with dealing with such cases. We hope to continue being a preferred international arbitration service provider to Indian businesses and practitioners.

The Streamlined Procedure ought to be particularly attractive to a number of small and medium sized businesses who may otherwise be reluctant to bring claims to arbitration due to concerns over time and cost spent in arbitration. The mechanism to obtain a PPO should also be attractive to Indian users who are well-versed with procedures in the courts to obtain urgent ad interim relief. This mechanism is noteworthy because it is designed for situations of extreme urgency where notifying a counterparty could have the effect of undermining the efficacy of the interim relief sought.

The procedure is also intended to be speedy:

-   Application: A party submits a request for the appointment of an EA along with an application for a PPO, without notifying the opposing party.

-   Appointment: If the President of the SIAC Court accepts the request, an EA is appointed promptly.

-  Determination: The EA reviews the application and issues a preliminary order on an ex parte basis within 24 hours of appointment.

- Check and balance: The preliminary order must be delivered to the counterparty promptly, and if it is not, it expires within 3 days of the order being made. The preliminary order remains in effect only for a period of 14 days which is the timeline for the emergency arbitrator to determine the main application for urgent interim relief.

These mechanisms align SIAC with the needs of Indian businesses, particularly in sectors such as finance, technology, and manufacturing, where the ability to obtain swift interim relief can be crucial to safeguarding assets and maintaining commercial stability.

Apart from these various procedural mechanisms, the quality of SIAC case administration and the calibre of the arbitrators appointed by SIAC are other factors that are received positively by Indian users of SIAC.

India has made significant progress in strengthening its arbitration framework, particularly through legislative amendments and judicial pronouncements that reinforce a pro-arbitration stance over the past decade.

There have been significant legislative changes introduced in 2015 and then in 2019. A new bill introduced in 2024 proposed further sweeping reform to the Indian Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996.

At the same time, there have been a litany of decisions from the Indian Supreme Court on a variety of issues in international arbitration which have been viewed as positive developments. SIAC was particularly happy to have been involved as an intervenor in the case before a 7-judge bench of the Indian Supreme Court considering the effect of stamping under Indian law on the enforceability of arbitration agreements.

Apart from these, there is a growing body of Indian practitioners and arbitrators who are considered prominent and qualitative in international arbitration today. Many of them are today on the SIAC Court of Arbitration and SIAC Panel of Arbitrators.

All of these developments point to a clear trajectory towards strengthening India’s arbitration framework and ecosystem. By continually addressing existing challenges and building upon these initiatives, India is well-positioned to establish itself as an international powerhouse of talent and innovation in international arbitration.

I would say that the SIAC Rules 2025 represent not just an update, but a clear articulation of SIAC’s commitment to innovation, efficiency, and user-centric arbitration. These rules reflect our careful listening to the arbitration community and end-users over the years, and they provide a forward-looking framework that empowers both practitioners and parties to tailor proceedings to their specific needs.

Whether through groundbreaking tools like the Preliminary Protective Order, the Streamlined Procedure for low-value claims, or enhancements to existing mechanisms such as the Expedited Procedure and SIAC’s scrutiny process, the new rules are designed to make international arbitration more responsive, time-efficient, cost-effective, and accessible, without compromising on fairness or due process.

We recognise the central role that practitioners play in the arbitration ecosystem, as advisors, representatives, and arbitrators, and our goal is to support them with robust procedural clarity, digital tools like the SIAC Gateway, and high-quality case management. SIAC’s vision moving forward is grounded in continued responsiveness to the evolving needs of users and the broader business and legal landscape. We will continue to promote thought leadership, ethical standards, and procedural excellence, so that SIAC remains a trusted forum of choice for resolving cross-border disputes globally.

For our Indian users, who have long been among SIAC’s most engaged and discerning stakeholders, we believe the 2025 Rules offer even greater value, through increased accessibility, faster timelines, and mechanisms tailored to the practical realities of doing business across jurisdictions. From the strength of our presence in India, to our rich experience with India-related disputes, we remain deeply committed to serving the Indian arbitration community and supporting its growing prominence on the international stage.