Our readers who have been following this case might be interested to know that the hearing of the appeal of the High Court decision in Astro Nusantara International BV and others v PT Ayunda Prima Mitra and others, [2012] SGHC 212 (see our case analysis here) will be on Wednesday, 10 April 2013 and Thursday, 11 April 2013.

The coram for the hearing is the Honourable the Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, the Honourable Judge of Appeal VK Rajah and the Honourable Justice Judith Prakash. Amongst the landmark arbitration cases that have been decided by these eminent judges:

• Re An Arbitration Between Hainan Machinery Import and Export Corp and Donald & McArthy Pte Ltd, [1995] 3 SLR(R) 354 (Prakash J: locus classicus for adopting a narrow scope of public policy in setting aside an award);

• Sui Southern Gas Co Ltd v Habibullah Coastal Power Co (Pte) Ltd, [2010] 3 SLR 1; [2010] SGHC 62 (Prakash J: error of fact or law by tribunal does not warrant setting aside or refusing to recognise or enforce an award. The Singapore International Arbitration Act (IAA) provides the exclusive means by which a party may challenge an award. The courts do not, independently of the provisions of the IAA, have the power to set aside arbitral awards for irrationality or manifest unreasonableness or the US notion of “manifest disregard of the law“). This was upheld by the Singapore Court of Appeal in, inter alia, CRW Joint Operation v PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (Persero) TBK, [2011] 4 SLR 305; [2011] SGCA 33 (Rajah JA delivered the judgment of the court);

• Soh Beng Tee & Co Pte Ltd v Fairmount Development Pte Ltd, [2007] 3 SLR(R) 86; [2007] SGCA 28 (locus classicus for when a breach of natural justice justifies setting aside an award); see also L W Infrastructure Pte Ltd v Lim Chin San Contractors Pte Ltd, [2012] SGCA 57 (Menon CJ’s first judgment, see our post here);

• Quarella SpA v Scelta Marble Australia Pty Ltd, [2012] SGHC 166 (Prakash J: error of law / erroneous application of choice of law clause not grounds to set aside an award, see our case update here); and

• Maldives Airports Co Ltd and Anor v GMR Male International Airport Pte Ltd, [2013] SGCA 16 (analysis of the IAA and the power of the Singapore courts to grant an injunction in aid of arbitration proceedings against a foreign state as well as the considerations that the court will take into account in deciding whether the injunction should be granted and upheld, see our case analysis here).