Colin Seow, FCIArb FSIArb FACICA

Independent dispute resolution practice with judicial expertise

Colin Seow Chambers LLC is an independent dispute resolution practice established in Singapore.

Judicial and litigation expertise

Colin brings with him more than twelve years of judicial and adjudicatory experience in the Supreme Court of Singapore dealing with matters involving, among other things, trade financing disputes, building and construction disputes, corporate disputes, financial and banking disputes, shipping and commodities disputes as well as matters falling within the ambit of Singapore’s International Arbitration Act 1994 and the Arbitration Act 2001.

Arbitration and mediation expertise

Colin is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb), a Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators (FSIArb), a Fellow of the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (FACICA), and an accredited mediator with the Singapore Mediation Centre (SMC) and Singapore International Mediation Institute (SIMI). He is a member of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Singapore Arbitration Group, the European Chinese Arbitrators Association, the Polish Arbitration Association and the Hungarian Arbitration Association.

He is admitted as a Panel/List arbitrator in several international arbitration centres, including the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC), the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), the British Virgin Islands International Arbitration Centre (BVI IAC), the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC), the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA), the Beihai Asia International Arbitration Centre (BAIAC), the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA), the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) and the Brunei Darussalam Arbitration Centre (BDAC).

He is available for appointment as arbitrator and as mediator in respect of all disputes.

Bar qualifications and education

Colin is qualified to practise Singapore law as an Advocate and Solicitor, and English law as a Solicitor in England and Wales. He is privileged to have served a judicial clerkship with the Supreme Court of Singapore after graduating with a LLB (First Class Honours) from the National University of Singapore (NUS). He also holds a LLM degree from Harvard University, and was a recipient of the Singapore Legal Service Commission Scholarship.

He is also registered as a Part II Legal Practitioner at the DIFC Courts with full rights of audience.

International law expertise

Colin has served as a Singapore delegate to a Working Group of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), and was involved in Singapore’s implementation of several international treaty obligations relating to cross-border dispute resolution.

He currently serves as a committee member in a Young Public International Law Group established in Singapore. He is also a member of the Singapore Branch of the International Law Association and a member of the European Society of International Law.

Legal and institutional reforms expertise

Colin is also a specialist in legal and institutional reforms (including legislative drafting and providing legal advice), having been closely involved in the establishment of the Singapore International Commercial Court and the Appellate Division of the High Court of Singapore. He has extensive expertise on civil procedure in the Singapore International Commercial Court, the General and Appellate Divisions of the High Court, and the Court of Appeal.

Legal writing, academia and thought leadership

Colin was a contributor to the Singapore White Book on Civil Procedure, and has authored articles and commentaries published in legal journals. His court judgments have been cited favourably in appellate court decisions, keynote speeches, textbooks and commentaries.

He has taught Equity and Trusts at the NUS Faculty of Law, and has delivered speeches as guest speaker at local and international conferences (eg, Paris Arbitration Week, Inter-Pacific Bar Association Conference, International Swaps and Derivatives Association Conference).

Jurisdictions admitted

  • Singapore (Advocate and Solicitor)

  • England and Wales (Solicitor)

  • New York (Attorney)

  • DIFC (Part II Legal Practitioner)

Languages

  • English

  • Chinese (Mandarin)

  • Chinese (Hokkien)

Memberships and accreditations

  • Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb)

  • Fellow, Singapore Institute of Arbitrators (FSIArb)

  • Fellow, Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (FACICA)

  • Committee Member, DIFC Courts Court Users’ Committee

  • Member, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Singapore Arbitration Group

  • Board Member, European Chinese Arbitrators Association (ECAA)

  • Senior Member, Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA)

  • Member, Polish Arbitration Association

  • Member, Hungarian Arbitration Association (HAA)

  • Member, Arbitration Association of Central and Eastern Europe (ArbCEE)

  • Member, Young International Council for Commercial Arbitration (Young ICCA)

  • Member, London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) Users’ Council

  • Committee member, Young Public International Law Group (Singapore)

  • Member, International Law Association (ILA) Singapore Branch

  • Member, European Society of International Law (ESIL)

  • Accredited Mediator, Singapore Mediation Centre (SMC)

  • Accredited Mediator, Singapore International Mediation Institute (SIMI)

  • Member, Singapore Academy of Law (SAL)

  • Member, Law Society of Singapore

  • Member, The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn

Accolades and achievements

  • Governance and Leadership Programme (Civil Service College, Singapore)

