Avoiding arbitration missteps: Key lessons from a setting aside of an arbitration award for breach of natural justice
The Singapore Courts have a strong reputation for being pro-arbitration. This is because of the oft-repeated point that parties have "a very limited right of recourse to the courts" if they have agreed to arbitrate their disputes.
However, this does not detract from the Courts' commitment to ensuring due process in arbitral proceedings. This is because a failure to do so may influence a Tribunal's ability to deliver a just outcome, which in turn justifies curial intervention.
The case of Wan Sern Metal Industries Pte Ltd v Hua Tian Engineering Pte Ltd [2025] SGCA 5 is one such exceptional case where the Singapore Court of Appeal accepted that a party was prejudiced because the procedural safeguard entitling it a right to be heard was breached, thus justifying a decision to set aside the arbitral award.
Practical lessons regarding the importance of pleadings, list of issues, and the need to consistently review the same may be drawn from this decision given the increasing prevalence of documents-only arbitration.
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