Joyce Fong

Costs of the arbitrationThe costs of the arbitration include (Rule 47.1):•the Arbitral Tribunal’s fees;•the AIAC administrative fee;•reasonable expenses incurred by the Arbitral Tribunal;•any costs of using the AIAC’s facilities and additional services;•any other costs as directed by the Arbitral Tribunal; and•any applicable taxes or other chargesArbitral Tribunal’s fees and AIAC administrative feeQuantumThe AIAC Court will fix the fees of the Arbitral Tribunal and the AIAC administrative fee according to the scales set out at Schedule 1A (for international arbitration) and 1B (for domestic arbitration) of the AIAC Rules (Rule 47.3). These fees are calculated based on the amount in dispute, including the value of any claims, counterclaims and any defence of set-off (Rule 47.3).•if the claims and/or counterclaims are unquantified, the Registrar will, after consulting the Arbitral Tribunal and the parties, determine the amount in dispute for the purpose of calculating the deposit towards the costs of the arbitration (Rule 47.4)•the minimum arbitrator’s fees and AIAC administrative

RequestA party seeking urgent interim measures prior to the constitution of the Arbitral Tribunal may request the appointment of an emergency arbitrator (Rule 12.1). The emergency arbitrator request may be filed (Rule 12.2):•before filing the notice of arbitration;•when filing the notice of arbitration; or•at any time prior to the constitution of the Arbitral TribunalIf the request is filed before filing the notice of arbitration, the notice of arbitration must be filed within 7 days thereafter (Rule 12.3).The emergency arbitrator request must be in writing and include the following (Rule 12.4):•the names and contact details of the parties and any representatives;•a brief description of the legal and factual basis for the request, identifying the interim measure urgently sought and the grounds for requesting the appointment of an emergency arbitrator;•proof of payment of the emergency arbitrator request fee and the emergency arbitrator’s fees;•confirmation that a copy of the emergency arbitrator request has been delivered to all other parties or an explanation

Applicable rulesSave for the matters governed under Rule 7 and set out in this Practice Note, the remainder of the AIAC Rules will apply to any arbitration conducted according to the Fast Track Procedure (Rule 7.9).RequestA party may request the operation of the Fast Track Procedure when commencing the arbitration or at any time before the Arbitral Tribunal is constituted if at least one of the following criteria apply (Rule 7.1):•the Parties have agreed to adopt the Fast Track Procedure or any edition of the AIAC Fast Track Arbitration Rules;•the amount in dispute in the notice of arbitration is less than USD 3 million (for international arbitration) or RM 2 million (for domestic arbitration); or•there is exceptional urgencyA request for the Fast Track Procedure (other than based on parties’ agreement) will be determined by the President of the AIAC Court having regard to all relevant circumstances (Rule 7.2).Deposit and costsAmountThe AIAC will request a deposit to cover 100% of the estimated

IntroductionThe 2026 AIAC Rules represent a significant advancement over the 2023 AIAC Rules. Notably, while the 2023 AIAC Rules incorporated the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules (as revised in 2021), the 2026 AIAC Rules have dispensed with this approach. As a result, the 2026 AIAC Rules now operate as a more cohesive and self-contained set of rules and also feature the key changes described below.AIAC Court of ArbitrationOne of the most significant amendments introduced by the 2026 AIAC Rules is the establishment of the AIAC Court of Arbitration, headed by a President and supported by a Registrar. This new structure replaces the previous Director-centric model found in the 2023 AIAC Rules.Under the revised framework, key functions such as the appointment of arbitrators, the determination of challenges, and decisions on consolidation are now vested in the AIAC Court and/or its President. The Registrar is responsible for the day-to-day administration of arbitrations. This clear division of responsibilities brings the AIAC inline with the governance models adopted by other leading international

ConsolidationRequestA party may apply to the AIAC to consolidate two or more arbitrations administered under the AIAC Rules into a single arbitration if (Rule 8.1):•the parties agree;•all the claims and counterclaims are made under the same arbitration agreement; or•the claims are made under multiple but compatible arbitration agreements, where there is a common question of law or fact and the rights to relief claimed arise out of the same or a series of related transactionsIt is unclear from the wording of Rule 3.1(c) whether the ‘common question of law or fact’ limb is intended to work in conjunction with or as an alternative to the ‘same or a series of related transactions’ limb. The former is a new addition to the 2026 AIAC Rules, presumably with the intention of widening rather than narrowing the criteria for consolidation.A consolidation request must include the following (Rule 8.2):•the case reference numbers of the arbitrations to be consolidated;•a copy of the document containing the arbitration agreement or in

