International Arbitration
International Arbitration Viewpoints →
Read about the latest legal and regulatory developments in Asia
International Arbitration Experience →
Read more about our cases
International Arbitration Team →
Meet our regional team of experienced lawyers
Our international arbitration practice, comprising commercial and investor-state arbitrations, is a recognised world leader. Supported by experts drawn from industry-specific practices within the firm, our international arbitration practice delivers world-class advice and counsel through a powerful combination of our extensive connections across the continent; lawyers with vast global experience; and deep institutional knowledge in a wide spectrum of complex corporate, commercial and public international law disputes.
World Leaders
With our expertise sought by governments, state-owned entities and Fortune 500 companies worldwide, we’re not just a leader in Asia, we rank amongst the world’s best. Our lawyers are involved in the most significant disputes in the region, and are also regularly appointed as arbitrators in both commercial and investor-state arbitrations. With one of the world’s largest arbitration portfolios, we were the first Asian international arbitration practice ranked by the Global Arbitration Review in 2008, and we have retained our unparalleled market dominance ever since. In 2014, we won arbitration practice of the year at the Asian Legal Business Awards. In 2015, the Global Arbitration Review named our practice as one of the “most impressive” regional arbitration practices in the world.
Our lawyers are also thought-leaders in the field, often delivering papers and speaking around the world. We are regularly involved in law reform, soft law instruments and reports, UN working group and treaty negotiations as well as authoring books and articles on international arbitration (including the next edition of Mustill & Boyd’s Commercial Arbitration).
Featured insights
Arbitration Asia
A one-stop arbitration website which spotlights on Asia, covering the latest legislative and regulatory developments, case alerts, market updates and events or happenings across Rajah & Tann Asia’s geographical footprint.
Our Cross Border Strength
With a multinational and multi-linguistic team with deep international experience and in many instances, qualifications from multiple jurisdictions, we consistently deliver results for our clients across the world. We are regularly involved in disputes not only in Singapore but also in New York, England, France, Hong Kong and China. We are adept handling disputes governed by the laws of any jurisdiction.
Our formidable network across the region further anchors our international experience. As the largest firm in Southeast Asia, we are able to coordinate multi-national disputes and draw upon the local knowledge of our colleagues in Asia where necessary.
Unique for an Asian firm, we offer a dedicated core of international advocates in the arbitration practice. Our capabilities include:
- International commercial arbitrations
- Investor-State arbitrations
- Applications for arbitration-related court proceedings
International Commercial Arbitrations
Our specialist advocates are able to offer timely advice in disputes under almost any institutional or ad hoc arbitration. Our lawyers have extensive experience gained from other leading international firms, barristers’ chambers and as clerks before international courts and arbitral institutions.
We have handled arbitrations in every shape and form. These include billion-dollar disputes over steel plants in the Philippines, power infrastructure in Malaysia; oil fields in Libya and Sudan to drill ships and oilrigs in Singapore. We have arbitrated on Base transmission telecommunications systems in Indonesia; power plants in china to the largest coal mine in Indonesia; from submarine telecommunication cables connecting China to the United States; from Pan Asian vehicular franchises to car Distribution agreements in Singapore; long term management contracts in Indonesia to hospitality resort projects in India. We have been involved in land reclamation projects to billion dollar port disputes and other complex cross border commercial and construction related arbitration disputes involving multiple laws in multiple jurisdictions.
Our practice is also supported by various specialist practices within the firm. We are thus able to provide expert knowledge in a wide range of disputes, including:
- Corporate and Commercial matters, including complex cross-border joint venture and shareholder disputes, banking, finance, insurance, regulatory, distributorship and employment disputes;
- Oil and Gas (upstream and downstream);
- Healthcare and Cosmetics;
- Energy and Resources including power stations, power purchase and connection agreements;
- Telecommunications Networks, infrastructure and sales;
- Infrastructure and Civil Engineering projects such as airports, railways, ports, highways, suspension bridges, tunnels and sewerage systems;
- Building projects including residential, industrial, mixed-development and commercial building projects; and
- Maritime and Shipbuilding Contracts
Investor-State Arbitrations
Our lawyers have extensive experience representing both States and investors in relation to their rights and obligations under investment treaties and free trade agreements. Our lawyers have also been appointed arbitrators in investment arbitrations and have been involved in UNCITRAL working group sessions on topics of investment arbitration. In the 2015 edition of Chambers Asia-Pacific, we were recognised for our “core expertise” in public international law and “respected” for conducting disputes involving bilateral investment treaty issues.
