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Challenges in upholding natural justice and addressing infra petita issues: Recent court rulings and possible legal revisions in Singapore

Arbitration context receives clarification on natural justice and infra petita challenges, as detailed in a series of rulings by Singapore's Court of Appeal.

Challenges in upholding natural justice and addressing infra petita issues with regard to recent...
Challenges in upholding natural justice and addressing infra petita issues with regard to recent court rulings and proposed legal alterations in Singapore

In a series of recent decisions, the Singapore Court of Appeal has shed light on the approach of Singapore's courts in safeguarding the integrity of arbitral proceedings while maintaining a high threshold for judicial intervention. The decisions, which concern the cases of Palm Grove Beach Hotels v Hilton, DJP v DJO, and DKT v DKU, offer valuable insights into the city-state's ongoing arbitration law reform.

The article provides a detailed analysis of each case, highlighting the unsuccessful applications that sought to re-litigate the merits under the guise of natural justice. In the case of DKT v DKU, the Court of Appeal found a breach of natural justice due to an "infra petita" error, where the arbitral tribunal failed to consider all material issues raised in the arbitration, thereby violating fairness and leading to the successful challenge and annulment of the award.

The four-step framework for infra petita challenges, a potential component of Singapore's ongoing arbitration law reform, remains undisclosed in the article. However, the successful challenge in DKT v DKU exposed a fundamental procedural flaw that compromised the fairness of the process, providing key takeaways for future arbitration proceedings.

The reflections on Singapore's ongoing arbitration law reform are not detailed in the provided paragraph, but the article does discuss the reforms, emphasising the importance of maintaining a balance between the efficiency of arbitration and the protection of parties' rights.

It is worth noting that one of the challenges in these cases was successful, while the others were not. The article concludes by offering key takeaways from each case, underscoring the significance of thorough consideration of all material issues in arbitral proceedings to uphold fairness and integrity.

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