TJONG VERY SUMITO V ANTIG INVESTMENTS PTE LTD

[2009] SGCA 41, Court of Appeal, Singapore, Andrew Phang Boon Leong LA, VK Rajah JA, 26 August 2009

Arbitration - Existence of dispute - Effect of defendant's admission or silence - Whether admission should be inferred from silence - International Arbitration Act (Cap 143A, 2002 Rev ed), section 6

The arbitration agreement at issue was contained in a share purchase agreement (SPA) between the parties. The claimant commenced court proceedings, in which the defendant was at first silent but then entered an appearance requesting a stay. The Assistant Registrar dismissed the application but on appeal, a stay was granted by Choo Han Teck J (reported at [2009] 1 SLR 861). This was the appeal of that decision. The Court of Appeal rejected the appeal. While emphasising that ultimately the precise terms of the relevant arbitration agreement and the context would determine how the parties should resolve matters, the Court of Appeal set out several propositions against the background of which an application for a stay of proceedings pursuant to section 6 of the IAA ought to be evaluated: