Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
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because its own conduct in the arbitration had led to a result it was dissatisfied
with: at [28].
(3) SGTs claim that the tribunal exceeded the scope of its jurisdiction because
it failed and/or refused to apply the law governing the March 2003 Agreement,
viz, Indonesian law (on which expert opinion and submissions had been
provided by both parties) was without merit: at [29].
(4) On whether the tribunal arrived at an unexpected, illogical conclusion
unsupported by the available evidence, the tribunal was not required to put this
conclusion before the parties given that this was not a dramatic departure from
the evidence presented and which was in fact placed before the tribunal by SGT
itself: at [30].
(5) The tribunal did not exceed the express mandate given to it by the parties
given that a pertinent, and indeed determinative, issue that required resolution
was clearly whether the March 2003 Agreement was still in effect after 31 March
2005: at [34].
Case(s) referred to
Soh Beng Tee & Co Pte Ltd v Fairmont Development Pte Ltd [2007] 3 SLR(R) 86;
[2007] 3 SLR 86 (folld)
Legislation referred to
International Arbitration Act (Cap 143A, 2002 Rev Ed) s 24(b), First Schedule
Art 34
Arbitration Act (Cap 10, 2002 Rev Ed) s 48(1)(a)(vii)
Chou Tzu and Sheila Ng (Rajah & Tann LLP) for the plaintiff;
Tan Chuan Thye and Germaine Chia (M/s Wong & Leow LLC) for the defendant.
28 October 2009
Tay Yong Kwang J:
Introduction
1
The plaintiff, Sobati General Trading LLC (SGT), applied, pursuant
to s 24(b) and Art 34 of the First Schedule of the International Arbitration
Act (Cap 143A, 2002 Rev Ed) (IAA), to set aside an arbitral award, dated
11 November 2008 (the final award) and amended on 9 January 2009
(the addendum) (henceforth, collectively, the arbitral award), made by
the single arbitrator tribunal (the tribunal) in International Chamber of
Commerce (ICC) International Court of Arbitration Case No 15158/JEM
(the arbitration) on the following two grounds:
(a)
(b)
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Although SGT had initially also contended that the arbitral award was
contrary to the public policy of Singapore, its counsel, Ms Chou Tzu,
informed me at the outset of the hearing that she was not proceeding on
this ground.
2
The central issue before me was whether the tribunal was entitled (as
it did) to come to a decision that a distributorship agreement made in
March 2003 (the March 2003 Agreement) between SGT and the
defendant, PT Multistrada Arahsarana (Multistrada), had terminated on
31 March 2005. The tribunals decision was based on the express wording of
a fax sent by Multistrada to SGT on 29 October 2004 (the October 2004
Fax). SGT claimed that because the tribunal was not entitled to find that
the March 2003 Agreement had terminated on 31 March 2005, the rules of
natural justice were breached and the tribunal exceeded its express mandate
given to it by SGT and Multistrada. After hearing the parties, I dismissed
SGTs application. I now give the reasons for my decision.
Background facts
The parties
3
SGT, the claimant in the arbitration, is a company incorporated under
the laws of the United Arab Emirates. It is in the business of distributing
automobile tyres. Multistrada, the respondent in the arbitration, is a
company incorporated under the laws of Indonesia. It is a manufacturer of
tyres.
The March 2003 Agreement and the arbitration agreement
4
SGT alleged that on or about 7 March 2003, it entered into an
exclusive distributorship agreement with Multistrada for the sale and
distribution of certain brands of tyres in Iran (i.e., the March 2003
Agreement). The relevant provisions of the March 2003 Agreement, with
Art 5.1 as the arbitration clause, read as follows:
Article 1
1.1
1.2
[Multistrada] shall not sell, nor export the goods under Corsa. Strada
and Duragrip brand directly or indirectly to any person, firm or
corporation within the above territories. Any fax or email inquiry
related to the territories received by [Multistrada] will be forwarded to
[SGT].
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Article 4
Both parties agree for the period of 1 (one) year [that Multistrada] and [SGT]
[will] manage respectively the supply and importation of products in [the]
quantity of;
Minimum 36x40 HC FCL for the 1st year or 9X40 HC FCL per 3 months.
The minimum quantity for the 2nd year if [the March 2003 Agreement] is
extended, will be discussed and decided by both parties.
A performance review will be done every 3 (three) months. In the term that
one party is unable to meet one of the requirements, a reminder will be sent
to the non-performing party and after the 5th months [sic], if there is no
indication of an improvement in the performance then this agreement [ie,
the March 2003 Agreement] is deemed null and void.
A 1.5% rebate will be given by [Multistrada] to [SGT] if the importation of
[Multistradas] goods reach the total value of USD1,000,000 based on FOB
Jakarta tire only price (without wrapping) within the lifetime of [the March
2003 Agreement].
Article 5
5.1
This agreement is valid up to 1 (one) year effective from 7 March, 2003 until
7 March 2004 and renewable annually automatically if both [Multistrada]
and [SGT] have fulfilled [the] terms and conditions as stated above.
[emphasis added]
(b)
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(b)
(c)
(d)
7
In the alternative, Multistrada claimed, in its Answer, that even if the
March 2003 Agreement was valid and binding, it had not been renewed
after 7 March 2004. In this regard, Multistrada asserted that:
(a)
(b)
(c)
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9
Save for Multistradas counterclaim (see [7(c)] above), which is not
relevant for the purpose of these proceedings, the parties respective
positions and the issues arising in the arbitration were agreed and set out in
the Terms of Reference (the Terms of Reference) sometime on or about
25 January 2008. Based on the documents submitted by the parties, para 7
of the Terms of Reference set out the following issues to be decided in the
arbitration:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(ii)
6.
Quite apart from the parties agreement in April/May 2004, [SGT] had
not, during the period March 2003 to March 2004, imported the
minimum number of tyres required under the [March 2003
Agreement]. Further, the quantity of tyres imported during that time
was less than the minimum required to entitle [SGT] to claim the
rebate it now seeks.
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SGT raised the October 2004 Fax as evidence that the March 2003
Agreement remained in effect until 12 August 2006. In other words, SGT
raised the October 2004 Fax to show the continued existence and
performance of the March 2003 Agreement after 7 March 2004.
12 At this juncture, it would be useful to set out the entire contents of the
October 2004 Fax referred to in the preceding paragraph which was
addressed to the Managing Director of SGT, Masoud Sobati (Mr Sobati).
The October 2004 Fax reads as follows:
Mr Sobati,
Refer to our discussion during your visiting our country we have conclude as
follow:
1.
2.
This agreement is valid until end of March 2005, and shall not binding
both parties after its termination. Renewal of this agreement is subject
to negotiation by both parties.
3.
4.
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the October 2004 Fax was not raised by either party at the
pleadings stage;
(b)
the October 2004 Fax was not available when the parties decided
on the Terms of Reference (see [9] above) for the arbitration;
and
(c)
(b)
(c)
(d)
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(f)
(g)
(ii)
Costs orders were also made against both parties. The net result of these
costs orders was that SGT was ordered to pay Multistrada US$108,750. This
amount comprised Multistradas entitlement to the legal costs and expenses
of the arbitration, the administrative expenses of the ICC Court and the
tribunals fees and expenses.
16 Following the release of the final award, SGTs lawyers in the
arbitration sought by way of two letters dated 25 November 2008 and
1 December 2008 respectively, to apply for a correction and interpretation
of the final award pursuant to Art 29 of the ICC Rules. On 9 January 2009,
the tribunal rendered the addendum correcting a typographical error and
dismissing SGTs said application.
SGTs application to set aside the arbitral award
17 As mentioned above at [1], SGT applied pursuant to s 24(b) and
Art 34 of the First Schedule of the IAA to set aside the arbitral award made
by the tribunal on the following two grounds:
(a)
(b)
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(ii) the party making the application was not given proper
notice of the appointment of an arbitrator or of the arbitral
proceedings or was otherwise unable to present his case; or
(iii) the award deals with a dispute not contemplated by or not
falling within the terms of the submission to arbitration, or
contains decisions on matters beyond the scope of the submission
to arbitration, provided that, if the decisions on matters
submitted to arbitration can be separated from those not so
submitted, only that part of the award which contains decisions
on matters not submitted to arbitration may be set aside;
(4) The court, when asked to set aside an award, may, where appropriate
and so requested by a party, suspend the setting aside proceedings for a
period of time determined by it in order to give the arbitral tribunal an
opportunity to resume the arbitral proceedings or to take such other action as
in the arbitral tribunals opinion will eliminate the grounds for setting aside.
