The authoritative commentary on Malaysia’s arbitration statute
Since its enactment, the Arbitration Act 2005 has been amended four times, most recently in 2024 to introduce the new section 9A on the law applicable to an arbitration agreement, the third party funding regime in sections 46A to 461, and the new institutional appointing authority architecture. The Federal Court has, over two decades, given the Act its developed jurisprudential content. The Act that a practitioner reads today is materially different from the Act that was enacted 20 years ago.
This commentary is the authoritative reading. The second edition treats each provision of the Act as it now stands, sets out the legislative history of its amendments, identifies the Malaysian case law that has construed it, reads it against the UNCITRAL Model Law and the corresponding provisions in the leading Model Law jurisdictions, and notes the points on which the law is settled and those on which it continues to develop. The result is a single volume to which the Bench, the Bar, the institutional community and the academic reader can turn for the current and authoritative reading of each section of the Arbitration Act 2005.
Readers familiar with the author’s Handbook on Arbitration (Thomson Reuters, 2026) will recognise the subject matter but find a different book. Where the Handbook is organised around the life cycle of an arbitration – the agreement, the tribunal, the proceedings, the award, the courts and enforcement, this commentary is organised around the Arbitration Act itself, section by section. The two volumes are companions. The Handbook is the practitioner’s working reference when conducting an arbitration; this commentary is the practitioner’s authority on the statute that governs it. Together they give the Malaysian arbitration community a complete library on the law and practice of arbitration in this country
| Topic | Description |
|---|---|
| Introductory Overview | Provides an insightful overview of arbitration in Malaysia and the relevant statutory developments. |
| Part I • Preliminary (ss 1–2) | Short title and commencement; interpretation; scope and application of the Act to domestic and international arbitrations seated in Malaysia. |
| Part II • Arbitration (ss 3–46I) | Communications, arbitrability, arbitration agreements, stay of proceedings, interim measures, tribunal composition and jurisdiction, conduct of proceedings, awards, setting aside, enforcement, appeals, costs, third-party funding, and the role of the courts. |
| Part III • Additional Provisions (ss 47–51) | Additional provisions for international and domestic arbitration, consolidation, preliminary points of law, and court powers. |
| Part IV • Miscellaneous (ss 52–56) | Liability of arbitrators, immunity of appointing authorities, banking secrecy, bankruptcy, consequential provisions, repeal and saving. |
| 2026 Consolidated Text | Includes the Arbitration Act 2005 as amended in 2011, 2018 and 2024. |
| UNCITRAL Model Law | Cross-references the equivalent Model Law articles and identifies any divergences. |
| Legislative History | Explains the evolution of each provision from 2005 through the 2011, 2018 and 2024 amendments. |
| Malaysian Case Law | Federal Court, Court of Appeal and High Court decisions arranged chronologically with key legal principles. |
| Comparative Authorities | Leading authorities from Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada and England. |
| Practical Observations | Analysis of common issues encountered by practitioners and arbitral tribunals. |
About the Author:
Datuk Professor Sundra Rajoo is Malaysia’s first full-time arbitrator (since 1997) and has sat in over 300 international and domestic arbitrations across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East. He twice led the Asian International Arbitration Centre as Director (2010–2018; 2023–2024), is the Founding President of the Asian Institute of Alternative Dispute Resolution, and was elected President of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in London in 2016.
He is Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, and Visiting Professor at Hainan and Guangxi Universities in China. He is the author of 12 treatises on arbitration, adjudication and construction law, including Handbook on Arbitration (Thomson Reuters, 2026), the comprehensive treatise International Arbitration: Law, Practice and Procedure (India and Comparative Jurisdictions) (Thomson Reuters, 2026), and the upcoming co-edited Arbitration in Malaysia: A Practical Guide (2nd edn, Thomson Reuters, 2026).
