The Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration (SCMA) is a specialist arbitration institution which provides a neutral, cost-effective, and flexible framework for maritime and international trade arbitrations. The SCMA was established in November 2004 and was managed by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC). In response to industry feedback, the SCMA was reconstituted in May 2009.
SCMA offers a self-administered model of arbitration. Accordingly, a party can start and run the arbitration entirely at its own cost without incurring any additional fees. If required, parties can approach the SCMA’s Secretariat who is on hand to provide tailored administrative support to the parties and the tribunal. Disputants have the autonomy to select their arbitrators either from SCMA’s curated specialist panel of arbitrators with technical, industry and legal experience, or from outside of the panel. Membership of the SCMA is open to companies and individuals from all sectors of the maritime, trade and arbitration communities. Please visit SCMA’s website at https://www.scma.org.sg/ for more information.
Following a public consultation in 2020, SCMA launched the 4th edition of the SCMA Arbitration Rules (https://scma.org.sg/rules) which applies to arbitrations commencing on and after 1 January 2022. The key objective is to ensure that disputants are provided with all the requisite tools and guidance to ensure a user-friendly, cost-effective and efficient, resolution of disputes by arbitration. We are pleased that Singapore has been ranked alongside London as the most preferred seat in the world, and the most preferred seat in Asia-Pacific, in the 2021 international arbitration survey by Queen Mary University of London and White & Case. Since the launch of the updated rules, we have received positive feedback, and we look forward to greater adoption by parties as we press ahead to better serve the community and to be a leading maritime arbitration centre in Asia.
Justice Chao Hick Tin
Chairman
Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration