Contributed by Anusha Gopala Krishnan, Officer, Arbitration Subcommittee, and photos by Vanimalar Moneyselvam, Administrative Assistant, Bar Council
The Bar Council Arbitration Subcommittee organised a talk entitled “Pitfalls in Arbitration” at the Raja Aziz Addruse Auditorium, Bar Council on 9 Sept 2013. The two-hour session was attended by 29 participants consisting of Members of the Bar, pupils in chambers and in-house counsel.
The talk was conducted by James Monteiro, the principal partner of Messrs James Monteiro, Advocates & Solicitors. He specialises in civil and commercial litigation, construction and engineering, risk management, and dispute resolution. James Monteiro has over 15 years of experience as a litigator in a variety of areas in both court and alternative dispute resolution. He has also advised clients in non-contentious commercial matters including joint ventures, shareholding, and other general contractual matters.
He began his talk by giving the participants a general overview on arbitration agreements, in order to provide the participants with a greater understanding of the subject matter. He expounded on the seat of arbitration and its importance to the arbitration process, and discussed in depth about the pitfalls in drafting arbitration clauses for international contracts. He also gave an elaborate explanation on the pivotal points that drafters should look out for when drafting arbitration clauses.
Throughout the talk, the speaker and participants were engaged in lively discussion. The participants’ feedback projected that they had benefited from attending the talk, which ended at 6:00 pm.