(d) to any other arbitral institutions or under any other arbitration rules, if the disputing parties so agree.
6. Each Party hereby consents to the submission of a dispute to arbitration under sub- paragraphs 5(a), 5(b), 5(c) and 5(d) of this Article in accordance with the provisions of this Section, conditional upon:
(a) the submission of the dispute to such arbitration taking place within four (4) years from the time at which the claimant became aware, or should reasonably have become aware, of a breach of an obligation under this Agreement causing loss or damage to the claimant or its investment;
(b) the claimant not being an enterprise of the respondent until the claimant refers the dispute for arbitration pursuant to paragraph 5 of this Article;
(c) the claimant providing written consent to arbitration in accordance with the provisions set out in this Section; and
(d) the claimant providing written notice, which shall be delivered at least ninety (90) days before the claim is submitted, to the respondent of its intent to submit the dispute to such arbitration and which:
(i) states whether the claim is made on its own behalf or on behalf of the enterprise;
(ii) states the name and address of the claimant and, where a dispute is submitted on behalf of an enterprise, the name, address, and place of constitution of the enterprise;
(iii) nominates one of the fora referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article as the forum for dispute settlement;
(iv) is accompanied:
(A) for claims submitted to arbitration under sub-paragraph 4(a) of this Article, by the claimant’s written waiver; and
(B) for claims submitted to arbitration under subparagraph 4(b) of this Article, by the claimant’s and the enterprise’s written waivers,
of any right to initiate or continue any proceedings (excluding proceedings for interim measures of protection referred to in paragraph 1 of Article 10.18 (Interim Measures of Protection and Diplomatic Protection)) before any of the other dispute settlement fora referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article in relation to the matter under dispute; and
(v) briefly summarises the alleged breach of the respondent under this Agreement (including the measures giving rise to the claim and the provisions alleged to have been breached), the legal and factual basis for the dispute, the loss or damage allegedly caused to the claimant or its investment by reason of that breach, the type of relief sought and the approximate amount of damages claimed.
7. The consent under paragraph 6 of this Article and the submission of a claim to arbitration under this Section shall satisfy the requirements of Article II of the New York Convention for an “agreement in writing”.
8. A claim that is submitted for arbitration under this Section shall be considered to arise out of a commercial relationship or transaction for purposes of Article I of the New York Convention.
(a) owned by natural persons or enterprises of the other Party if more than fifty (50) percent of the equity interest in it is beneficially owned by natural persons or enterprises of that Party;
(b) controlled by natural persons or enterprises of the other Party if such natural persons or enterprises have the power to name a majority of its directors or otherwise to legally direct its actions.
Article 10.15. Constitution of Arbitral Tribunal
1. Unless the disputing parties otherwise agree, the arbitral tribunal shall be composed of three (3) arbitrators. Each disputing party shall appoint one arbitrator and the disputing parties shall agree upon a third arbitrator, who shall be the chairman of the arbitral tribunal. If an arbitral tribunal has not been established within ninety (90) days from the date on which the claim was submitted to arbitration, either because a disputing party failed to appoint an arbitrator or because the disputing parties failed to agree upon the chairman, the President of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (“PCA”), upon request of either disputing party, shall appoint, at his own discretion, the arbitrator or arbitrators not yet appointed.
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1 of this Article, in the event that the President of the PCA is a national or permanent resident of either Party, the Vice-President of the PCA or the officer next in seniority who is not a national or permanent resident of either Party shall be requested to make the necessary appointment or appointments.
Article 10.16. Place of Arbitration
1. Unless the disputing parties otherwise agree, the place of arbitration shall be in the territory of either Party.
2. In the event, the disputing parties cannot agree between the territories of the Parties as the place of arbitration, the tribunal shall determine the place of arbitration giving consideration to where the investment has been made, unless tribunal is of the opinion that there are reasons for the place of arbitration to be in the territory of the other Party or a non- Party.
Article 10.17. Conduct of the Arbitration
1. A tribunal established under this Section shall decide the issues in dispute in accordance with this Agreement and the applicable rules and principles of international law. （22）
2. Without prejudice to a tribunal’s authority to address other objections as a preliminary question, such as an objection that a dispute is not within the competence of the tribunal, including an objection to the tribunal’s jurisdiction, a tribunal shall address and decide as a preliminary question any objection by the respondent that, as a matter of law, a claim submitted is not a claim for which an award in favour of the claimant may be made under Article 10.19 (Award).
