One recurring question in third-party funded arbitration is whether a successful claimant may recover from the unsuccessful party, as part of its costs, the success fee payable to its funder. In DTH v DTF, the Singapore International Commercial Court (“SICC”) considered that issue for the first time in Singapore. A three-judge coram upheld the tribunal’s decision that it had no power to award the applicants the success component of their third-party funding arrangement. The decision is significant because it clarifies both the limits of recoverable costs in Singapore-seated arbitration and the extent to which the Civil Law Act and the International Arbitration Act accommodate third-party funding arrangements.
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