First question comes in mind while initiating Siac Arbitration is that how much a SIAC arbitration costs, when payments are due and whether the costs can be recovered from the opposing party.

The costs of arbitration are usually divided into these –

• Fees and costs of the arbitral tribunal and the arbitration centre.
• Legal fees and costs of the SIAC arbitration lawyers.
• Fees and costs of experts.
• Party costs related to internal expenses of the parties, including the costs of the hearing venue and the expenses of witnesses.

SIAC Arbitration Costs at the Beginning of Proceedings

This initial payment is followed soon after by a deposit for the arbitral tribunal’s fees and SIAC’s fees. Both parties are requested pay 50% of the deposit. However, the SIAC Registrar has the power to fix separate deposits on costs for claims and counterclaims, respectively, which is useful when claims have a very different value.

The party who initiates arbitration under the SIAC Arbitration Rules must file a Notice of Arbitration together with “payment of the requisite filing fee.” The filing fee is SGD 2,000 (approximately USD 1,500) for non-Singaporean parties and SGD 2,140 if the claimant is from Singapore (SIAC Schedule of Fees). This case filing fee is non-refundable.

SIAC Arbitration Costs Can Be Paid by Third-Party Funders

The SIAC Arbitration Rules do not make reference to the possibility of a party to cover arbitration costs by using third-party funding. However, on 31 March 2017, SIAC issued a practice note on arbitrator conduct in cases involving external funding, which provides that the arbitral tribunal may take into account the existence or the involvement of a third-party funder when deciding on the costs of the arbitration.

The SIAC investment arbitration rules expressly grant an arbitral tribunal the power to order disclosure of the existence of a funding arrangement entered into by one of the parties to the proceedings, the identity of the third-party funder involved and further details on the third-party funder’s involvement and interest in the outcome of the case.

SIAC Administrative Fees

SIAC administrative fees are calculated based on the amount in dispute in accordance with the Administrative Fees Schedule. For example, for arbitration with an amount in dispute of USD 1,000,000, administrative fees will be approximately USD 12,500.

The biggest share of all costs related to arbitration tends to consist of lawyers’ legal fees. A full SIAC Cost Calculator allows parties to get an idea of the legal fees and expert fees to be expected, which ultimately depend on the complexity of the case and the fees that are negotiated.

The parties may agree on how the arbitration costs should be apportioned, however, in practice this rarely occurs. In the absence of an agreement between the parties, the arbitral tribunal determines in the Award the apportionment of the costs of the arbitration among the parties.

The rules of the arbitration specifies that arbitration tribunal has the authority to order that all or a part of the legal or other costs of a party be paid by another party. The SIAC arbitration rules are silent as to how arbitration costs should be allocated, however. In the absence of a rule on allocation, commonly it is considered that the law of the seat of arbitration applies to the arbitral tribunal’s award of costs (ICC Cost Report).

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