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The Law Governing Arbitration Agreements – BCY v BCZ and Beyond

Leong Hoi Seng Victor & Tan Jun Hong

(2018) 30 SAcLJ 70

Abstract:
Determining the law governing the arbitration agreement has been a vexed question for arbitral tribunals and courts alike. The Singapore courts, following the footsteps of the UK courts, have clarified in recent decisions such as BCY v BCZ that the parties will be presumed to have impliedly chosen the proper law of the underlying contract as the law of the arbitration agreement. This article examines these decisions, with an emphasis on what has come to be known as the validation principle.