At the transactional stage, we are able to combine strengths with our regulatory and competition practices to provide holistic advice in relation to investments into specific jurisdictions. We are also able to draw on the local knowledge of each of our offices and affiliates particularly in Asia to guide both investors and States. In addition, we have been consulted on and are able to advise on the drafting and negotiation of treaties.
At the disputes stage, our lawyers have specialist knowledge in public international law and the investment arbitration process.
Applications for Arbitration-related Court Proceedings
In addition to handling the arbitration itself, our team is regularly briefed to appear before the courts on a variety of arbitration-related litigation, including stays, injunctions, interim measures, and challenges to enforcement or setting-aside applications. We also have local law capabilities in each of our regional offices and are able to coordinate similar strategies on behalf of our clients.
Although we are often called upon to lead arbitrations and court applications, we are equally also regularly instructed to co-counsel or lend support on other matters.
Related Links
Recognition
-
World's Top 100 International Arbitration PracticeGlobal Arbitration Review (GAR100) since 2009 (Singapore)
-
Tier 1 - International Arbitration (Domestic)Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific (2023) (Singapore)
-
Band 2 - Dispute Resolution: Arbitration (Elite)Chambers Asia-Pacific, Chambers Global (2024) (Philippines, Singapore)
-
Tier 2 - International ArbitrationThe Legal 500 Asia Pacific (2024) (Singapore)
-
Ranked - Asia Pacific Region - Arbitration (International)Chambers Asia-Pacific, Chambers Global (2024) (Singapore)
-
Ranked - Asia Pacific: Regional International ArbitrationThe Legal 500 Asia Pacific (2024) (Singapore)
-
Recommended - International ArbitrationBenchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific (2023) (Philippines, Vietnam)
-
Spotlight Table - Dispute Resolution: Arbitration (Foreign Expertise) (India)Chambers Global (2024) (Singapore)
-
Recognised - Regional & Specialist Law FirmIndia Business Law Journal (2023) (Singapore)
-
"Rajah and Tann differentiates itself by its multidimensional approach. By seamlessly merging legal expertise with an understanding of business dynamics, the practice offers solutions that are both legally sound and strategically robust."The Legal 500 Asia Pacific (2024) (Singapore)
-
"C&G Law is able to provide excellent, pragmatic and practical legal advice and strategy. The firm makes available information that allows the business to come up with informed decisions."Chambers Asia-Pacific (2024) (Philippines)
-
"Rajah & Tann has highly competent lawyers who have delivered results in a complex matter in an extremely short timeframe."Chambers Asia-Pacific (2024) (Singapore)
-
"Rajah & Tann is a leading firm in South East Asia. Its large arbitration practice is well established and highly regarded."The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific (2024) (Singapore)
-
"We have worked together with Rajah & Tann on a couple of disputes cases over the last 12 months. I would describe the team as flexible, open minded, diligent, and well-suited to working together in a collaborative capacity."The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific (2024) (Singapore)
-
"...Proactive, solution-focused, diligent, and did an outstanding job preparing 10 inexperienced witnesses for the arbitration hearing.”Global Arbitration Review (GAR100) (2023) (Singapore)
-
"The firm supported us in an effective and very timely manner, showcasing their ability to leverage specific capabilities well according to the needs of the client."Chambers Asia-Pacific (2024) (Philippines)
-
"It regards its main competitors for high-end and complex arbitration work not as other Singapore firms but rather as international firms in the UK and the US."Global Arbitration Review (GAR100) (2023) (Singapore)
-
"They are attentive, responsive and efficient in that they were able to understand the complex issues in shortest time. Their understandings, analysis and the proposed strategic plans are logical and effective."The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific (2024) (Vietnam)
-
"The people I dealt with are knowledgeable about the industry I am involved in. They are responsive too, whenever we raise queries. We are satisfied with their efficient service."The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific (2024) (Vietnam)
-
"...Takes matters forward without unnecessary bells and whistles."Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific (2023) (Singapore)
R&T is one of Singapore’s largest and oldest law firms. This equates to a deep bench of relationships and knowledge across the legal fraternity which allows R&T to tailor each dispute resolution process to accentuate the arguments that are most effective for a particular judge or arbitrator or opposing counsel. Their large team also ensures that they have more capacity than other firms to research, uncover and make important, detailed arguments to advocate on behalf of their clients. It also allowed them to flex the size of the team up and down based on the requirements of the case as needed. The R&T team was also very diverse by ethnicity, gender, backgrounds and case experiences which enabled them to come up with more diverse and effective arguments for our case."
Our International Arbitration Team
Representative, Shenzhen Representative Office
Head, Brunei Business Unit
Chief Representative, Shenzhen Representative Office
