Case Law Details
Yograj Infrastructure Ltd Vs Ssang Yong Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd., (Supreme Court of India)- SC ruled that where the seat of arbitration was Singapore, rules governing the arbitration were of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (“SIAC“) and the substantive law of contract was Indian law, then Part I of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (the “1996 Act”) was excluded by implication.
In Bhatia International (supra), wherein while considering the applicability of Part I of the 1996 Act to arbitral proceedings where the seat of arbitration was in India, this Court was of the view that Part I of the Act did not automatically exclude all foreign arbitral proceedings or awards, unless the parties specifically agreed to exclude the same.
As has been pointed out by the learned Single Judge in the order impugned, the decision in the aforesaid case would not have any application to the facts of this case, inasmuch as, the parties have categorically agreed that the arbitration proceedings, if any, would be governed by the SIAC Rules as the Curial law, which included Rule 32, which categorically provides as follows : “Where the seat of arbitration is Singapore, the law of the arbitration under these Rules shall be the International Arbitration Act (Cap. 143A, 2002 Ed, Statutes of the Republic of Singapore) or its modification or re- enactment thereof.”
Having agreed to the above, it was no longer available to the appellant to contend that the “proper law” of the agreement would apply to the arbitration proceedings. The decision in Bhatia International Vs. Bulk Trading S.A. [(2002) 4 SCC 105], which was applied subsequently in the case of Venture Global Engg. Vs. Satyam Computer Services Ltd. [(2008) 4 SCC 190] and Citation Info wares Ltd. Vs. Equinox Corporation [(2009) 7 SCC 220], would have no application once the parties agreed by virtue of Clause 27.1 of the Agreement that the arbitration proceedings would be conducted in Singapore, i.e., the seat of arbitration would be in Singapore, in accordance with the Singapore International Arbitration Centre Rules as in force at the time of signing of the Agreement.
As noticed hereinabove, Rule 32 of the SIAC Rules provides that the law of arbitration would be the International Arbitration Act, 2002, where the seat of arbitration is in Singapore. Although, it was pointed out on behalf of the appellant that in Rule 1.1 it had been stated that if any of the SIAC Rules was in conflict with the mandatory provision of the applicable law of the arbitration, from which the parties could not derogate, the said mandatory provision would prevail, such is not the case as far as the present proceedings are concerned.
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