Pre-commencement and scopeIncorporationParties are deemed to agree that an arbitration will be conducted and administered by the AIAC in accordance with the 2026 AIAC Rules when they agree to (Rule 1.1(a)):•refer their dispute to the AIAC for arbitration; or•refer their dispute to arbitration in accordance with the AIAC Arbitration RulesArbitration Act 2005The following sections of the Arbitration Act 2005 [Act 646] will not apply to arbitrations seated in Malaysia which are conducted and administered by the AIAC under the 2026 AIAC Rules (Rule 1.1(b)):Section 41 (determination of a preliminary point of law by the High Court); andSection 46 (extension of time by the High Court for making an award).Interpretation and definitionThe English version of the 2026 AIAC Rules will prevail over other language versions (Rule 2.1).Days‘Days’ are defined as calendar days ending at 11:59 p.m. (GMT +8) unless otherwise specified and include weekends and public holidays (Rule 2.4). It may be sensible to modify this definition if the parties,

AppointmentGeneral rulesThe President of the AIAC Court is the appointing authority for arbitrations under the AIAC Rules (Rule 15.1). S/he may seek any necessary information from the parties and exercise the powers vested by the AIAC Rules, in exercising the power of appointment (Rule 15.4).Any nomination or agreement by the parties to nominate or appoint the Arbitral Tribunal is subject to confirmation of the appointment by the President (Rule 15.5).Number of arbitratorsThe parties may agree on the number of arbitrators (Rule 15.2). Failing such agreement in the arbitration agreement, a sole arbitrator will be appointed by default unless the AIAC Court, upon application of a party, determines that the nature and complexity of the dispute warrants appointing three arbitrators instead (Rule 15.3).Considerations for appointmentThe President will consider the following when appointing arbitrators (Rule 16.1):•the nature and circumstances of the dispute;•the applicable law;•the seat and language of the arbitration;•the nationality of the parties;•the availability of the arbitrator with the required qualifications;•any

Decision makingThe Arbitral Tribunal can make separate awards on different issues at different times (Rule 41.1).If the Arbitral Tribunal consists of more than one arbitrator, any award or decision will be decided by a majority. If a majority decision cannot be achieved, the award or decision will be made by the presiding arbitrator alone (Rule 41.2).FormAn award is final and binding on the parties (Rule 41.3). It must:•be in writing;•state the date on which the Award was made and the seat of the arbitration (Rule 41.5);•state the reasons for the Arbitral Tribunal’s decision unless the parties have agreed that no reasons are to be given (Rule 41.4);•be signed by the arbitrators physically or electronically, unless otherwise provided by law (Rule 41.5); and•if the Arbitral Tribunal consists of more than one arbitrator and any of them fails to sign, be signed by the majority and state the reason for the missing signature (Rule 41.6)Technical reviewTime limitThe Arbitral Tribunal

Arbitral Tribunal’s jurisdictionSeparabilityThe Arbitral Tribunal can rule on its own jurisdiction, including any objections to the existence or validity of the arbitration agreement. In so doing, it will consider the following principles (Rule 26.1):•an arbitration agreement which is part of a contract is separable from the other terms of the contract; and•a decision that the contract is null and void will not automatically invalidate the arbitration agreementJurisdictional challengeA party may raise a jurisdictional challenge even if it nominated the challenged arbitrator or requested the President of the AIAC Court to appoint or confirm the Arbitral Tribunal (Rule 26.4).The jurisdictional challenge can take two forms:•an allegation that the Arbitral Tribunal does not have jurisdiction; and•an allegation that the Arbitral Tribunal is acting beyond the scope of its authorityAny allegation that the Arbitral Tribunal does not have jurisdiction must be raised no later than in (Rule 26.3):•the statement of defence;•where a counterclaim has been raised, the defence to

CommencementThe 2026 AIAC Rules took effect from 1 January 2026 (Guideline and Application, para A).ContextWider restructuring initiatives at the AIACThe adoption of the 2026 AIAC Rules is part of a wider restructuring initiative at the AIAC and reflect global best practices in commercial arbitration. In addition to the arbitration rules, the AIAC has also adopted updated rules on Islamic arbitration, mediation and sports arbitration.One of the key changes arising from the 2026 AIAC Rules is the establishment of the AIAC Court of Arbitration, which replaces the previous Director-centric model in the 2023 AIAC Rules. This approach aligns the AIAC’s processes with the standards of other key international arbitral institutions.ObjectivesThe