ICC Singapore Arbitration Group's Annual Townhall

The ICC Singapore Arbitration Group (“ICC Singapore”) held its 3rd annual Town Hall on Friday, 12 November 2021. The event was an important opportunity for participants to learn about the numerous past and future activities of ICC Singapore, as well as to engage with Claudia Salomon, the new President of the ICC Court of International Arbitration (“ICC Court”), and Alexander Fessas, the Secretary General of the ICC Court.

The event began with a brief introduction of Claudia Salomon by Smitha Menon, the ICC Singapore Chair, followed by Claudia outlining one aspect of her vision for the ICC’s ADR services, which is to invite more engagement from In-House Counsel with the ADR process, given the current role of In-House as strategists and risk managers advising the C-suite.

Alexander Fessas followed with a number of updates, including the launch of the new ICC Rules 2021, and the ICC’s project to publish redacted versions of ICC awards, where possible, in partnership with Jus Mundi. Alexander also introduced Tejus Chauhan, new ICC Regional Director for South Asia, based in Singapore, who outlined his priorities for the region in his new role.

Charis Tan, co-organiser of the Town Hall, provided a useful review and forecast of ICC Singapore’s activities, under the headings “Engagement”, “Enrichment” and “Enjoyment”, spanning the full range of activities from a well-received roundtable with In-House Counsel in the region, to seminars, and social activities.

On a similar note, Arthi Anbalagan, one of the regional ICC YAF chairs, provided the audience with a review of the varied activities of the ICC YAF in the region, as well as their future plans. Andrew Yeo, the ICC Singapore Vice Chair, and member of the Arbitrator Selection Committee, then provided an outline of the nomination and appointment process when the Singapore National Committee is asked by the ICC Court to nominate candidates, and provided statistics of nominations made within the last year, including the number of candidates below the age of 45, the number with no previous appointments as an ICC arbitrator, and the number of female candidates.

The event closed with a Q&A session moderated by Sapna Jhangiani QC, co-organiser of the Town Hall, which allowed an opportunity to Smitha and Andrew, as members of the Arbitrator Selection Committee, to address a question about the gender diversity of appointments, with Alexander also providing a wider perspective on the issue, and sharing about draft proposals addressing the circumstances in which non-nationals may be nominated as potential arbitrators by National Committees.

Claudia Salomon addressed a question raised about racial diversity in arbitrator appointments, and also shared more about the pilot ‘Hold the Door Open” scheme in Africa which provides opportunities to young arbitration practitioners to observe arbitration hearings, and may be rolled out in other parts of the world, such as Asia, in due course.