Case Update: Vietnam Oil & Gas Group v Joint Stock Company (Power Machines – ZTL, LMZ, Electrosila Energomachexport) [2024] SGHC 244

Recourse to the Singapore Courts for the setting aside of an arbitration award pursuant to s 24(b) of the International Arbitration Act 1994 (the “IAA”) and/or Arts 34(2)(a)(ii) and (iii) of the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration (the “Model Law”) can be a complex and intricate matter. Under Singapore law, the General Division of the High Court may set aside the award of an arbitral tribunal if there has been a breach of natural justice.

The twin pillars of natural justice are the rule against bias and the fair hearing rule. A breach of the fair hearing rule could possibly arise from the chain of reasoning that an arbitral tribunal adopts in its award, as the chain of reasoning must be one which the parties had reasonable notice of and which has sufficient nexus to the parties’ arguments. In the case where an arbitral tribunal’s chain of reasoning departs from the cases of both parties, the High Court in Vietnam Oil and Gas Group v Joint Stock Company (Power Machines – ZTL, LMZ, Electrosila Energomachexport) [2024] SGHC 244 provides valuable insight into the nuances on the remission and setting aside of arbitral awards.

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