Singapore Supreme Court sets aside ‘copied and pasted’ arbitral award presided by former CJI Dipak Misra
The Singapore Supreme Court has set aside an arbitral award presided over by former Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra due to significant portions being copied from previous awards.
Background of the Case
Dispute Context: The arbitration involved a special purpose vehicle (SPV) managing Dedicated Freight Corridors in India and a consortium of companies awarded a tender for the western corridor in 2014.
Arbitration Initiation: The arbitration began in December 2021, focusing on contractual disputes related to changes in legislation affecting payments.
Reason for Setting Aside the Award
Extensive Copying: The Singapore Court of Appeal found that at least 212 out of 451 paragraphs in the award were copied verbatim from two earlier Indian arbitration awards involving similar issues but different parties.
Legal Grounds: The court ruled that this extensive copying compromised the integrity of the arbitration process, violating principles of natural justice and procedural fairness.
Procedural Integrity: The decision emphasizes the importance of maintaining procedural integrity and impartiality in arbitration, ensuring that awards are not based on extraneous considerations.
Fair Hearing Rule: The court noted that the copied material was not raised to the parties’ attention, breaching the fair hearing rule.
Tribunal Composition: The tribunal was headed by Dipak Misra, with other members including former Madhya Pradesh High Court Chief Justice K K Lahoti and former Jammu & Kashmir High Court Chief Justice Gita Mittal.
The Singapore Supreme Court’s decision highlights the critical need for originality and fairness in arbitration awards, underscoring that copying from previous decisions without proper consideration of the specific case details is unacceptable.
