Challenging an award: award obtained by fraud

Section 68(2)(g) of the Arbitration Act 1996 permits a court to overturn an award on the ground of serious irregularity if the award has been obtained by fraud. There are equivalent provisions in Singapore. In BVU v BVX [2019] SGHC 69 the Singapore High Court discussed the important question of whether a party to an arbitration who chooses not to submit evidence of its internal documents and employees on a particular matter can be guilty of fraud.

The court’s view was that it is perfectly open to aparty to determine how to present its case, and if the other party has every opportunity to seek disclosure but fails to do so then it has no ground for complaint.