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𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐩𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐩𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠? 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐀𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐉𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 Congratulations to my colleagues Siraj Omar, S.C., Larisa Cheng and Fitzgerald Hendroff on successfully defending the challenge in 𝘋𝘚𝘚 𝘷 𝘋𝘚𝘛 [2026] SGHC 145. It was also a privilege for our team to work alongside Ryan Tan and Sidley Austin LLP on this matter. The case raised an interesting question. The claimant sought to set aside an arbitral award on the basis that substantial portions of the award had been copied from a related award issued in a concurrent arbitration. Relying on 𝘋𝘑𝘗 𝘷 𝘋𝘑𝘖, it argued that the similarities were so extensive that they demonstrated apparent bias and a failure by the Tribunal to exercise independent judgment. The High Court rejected the challenge. What I found particularly interesting is the Court's nuanced treatment of the "copying" issue. The Court recognised that not all similarity is objectionable. Where arbitrations are heard concurrently, involve the same factual matrix, share common evidence and overlapping issues, it is hardly surprising that tribunals may reach similar conclusions and sometimes express those conclusions in similar terms. The critical question was not whether the awards looked alike. The critical question was whether the Tribunal had independently engaged with the issues before it. Unlike 𝘋𝘑𝘗 , the Court found that the Tribunal had demonstrated that it was alive to the differences between the proceedings, addressed arguments specific to the arbitration before it, and exercised its own judgment even where it ultimately reached the same conclusions as the tribunal in the related arbitration. The practical takeaway is a useful one: 👉 Similar awards do not necessarily mean biased tribunals. 👉 Similar reasoning does not necessarily mean copied reasoning. 👉 The focus remains on whether the tribunal independently considered and determined the issues before it. A significant result for the client and a fascinating judgment on the line between legitimate overlap and apparent bias in concurrent arbitrations. Siraj Omar LLC #InternationalArbitration #SingaporeLaw #DisputeResolution #NaturalJustice #ApparentBias