Law applicable to an arbitration agreement: significance of the seat

In BNA v BNB and Another [2019] SGCA 84 the Singapore Court of Appeal was required to determine whether a Singapore arbitration tribunal had jurisdiction over a dispute under a contract governed by the law of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) but subject to an arbitration clause specifying arbitration in Shanghai under the rules of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre.

The question was whether the arbitration agreement was governed by the law of the PRC or the law of Singapore, thereby posing the familiar question of whether the law of the main agreement or the law of the seat is of the greater significance.