Principled and practical approaches to data flows in international commercial arbitration -case study of England and Singapore

Abstract

A web of data flows captured by the data protection legislation prompts the need to raise awareness for partakers of an international arbitration and their multiple roles and responsibilities attaching to them. This paper will explicate the data flow/roles among the stakeholders and across borders examining the legal implications of data flows in international commercial arbitration. Focusing on England and Singapore, an in-depth legal examination of the local regulatory duty and the scope of data protection exemptions will be carried out. It will address specifically the interaction of data protection law and arbitration administered by LCIA and the SIAC. To do so, firstly, the research starts with a general discussion on arbitrator’s liability. Secondly, it provides an analysis of the data flows and partakers’ role at the intersections between data protection and arbitration. Thirdly, the risks and requirements relating to data flows, the use of cloud service, and beyond are examined. Fourthly, the extra-territorial effects of data protection laws and their intersection with the limitation of exemptions is highlighted with a case study of the practice of LCIA and SIAC. Finally, the research concludes with the recommendations of data mapping, risk assessment and raising awareness of regulatory duties imposed by extra territorial reach of “local” data protection laws.