Courts Will Generally Defer to Tribunals’ Interpretation of the Parties’ Agreed Arbitral Procedure

In Lao Holdings NV and another v Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic [2022] SGCA(I) 9, the Court of Appeal upheld the Singapore International Commercial Court’s decision and refused to set aside two investor-state arbitral awards. The arbitral tribunals had interpreted a procedural agreement to mean that they still retained a residual discretion to admit new evidence, which they exercised.

Directors Cavinder Bull, SC, Gerui Lim and Tan Yuan Kheng, Associate Director Regina Lim and Senior Associate Tan Sih Si acted successfully for the Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic in this appeal.

Directors Gerui Lim and Tan Yuan Kheng, Associate Director Regina Lim discuss the Court of Appeal’s decision in this update. Read more here.