(a) Such objection shall be submitted to the tribunal as soon as possible after the tribunal is constituted, and in no event later than the date the tribunal fixes for the respondent to submit its counter-memorial (or, in the case of an amendment to the notice of arbitration, the date the tribunal fixes for the respondent to submit its response to the amendment).
(b) On receipt of an objection under this paragraph, the tribunal shall suspend any proceedings on the merits, establish a schedule for considering the objection consistent with any schedule it has established for considering any other preliminary question, and issue a decision or award on the objection, stating the grounds therefor.
(c) In deciding an objection under this paragraph, the tribunal shall assume to be true claimant’s factual allegations in support of any claim in the notice of arbitration (or any amendment thereof) and, in disputes brought under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, the statement of claim referred to in the relevant article of the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. The tribunal may also consider any relevant facts not in dispute.
(d) The respondent does not waive any objection as to competence or any argument on the merits merely because the respondent did or did not raise an objection under this paragraph or make use of the expedited procedure set out in paragraph 3 of this Article.
3. In the event that the respondent so requests within forty-five (45) days after the tribunal is constituted, the tribunal shall decide on an expedited basis an objection under paragraph 2 of this Article or any objection that the dispute is not within the tribunal’s competence, including an objection that the dispute is not within the tribunal’s jurisdiction. The tribunal shall suspend any proceedings on the merits and issue a decision or award on the objection(s), stating the grounds therefor, no later than one hundred and fifty (150) days after the date of the request. However, if a disputing party requests a hearing, the tribunal may take an additional thirty (30) days to issue the decision or award. Regardless of whether a hearing is requested, a tribunal may, on a showing of extraordinary cause, delay issuing its decision or award by an additional brief period, which may not exceed thirty (30) days.
4. When it decides a respondent’s objection under paragraphs 2 or 3 of this Article, the tribunal may, if warranted, award to the prevailing disputing party reasonable costs and attorney’s fees incurred in submitting or opposing the objection. In determining whether such an award is warranted, the tribunal shall consider whether either the claimant’s claim or the respondent’s objection was frivolous, and shall provide the disputing parties a reasonable opportunity to comment.
Article 10.18. Interim Measures of Protection and Diplomatic Protection
1. Sub-paragraph 6(d)(iii) of Article 10.14 (Institution of Arbitral Proceedings) shall not prevent the claimant from seeking interim measures of protection, not involving the payment of damages or resolution of the substance of the matter in dispute before the courts or administrative tribunals of the respondent, prior to the institution of proceedings before any of the dispute settlement fora referred to in paragraph 3 of Article 10.14 (Institution of Arbitral Proceedings), for the preservation of its rights and interests.
2. Neither Party shall give diplomatic protection, or bring an international claim, in respect of a dispute which one of its investors and the other Party shall have consented to submit or have submitted to arbitration under this Section, unless such other Party has failed to abide by and comply with the award rendered in such dispute. Diplomatic protection, for the purposes of this paragraph, shall not include informal diplomatic exchanges for the sole purpose of facilitating a settlement of the dispute.
Article 10.19. Award
1. Where a tribunal makes a final award against a respondent, the tribunal may award, separately or in combination, only:
(a) monetary damages and any applicable interest; and
(b) restitution of property, in which case the award shall provide that the respondent may pay monetary damages and any applicable interest in lieu of restitution.
A tribunal may also award costs and attorney’s fees in accordance with this Section and the applicable arbitration rules.
2. Any arbitral award shall be final and binding upon the disputing parties. Each Party shall ensure the recognition and enforcement of the award in accordance with its relevant laws and regulations.
3. Where a claim is submitted on behalf of an enterprise of the respondent, the arbitral award shall be made to the enterprise.
Article 10.20. Consolidation
1. Where two (2) or more claims have been submitted separately to arbitration under this Section, and the claims have a question of law or fact in common and arise out of the same events or circumstances, any disputing party may seek a consolidation order, in accordance with the agreement of all the disputing parties sought to be covered by the order or the terms of this Article.
2. A disputing party that seeks a consolidation order under this Article shall deliver, in writing, a request to the President of the PCA and to all the disputing parties sought to be covered by the order, specifying the name and address of all the disputing parties sought to be covered by the order; the nature of the order sought; and the grounds on which the order is sought.
3. Unless the President of the PCA finds within thirty (30) days after receiving a request in conformity with paragraph 2 of this Article that the request is manifestly unfounded, a tribunal shall be established under this Article.
4. Unless all the disputing parties sought to be covered by the consolidation order otherwise agree, the tribunal established under this Article shall comprise three (3) arbitrators:
(a) one (1) arbitrator appointed by agreement of the disputing investors;
(b) one (1) arbitrator appointed by the respondent; and
(c) the chairman of the arbitral tribunal appointed by the President of the PCA provided that the chairman shall not be a national of either Party.
5. If, within the sixty (60) days after the President of the PCA receives a request made under paragraph 2 of this Article, the respondent fails or the disputing investors fail to appoint an arbitrator in accordance with paragraph 4 of this Article, the President of the PCA, on request of any disputing party sought to be covered by the order, shall appoint the arbitrator or arbitrators not yet appointed.
6. Where a tribunal established under this Article is satisfied that two or more claims that have been submitted to arbitration in accordance to Article 10.14 (Institution of Arbitral Proceedings), have a question of law or fact in common, and arise out of the same events or circumstances, the tribunal may, in the interest of fair and efficient resolution of the claims, and after hearing the disputing parties, by order:
(a) assume jurisdiction over, and hear and determine together, all or part of the claims;
(b) assume jurisdiction over, and hear and determine one or more claims, whose determination it considers would assist in the resolution of the other claims; or
(c) instruct a tribunal previously established under Article 10.15 (Constitution of Arbitral Tribunal) to assume jurisdiction over and to hear and determine together, all or part of the claims, provided that:
(i) that tribunal, at the request of any disputing investor not previously a disputing party before that tribunal, shall be reconstituted with its original members, except that the arbitrator for the disputing investors shall be appointed pursuant to sub-paragraph 4(a) and paragraph 5 of this Article; and
(ii) that tribunal shall decide whether any previous hearing must be repeated.
7. Where a tribunal has been established under this Article, a disputing investor that has submitted a claim to arbitration pursuant to Article 10.14 (Institution of Arbitral Proceedings) and that has not been named in a request made under paragraph 2 of this Article, may make a written request to the tribunal that it be included in any order issued under paragraph 6 of this Article, specifying:
(a) the name and address of the disputing investor;
(b) the nature of the order sought; and
(c) the grounds on which the order is sought.
The claimant shall provide the President of the PCA with a copy of his request.
8. A tribunal established pursuant to this Article shall conduct the proceedings in accordance with the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, except as modified by this Section.
9. A tribunal established under Article 10.15 (Constitution of Arbitral Tribunal) shall not have jurisdiction to decide a claim or a part of a claim over which a tribunal established or instructed under this Article has assumed jurisdiction.
10. On application of a disputing party, a tribunal established pursuant to this Article may, pending its decision under paragraph 6 of this Article, order that the proceedings of a tribunal established under Article 10.15 (Constitution of Arbitral Tribunal) be stayed, unless the latter tribunal has already adjourned its proceedings.
Section 10-C . Final Provisions
Article 10.21 . Denial of Benefits
1. A Party may deny the benefits of this Chapter to an investor of the other Party and to its investments if the investor is an enterprise owned or controlled by persons of a non-Party or the denying Party, and such enterprise has no substantive business operations in the territory of the other Party.
2. The denying Party shall, to the extent practicable, notify the other Party before denying the benefits. If the denying Party provides such notice, it shall consult with the other Party at the request of the other Party.
Article 10.22. Publication of International Agreements
1. To the extent possible, each Party shall ensure that international agreements pertaining to or affecting investors or investment activities to which a Party is a signatory shall be promptly published or otherwise made available in such a manner as to enable interested persons or parties to become acquainted with them.
2. To the extent possible, each Party shall make the international agreements of the kind referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article available on the Internet. Each Party shall, upon request by the other Party, respond to specific questions from and provide information to the other Party with respect to the international agreements referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.
Article 10.23. General Exceptions （23）
Subject to the requirement that such measures are not applied in a manner which would constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination against the other Party or its investors where like conditions prevail, or a disguised restriction on investments of investors of the other Party in the territory of a Party, nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to prevent the adoption or enforcement by a Party of measures:
(a) necessary to protect public morals or to maintain public order; (24)
(b) necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health; (25)
(c) necessary to secure compliance with laws or regulations which are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Agreement including those relating to:
(i) the prevention of deceptive and fraudulent practices or to deal with the effects of a default on a contract;
(ii) the protection of the privacy of individuals in relation to the processing and dissemination of personal data and the protection of confidentiality of individual records and accounts;
(iii) safety; or
(d) relating to the conservation of exhaustible natural resources. (26)
(e) necessary to protect national treasures of artistic, historic or archaeological value;
Article 10.24. Savings Clause
1. For ten (10) years from the date of termination of this Agreement, the following provisions shall continue to apply to investments in existence at the date of termination, and without prejudice to the application thereafter of the rules of general international law:
(a) the provisions of this Chapter; and
(b) such other provisions in the Agreement as may be necessary for or consequential to the application or interpretation of this Chapter.
Article 10.25. Term of Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement
1. Subject to paragraph 2 of this Article, the Parties hereby agree that the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Singapore and the Government of the Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Concerning the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments Signed in Singapore on 09th May 1980 (“IPPA”), as well as all the rights and obligations derived from the said agreement, shall cease to have effect on the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
2. Any and all investments made pursuant to the IPPA before the entry into force of this Agreement will be governed by the rules of the said IPPA regarding any matter arising while the IPPA was in force. An investor may only submit an arbitration claim pursuant to the IPPA regarding any matter arising while the IPPA was in force, pursuant to the rules and procedures established in it, and provided that no more than three (3) years have elapsed since the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
Article 10.26. Corporate Social Responsibility
The Parties reaffirm the importance of each Party encouraging enterprises operating within its territory or subject to its jurisdiction to voluntarily incorporate into their internal policies those internationally recognised standards, guidelines and principles of corporate social responsibility that have been endorsed or are supported by that Party.
EXPROPRIATION
The Parties confirm their shared understanding that:
1. An action or a series of actions by a Party cannot constitute an expropriation unless it interferes with a tangible or intangible property right or property interest in an investment.
2. Paragraph 1 of Article 10.10 (Expropriation) addresses two situations. The first is direct expropriation, where an investment is nationalised or otherwise directly expropriated through formal transfer of title or outright seizure.
2. The second situation addressed by paragraph 1 of Article 10.10 (Expropriation) is indirect expropriation, where an action or series of actions by a Party has an effect equivalent to direct expropriation without formal transfer of title or outright seizure.
(a) The determination of whether an action or series of actions by a Party, in a specific fact situation, constitutes an indirect expropriation, requires a case-by- case, fact-based inquiry that considers, among other factors:
(i) the economic impact of the government action, although the fact that an action or series of actions by a Party has an adverse effect on the economic value of an investment, standing alone, does not establish that an indirect expropriation has occurred;
(ii) the extent to which the government action interferes with distinct, reasonable investment-backed expectations; and
(iii) the character of the government action.
(b) Except in rare circumstances, non-discriminatory regulatory actions by a Party that are designed and applied to protect legitimate public welfare objectives, such as public health, safety and the environment, do not constitute indirect expropriations.
SCHEDULE OF SRI LANKA
Articles 10.4 (National Treatment), 10.5 (Most-Favoured Nation Treatment), 10.7
(Performance Requirements) and 10.8 (Senior Management and Boards of Directors) shall
not apply to any measure relating to the following sectors:
(a) agriculture;
(b) fisheries;
(c) forestry;
(d) mining and quarrying;
(e) real estate;
(f) arms and explosives; and
(g) traditional handicrafts.
SCHEDULE OF SINGAPORE
Articles 10.4 (National Treatment), 10.5 (Most-Favoured-Nation Treatment), 10.7
(Performance Requirements) and 10.8 (Senior Management and Board of Directors) do not
apply to any measure relating to:
Articles 10.4 (National Treatment), 10.5 (Most-Favoured-Nation Treatment), 10.7 (Performance Requirements) and 10.8 (Senior Management and Board of Directors) do not apply to any measure relating to:
(a) the collection, purification, treatment, disposal and distribution of water, including waste water, in Singapore;
(b) real estate, including but not limited to the ownership, purchase, development, maintenance, use, enjoyment, sale or other disposal of real estate in Singapore;
(c) the arms and explosives sector;
(d) the retention of a controlling interest by the Singapore Government in Singapore Technologies Engineering (the Company) and/or its successor body, including but not limited to controls over the appointment and termination of members of the Board of Directors, divestment of equity and dissolution of the Company for the purpose of safeguarding the security interest of Singapore; and
(e) broadcasting.
Chapter 11. GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT
Article 11.1. Definitions
For the purposes of this Chapter:
(a) “commercial goods or services” means goods or services of a type generally sold or offered for sale in the commercial marketplace to, and customarily purchased by, non-governmental buyers for non-governmental purposes;
(b) “construction service” means a service that has as its objective the realisation by whatever means of civil or building works, based on Division 51 of the United Nations Provisional Central Product Classification (“CPC”); (1)
(c) “electronic auction” means an iterative process that involves the use of electronic means for the presentation by suppliers of either new prices, or new values for quantifiable non-price elements of the tender related to the evaluation criteria, or both, resulting in a ranking or re-ranking of tenders;
(d) “in writing” or “written” means any worded or numbered expression that can be read, reproduced and later communicated. It may include electronically transmitted and stored information;
(e) “limited tendering” means a procurement method whereby the procuring entity contacts a supplier or suppliers of its choice;
(f) “measure” means any law, regulation, procedure, administrative guidance or practice, or any action of a procuring entity relating to a covered procurement;
(g) “multi-use list” means a list of suppliers that a procuring entity has determined satisfy the conditions for participation in that list, and that the procuring entity intends to use more than once;
(h) “notice of intended procurement” means a notice published by a procuring entity inviting interested suppliers to submit a request for participation, a tender, or both;
(i) “offsets” means any condition or undertaking that encourages local development or improves a Party’s balance-of-payments accounts, such as the use of domestic content, the licensing of technology, investment, counter-trade and similar action or requirement;
(j) “open tendering” means a procurement method whereby all interested suppliers may submit a tender;
(k) “privatised” means an entity that has been reconstituted from a procuring entity or part thereof to be a legal person acting in accordance with commercial considerations in the procurement of goods or services and that is no longer entitled to exercise governmental authority, even though the government possesses holdings thereof or appoints members of the Board of Directors thereto;
For greater certainty, where the government possesses holdings thereof or appoints a government official to the Board of Directors of a privatised entity, the entity is deemed to act in accordance with commercial considerations in its purchase of goods or services, such as with regard to the availability, price and quality of the goods or services, if the government or the Board of Directors so appointed does not, directly or indirectly, influence or direct the decisions of the Board in the entity’s procurement of goods or services;
(l) “procuring entity” means an entity covered under a Party’s Annexes 11-A (Central Entities) or 11-C (Other Entities);
(m) “qualified supplier” means a supplier that a procuring entity recognises as having satisfied the conditions for participation;
(n) “selective tendering” means a procurement method whereby only qualified suppliers are invited by the procuring entity to submit a tender;
(o) “services” includes construction services, unless otherwise specified;
(p) “standard” means a document approved by a recognised body that provides for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for goods or services, or related processes and production methods, with which compliance is not mandatory. It may also include or deal exclusively with terminology, symbols, packaging, marking or labelling requirements as they apply to a good, service, process or production method;
(q) “supplier” means a person or group of persons that provides or could provide goods or services;
(r) “technical specification” means a tendering requirement that:
(i) lays down the characteristics of goods or services to be procured, including quality, performance, safety and dimensions, or the processes and methods for their production or provision; or
(ii) addresses terminology, symbols, packaging, marking or labelling requirements, as they apply to a good or service.
Article 11.2. Scope and Coverage
1. In the case of Singapore, this Chapter shall apply to any measure regarding covered procurement, whether or not it is conducted exclusively or partially by electronic means. In the case of Sri Lanka, this Chapter shall apply to any measure regarding covered procurement under International Competitive Bidding, (2) whether or not it is conducted exclusively or partially by electronic means.
2. For the purposes of this Chapter, covered procurement means procurement for governmental purposes:
(a) of goods, services, or any combination thereof:
(i) as specified in each Party’s Annexes; and
(ii) not procured with a view to commercial sale or resale, or for use in the production or supply of goods or services for commercial sale or resale;
(b) by any contractual means, including: purchase; lease; and rental or hire purchase, with or without an option to buy;
(c) for which the value, as estimated in accordance with paragraphs 6 to 8 of this Article, equals or exceeds the relevant threshold specified in a Party’s Annexes at the time of publication of a notice in accordance with Article 11.7 (Notices);
(d) by a procuring entity; and
(e) that is otherwise not excluded from coverage in paragraph 3 of this Article or in a Party’s Annexes.
3. Except where provided otherwise in a Party’s Annexes, this Chapter shall not apply to:
(a) the acquisition or rental of land, existing buildings or other immovable property or the rights thereon;
(b) non-contractual agreements or any form of assistance that a Party provides, including co-operative agreements, grants, loans, equity infusions, guarantees and fiscal incentives;