SPECIAL REPORT 15
If anywhere is the cradle of regional arbitration, it is Asia. Case numbers have grown, arbitral institutions proliferate and innovate, national legislation is being amended and standardised. Is this growth simply a function of and a response to global trends, or does Asia stand alone? This article examines the latest status of some of Asia’s major arbitral centres and arbitration trends and the factors influencing the choice of seat by consumers of arbitration.
GROWTH OUTSTRIPPED The story of global arbitration over the past five years is one of growth, both in terms of case numbers and case values. The GAR 30 ranking of worldwide arbitration shows that the number of pending claims being handled by the world’s 30 leading arbitration firms, including Clyde & Co, has risen from around 2,000 to around 3,000 since 2011, while the aggregate value of those claims has risen from USD 643 billion to USD 1,613 billion. However, the growth of arbitration in Asia has been even greater, at least in terms of sheer numbers of cases. In the introduction to his 2013 book “Arbitration in Asia”, Michael Moser observes that, compared with twenty years ago, “the number of cases handled by arbitration institutions in Mainland China and Hong Kong together has outstripped that of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, the London Court of International Arbitration, the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce and other well-known Western arbitration institutions.” WHERE ARE ASIA’S ARBITRATION CENTRES? What do we mean when we talk about arbitration in Asia? On 2 November 2004, representatives of 17 arbitration centres and associations in Asia Pacific met in Sydney and established the Asia Pacific Regional Arbitration Group (APRAG); there are now 41 members. This growth in itself puts an analysis of each and every arbitration centre in Asia outside the scope of this article. APRAG, of course, includes bodies in Australia, while geographically speaking, some might consider Asia to include Dubai and the Middle East. Any choice will be necessarily subjective. The Middle East and Australia are big and interesting arbitration markets in their own right. They are geographical, and to some extent cultural, outliers in Asia. They deserve their own articles, or a more detailed analysis than space here will allow. This article will therefore focus on a selection of what remains – some new arbitral centres, some more established, with a variety of legal, political and cultural backgrounds: Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur and Tokyo.
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