  • Singapore Legal Service Commission Scholarship

  • John Gallup Laylin Writing Prize (Nominated, Harvard Law School)

  • Willem C Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot (Honourable Mention)

  • Law Society of Singapore Book Prize (Top 2 NUS Law students in course)

  • Shook Lin & Bok Prize (Second best NUS Law student in course)

  • Dean’s List (NUS Faculty of Law)

Cases and matters involved

  • Arbitration involving dispute concerning corporate investment and shareholder-director dispute

  • Arbitration involving disputes concerning digital assets and cryptocurrencies

  • Arbitration involving disputes arising from fund investments under master service agreements

  • Arbitration involving claims arising from shipbuilding contracts in Asia

  • Arbitration involving joint-venture and corporate disputes concerning offshore and marine engineering services

  • Cross-border dispute settlement involving precious metals mining in Southeast Asia

  • Corporate transactions and shares sale and purchase agreements

  • Investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) involving environmental projects in the Americas

Select judgments

  • Credit Suisse AG v Owner of the Vessel “CHLOE V” [2022] SGHCR 9 (civil procedure and private international law)

  • TA Private Capital Security Agent Limited & Anor v UD Trading Group Holding Pte Ltd & Anor [2021] SGHCR 10 (private international law)

  • Fu Yuan Construction Pte Ltd v Fab-5 Pte Ltd [2021] SGHCR 2 (civil procedure)

  • Ermgassen & Co Ltd v Sixcap Financials Pte Ltd [2018] SGHCR 8 (private international law)

  • Mataban Development Pte Ltd v Black Knight Warrior Pte Ltd [2017] SGHCR 12 (building and construction law)

  • Pereira Dennis John Sunny v Faridah bte V Abdul Latiff [2016] SGHCR 9 (civil procedure)

  • Sentosa Building Construction Pte Ltd v DJ Builders & Contractors Pte Ltd [2015] SGHCR 18 (building and construction law)

  • Max Sources Pte Ltd v Agrocon (S) Pte Ltd and another [2015] SGHCR 11 (contract law)

  • United Overseas Bank Limited v Loh Boon Hua [2015] SGHCR 9 (credit and security law)

  • AmFraser Securities Pte Ltd v Goh Chengyu [2014] SGHCR 14 (contract law)

  • Chang Mui Hoon v Lim Bee Leng [2013] SGHCR 17 (personal injuries claim)

  • Mullaichelvan s/o Perumal v Lee Heng Kah [2013] SGHCR 3 (personal injuries claim)

  • Deldar Tony Singh and another v Rajinder Singh and others [2012] SGHCR 13 (civil procedure)

Select publications

  • Colin Seow, Violet Huang & Nichol Yeo, “Singapore courts adopt robust approach to validating awards” (Asia Business Law Journal, October 2024) (link)

  • Colin Seow, “A regional comparison of arbitration landscapes: Singapore” (Asia Business Law Journal, October 2023) (link)

  • Colin Seow, “Report of the Framework and Margins of Transnational Issue Estoppel” (Singapore Academy of Law Law Reform Committee Report, May 2023) (link)

  • Sapna Jhangiani KC & Colin Seow, “Singapore’s commercial dispute resolution and ADR landscape: a vibrant and constantly adapting outlook” (April 2023, CIArb eSolver) (link)

  • Colin Seow, “Recoverability of foreign lawyer costs in the Singapore International Commercial Court” (2023) 35 Singapore Academy of Law Journal 86

  • Teh Hwee Hwee, Justin Yeo & Colin Seow, “The Singapore International Commercial Court in Action: Illustrations from the First Case” (2016) 28 Singapore Academy of Law Journal 692 

  • Singapore Civil Procedure 2016 (White Book) (Sweet & Maxwell, 2016) (contributing author) 

  • Colin Seow, “Chasing the Frontier in Humanitarian Intervention Law: The Case for Aequitas ad Bellum” (2016) 6(2) Asian Journal of International Law 294

  • Colin Seow, “The Statutory Presumption of Legitimacy” (2010) 22 Singapore Academy of Law Journal 720

  • Colin Seow, International trusts versus forced heirship regimes: an uneasy struggle (2010) (thesis paper archived in NUS Law Library)

  • Colin Seow, The workability and acceptability of offshore asset protection trusts (2009) (thesis paper archived in NUS Law Library)