SIAC Launches First-Ever Arbitration Protocol for Insolvency and Restructuring Disputes

In August 2025, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) launched the Restructuring and Insolvency Arbitration Protocol (RIA Protocol), the first framework of its kind designed specifically for disputes arising in restructuring and insolvency contexts.

Key Purpose 

The Protocol addresses a fundamental tension between insolvency law and arbitration. While insolvency proceedings involve collective rights under statutory frameworks, arbitration focuses on bilateral disputes and party autonomy. The RIA Protocol provides a specialized mechanism that allows certain disputes to be addressed within an arbitral framework, while respecting core insolvency principles and the role of national courts.

Main Features

• Accelerated Timelines: By default, tribunals must render final awards within six months of constitution.
  
  
• Procedural Flexibility for Insolvency Context: Within seven days of constitution, the tribunal must hold a case management conference to set the timetable, identify interlocutory applications, address joinder and jurisdictional issues, and discuss mediation. If the parties wish to pursue mediation, they may request a three-week suspension of the arbitration. 
  
  
• Default Seat, Tribunal Composition and Governing Law: Unless the parties agree otherwise, Singapore is the seat of arbitration, a sole arbitrator is appointed, and Singapore law is the governing law of the arbitration. 

Practical Applications and Limitations

In practice, the RIA Protocol may be particularly useful in several scenarios. It provides a platform for resolving intercompany claims involving different governing laws and jurisdiction clauses through a single arbitration. It may also facilitate resolution of disputed creditor claims by encouraging courts to grant carve-outs from statutory moratoriums. Additionally, adoption of the Protocol may strengthen debtors' arguments when seeking stays of winding-up proceedings in favour of arbitration, and could facilitate out-of-court restructurings where disputes over the existence or quantum of debt need to be resolved swiftly and confidentially.

However, the Protocol cannot override core insolvency principles. It applies only where the underlying dispute is arbitrable, when the claimant seeks damages or remedies other than direct winding-up orders, or where the claim is carved out from statutory moratoriums. Certain matters remain non-arbitrable, including liquidator avoidance claims and applications for winding-up orders, which remain within the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts.

Implications for Practitioners and Insolvency Stakeholders

The RIA Protocol represents a significant development in how restructuring and insolvency disputes may be resolved, offering a streamlined alternative to traditional court-based insolvency litigation. Its truncated timelines, default rules, and flexible procedural features are especially attractive where speed, cost-efficiency, confidentiality, and stakeholder coordination matter. For creditors, debtors, and insolvency office-holders, the Protocol offers new opportunities to resolve disputes promptly through arbitration while benefitting from a neutral, well-established institutional framework. It remains to be seen how widely it will be adopted in practice.