[emphasis added]
(b) a breach of the rules of natural justice occurred in connection with the
making of the award by which the rights of any party have been prejudiced.
[emphasis added]
19 To support its position on these two grounds (see [1] and [17] above),
SGT relied on the following points to show that it suffered prejudice:
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(ii)
(c)
(d)
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reasoning of the type revealed in the award. It is only in these very limited
circumstances that the arbitrators decision might be considered unfair.
(e) It is almost invariably the case that parties propose diametrically
opposite solutions to resolve a dispute. They may expect the arbitrator to select
one of these alternative positions. The arbitrator, however, is not bound to
adopt an either/or approach. He is perfectly entitled to embrace a middle path
(even without apprising the parties of his provisional thinking or analysis) so
long as it is based on evidence that is before him. Similarly, an arbitrator is
entitled indeed, it is his obligation to come to his own conclusions or
inferences from the primary facts placed before him. In this context, he is not
expected to inexorably accept the conclusions being urged upon him by the
parties. Neither is he expected to consult the parties on his thinking process
before finalising his award unless it involves a dramatic departure from what
has been presented to him.
(f)
Each case should be decided within its own factual matrix. It must
always be borne in mind that it is not the function of the court to assiduously
comb an arbitral award microscopically in attempting to determine if there
was any blame or fault in the arbitral process; rather, an award should be read
generously such that only meaningful breaches of the rules of natural justice
that have actually caused prejudice are ultimately remedied.
[emphasis added]
(b)
(c)
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All these issues relate directly to the tribunals conclusion that the October
2004 Fax terminated the March 2003 Agreement on 31 March 2005. As
already mentioned above at [13], while the October 2004 Fax was not raised
by either party at the pleadings stage nor available when the parties decided
on the Terms of Reference for the arbitration, it was adduced by SGT itself
on 28 March 2008 in its reply to the statement of defence and defence to the
counterclaims (see [11][12] above), albeit as its evidence that the March
2003 Agreement existed and remained in effect until 12 August 2006. In
this regard, SGT had also alleged that the transactions between the parties
from 31 March 2005 to 12 August 2006 were pursuant to the March 2003
Agreement.
24 Because Multistrada had no directions to file a response to SGTs
reply to the statement of defence and defence to the counterclaims, it could
only address the effect of the October 2004 Fax when it filed the first witness
statement of its director, Mr Hartono Setiobudis (Mr Setiobudi), on
2 June 2008. At [38] of this witness statement, Mr Setiobudi referred to the
October 2004 Fax and stated that Multistrada was willing to supply SGT
with tyres until the 31 March 2005:
38. I sent a fax on 29 October 2004 to [SGT], in order to set out what we had
discussed at the earlier meeting. I suggested that Multistrada would supply
tyres to [SGT] in honour of the supposed [March 2005 Agreement]. Although
I was willing to acknowledge Mr Sobatis contention that there was a
supposed agreement between Multistrada and [SGT], Multistrada was not
willing to do business on those terms. The arrangement proposed in my
[October 2004 Fax] was different. I suggested that we would supply [SGT] with
tyres again until the end of March 2005 to see whether we could trust [SGT] to
distribute solely in Iran. If so, I anticipated negotiating further terms with
[SGT] in March 2005. [emphasis added]
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(i) whether the March 2003 Agreement was valid and binding
in the first place;
(ii) if the March 2003 Agreement was valid and binding,
whether it was in effect in August 2006;
(d) the evidence before the tribunal included the March 2003
Agreement and the October 2004 Fax;
(e) the October 2004 Fax , which was evidence that SGT itself
placed before the tribunal, referred to the March 2003 Agreement and
expressly stated a termination date of 31 March 2005; and
(f) during the course of the arbitration proceedings, Multistrada
led factual and expert evidence that the parties had wholly accepted
the terms of the October 2004 Fax to govern their business relations
and that there were no negotiations after 31 March 2005 to renew the
agreement or to enter into a new distributorship agreement.
31 In fact, the tribunal adopted a middle path that was consistent with
the cases of both SGT and Multistrada, viz, that:
(a)
the March 2003 Agreement was valid and binding (which was
Sobatis position); and
(b)
the parties had accepted the terms of the October 2004 Fax
which terminated the March 2003 Agreement on 31 March
2005 (which was Multistradas position).
33 SGT alleged that the tribunals finding that the March 2003
Agreement terminated on 31 March 2005 was not within its jurisdiction to
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