On 11 January 2016, the Singapore Academy of Law’s International Promotion of Singapore Law Committee (“SAL’s IPSL Committee”) released the results of an independent study on governing law and jurisdictional choices in cross-border transactions.
The participants
500 legal practitioners and in-house counsel who deal with cross-border transactions in Singapore and the Asia region were surveyed.
Summary of results
Preferred dispute resolution method overall: arbitration (71% of participants).
Preferred dispute resolution method by industry sector: for construction disputes: 84% for arbitration and 12% for litigation; for shipping and transport disputes: 77% for arbitration and 19% for litigation.
Most common reason given for choosing arbitration: enforceability (46%); confidentiality (17%), fairness (12%).
Preferred dispute resolution venue: Singapore (52%), followed by Hong Kong (22%).
Preferred governing law: English law (48%), followed by Singapore law (25%).