Public policy is an important element in determining the arbitrability of a dispute, and also a ground on which an award may be annulled or refused enforcement. It has often been said that the public policy should be construed narrowly in keeping with the pro-arbitration policy of the New York Convention or the UNCITRAL Model Law.
Perhaps less mentioned is how arbitrator independence and seat court review are so fundamental and universal that they form part of the “international public policy” of arbitration. In contrast to such an “international public policy” is the different notion that a court can enforce an award that has been annulled by the seat court if it regards the annulment to be against the enforcing court’s own public policy, whether it relates to crime, sanctions, corruption, bankruptcy, sovereignty or other concerns. Are the notions of “international public policy” and country public policy the opposite of one another or can and should an enforcing court consider as part of its own public policy (1) “international public policy”, (2) the public policy of the country of the governing law, (3) the public policy of the country of the seat of arbitration, and (4) how to resolve conflict between different public policies?
Join us in a special Singapore Convention Week edition of Maxwell Conversations as we explore both contour and content of this familiar but not fully charted area of international arbitration.
Moderator
Global Co-Head of International Arbitration, Dentons
Lawrence Teh is the Global Co-Head of Dentons’ International Arbitration practice and a senior partner in Dentons Rodyk’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice group. He is Co-Head of Dentons Rodyk’s International Arbitration and Shipping practice groups. He has particular experience in handling commercial disputes including those of international trade and commodities, maritime and aviation, banking and financial services, onshore and offshore construction, mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and other investments, and insurance.
Speakers
International Arbitrator
Dr Michael Hwang S.C. currently practises as an international arbitrator based in Singapore with a selective practice as Senior Counsel of the Supreme Court of Singapore. He served as the Chief Justice of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts from 2010 – 2018.
Dr Hwang’s other past appointments include: Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court of Singapore; Singapore’s Non-Resident Ambassador to Switzerland and Argentina; President of the Law Society of Singapore; Commissioner of the United Nations Compensation Commission; Vice Chairman of the ICC International Court of Arbitration; Vice President of the International Council of Commercial Arbitration (ICCA); and a Visiting (and later Adjunct) Professor of the National University of Singapore. He was educated at undergraduate and postgraduate levels at Oxford University, where he won the Gordon Warter Scholarship from Pembroke College by open competitive examination. He has been conferred an Honorary LLD by the University of Sydney.
International Partner, King & Woods Mallesons
Jessica is a widely recognized leading international arbitration and dispute resolution specialist with close to 30 years' experience working with international arbitration institutions and leading firms. She is currently the joint global head of international arbitration practice of KWM.
Constantly ranked and recommended by leading legal media including Chambers, WWL, Legal 500, and ALB, Jessica is one of the very few leading international arbitration practitioners (acting as counsel and arbitrator) with dual qualifications (China and New York) as well as extensive cross-border dispute resolution experience between Chinese/Asian and Western parties.
Jessica focuses her practice on international arbitration, litigation and alternative disputes resolution. She sits regularly as arbitrator in commercial arbitration cases, and is listed on the international arbitrator panels of the SIAC, HKIAC, CIETAC, ICDR/AAA, AIAC, KCAB, CEAC etc. Jessica is a court member of SIAC Court of Arbitration, a member of the International/ Asia Advisory Committee of the AAA/ICDR, a member of the CEAC Advisory Board, Vice President of the UIA Litigation Committee and China Chapter Chair of NYSBA (New York State Bar Association) International Section.
Partner, Kim & Chang
Sae Youn Kim is a partner of the International Arbitration & Cross-Border Litigation Practice of Kim & Chang.
Ms. Kim practices primarily in the areas of international litigation and arbitration with an emphasis on commercial and international law.
Before joining Kim & Chang, she served as a judge at various Korean district courts, and practiced as a key member in major Korean law firms. Ms. Kim also sits as an arbitrator. Her expertise in international dispute resolution has been recognized by the variety of roles she holds and held in various institutions, including but not limited to a Commissioner of the Korea Trade Commission, a Vice-Chair of the Arbitration Committee of the International Bar Association, a Co-Chair of the Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Committee of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association, and a member of the ICC Court. She is regularly selected as leading lawyer by publications such as Chambers and Partners, Who’s Who Legal, Legal 500, and Asian Legal Business.
Ms. Kim received an LL.M. from Duke University Law School in 2007, and her LL.B. from Seoul National University College of Law in 1991. She graduated the Judicial Training and Research Institute by the Supreme Court of Korea in 1994. She speaks and practices in both Korean and English.
Senior Partner, AZB & Partners
With over 20 years of experience, Vijayendra Pratap Singh heads the Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice in Delhi. Vijayendra represents clients in international, commercial and domestic arbitrations; corporate and commercial litigation; regulatory practices and securities law.
He has advised various government departments, such as the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance; Securities and Exchange Board of India; Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation; the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, etc., on the de-criminalisation of various Statutes and has been involved in various policy making initiatives of the Government of India. Vijayendra’s expertise span domestic and international arbitration, as well as disputes in various fora in India, ranging from shareholder disputes to corporate actions.