Point of No Return - Singapore Court of Appeal explains when a party will lose the right to switch from litigation to arbitration
In the recent decision of Marty Ltd v Hualon Corp (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (receiver and manager appointed) [2018] SGCA 63, the Singapore Court of Appeal held that a party who commences court proceedings in breach of an arbitration agreement, would lose the right to switch back to arbitration unless it can show that the court proceedings are not inconsistent with the agreement to arbitrate. Further, the counterparty would lose the right to insist on arbitration once it has accepted the court’s jurisdiction to decide on the merits of the dispute. The case is important as it shows that the Singapore Courts will apply an orthodox contractual approach to determining the outcome of a breach of an arbitration agreement.
