PT Garuda Indonesia v. Birgen Air

[2002] 1 SLR 393 (2002)

From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

PT Garuda Indonesia v. Birgen Air

Singapore Court of Appeals
[2002] 1 SLR 393 (2002)

Facts

In January 1996, PT Garuda Indonesia (Garuda) (plaintiff), an Indonesian company, entered an agreement with Birgen Air (Birgen) (defendant). Birgen agreed to lease its airplanes to Garuda for the transport of religious pilgrims. The contract provided for arbitration if disputes arose between the parties and provided that any arbitration would occur in Jakarta under Indonesia law. A dispute arose when Birgen proposed a substitution under the lease agreement, and the parties referred the matter to arbitration. The arbitral tribunal informed the parties that Jakarta was an inappropriate place given the significant political, social, and economic turmoil occurring in Indonesia between 1996 and 1998. The arbitral tribunal suggested arbitration occur in Singapore. The attorneys for Birgen and Garuda filed separate responses accepting the proposal to set arbitration in Singapore. In February 2000, the arbitrators conducted a hearing in Singapore and handed down an award. In February 2001, Garuda filed a motion to set aside the final award under Section 24 of the International Arbitration Act (IA Act) and Article 34 of the Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration adopted by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (the Model Law). Birgen argued that because the contract identified Jakarta as the place of arbitration, Singaporean courts lack jurisdiction. Garuda countered that the parties agreed to change the place of arbitration to Singapore, meaning the court could set aside the award under the Model Law and Singaporean law.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Chao Hick Tin Ja, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 815,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership