RBN Chambers knowledge hub
Direct answers to common legal questions, followed by the context you need to understand what comes next.
Clear. Practical. Current.
Employment Issue
Employers who fail to pay CPF contributions on time are committing an offence and can face penalties including fines and, for serious or repeated cases, imprisonment, in addition to being required to pay the outstanding contributions with interest.
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Yes, but only on a point of law and only with permission, since you must first apply to the District Court for leave to appeal before your case can be brought to the General Division of the High Court.
Read the answerArbitration
Yes, an arbitration award is final and binding on the parties, with only limited grounds to challenge it in court.
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Generally no, since courts exercise minimal intervention in arbitration and awards can't be appealed on their merits.
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You can apply to the High Court to set aside an award, but only on narrow grounds such as a breach of natural justice, an invalid arbitration agreement, or the tribunal exceeding its jurisdiction.
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Yes, awards made in Singapore can generally be enforced in any of the more than 170 countries that are party to the New York Convention.
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Arbitration is often faster than litigation for straightforward disputes, since parties can set their own procedural timetable and avoid a crowded court list.
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Arbitration costs include the arbitrator's fees, institutional administration fees, and legal costs, which can be comparable to or higher than litigation for smaller disputes but often prove more cost-effective for complex, high-value, or cross-border cases.
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Yes, SIAC and other institutions allow parties to apply for an emergency arbitrator, who can typically be appointed within a day to hear urgent applications before the full tribunal is constituted.
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Yes, most institutional rules, including SIAC's, set out a formal process for challenging an arbitrator over justifiable doubts about their impartiality or independence.
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Without an arbitration clause, you can't force the other party into arbitration unless they later agree to it, so your dispute would typically proceed through the courts instead.
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