Jurisdiction: incorporation; tiered agreements

International Research Corporation plc v Lufthansa Systems Asia Pacific Pte Ltd and Another [2012] SGHC 226, a decision of Chan Seng Onn J in the Singapore High Court, raised a series of familiar problems. Can an arbitration clause bind a third party? When is an arbitration clause to be regarded as incorporated into an agreement between two different parties?

If the arbitration clause forms a part of a tiered process involving mediation, are the mediation provisions sufficiently certain to give rise to a legally binding obligation? The court followed English law on the first two points, although Singapore now appears to have adopted a far wider approach than England in giving effect to mediation clauses.