NUS Department of Building

Adjunct Associate Professor
Department of Building
School of Design and Environment
National University of Singapore
4 Architecture Drive
Singapore 117566

Dr Colin Ong received his PhD in Business Law & Commercial Litigation in 1996. He is the author or co-author of several books. He is a barrister of England and Wales, Advocate and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Brunei Darussalam, member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and member of the London Court of International Arbitration. Dr Ong is concurrently the Managing Director of his law firm in Brunei, a Door Tenant of 3 Verulam Buildings and Barrister of Essex Court Chambers in London. He is the founding President of the Arbitration Association of Brunei and the legal advisor to different High Commissions and Embassies in Brunei Darussalam.

Dr Ong is a Visiting Fellow at Queen Mary College, University of London. He is a frequent speaker at major legal conferences, seminars and international colloquiums both within and outside of the UK and ASEAN countries.

Professional Experience/current positions:

Panel Member, ASEAN Protocol on Enhanced Dispute Settlement Mechanism, ASEAN (till 2009)
Executive Member, Asia Pacific Users Council, London Court of International Arbitration
Member of CEDR Commission on Settlement in International Arbitration
Adjunct Professor of Law and Arbitration, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Former Principal Legal Consultant, ASEAN Centre for Energy, ASEAN (2002-2003)
Barrister (Practising) of Essex Court Chambers (since 1992)
Door Tenant of 3 Verulam Buildings (London) (since 1996)
Managing Partner of Dr Colin Ong Legal Services, Advocates & Solicitors (Brunei) (since 1998)
Adjunct Associate Professor, National University Singapore
Visiting Fellow, Queen Mary, University of London (since 1996)
President of the Arbitration Association of Brunei Darussalam (until 2009)
Accredited Examiner and Tutor, Professional qualifications for Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
Registered Foreign Law Consultant and Independent Arbitrator (Singapore) (since 2003)

Practice Areas:

Commercial work; negotiations and drafting of corporate & financial documentation, numerous arbitration and court matters as counsel or as arbitrator. Focus subject areas include banking and finance law, including drafting of financing documentation; Aviation law; Construction; Corporate; Cross-Border Litigation; Energy law (including oil & gas JV disputes); IP; international trade, insurance, private and public international law. Listed annually as a leading lawyer in The International Who's Who Legal Series (under Banking; Commercial Arbitration; Construction Lawyers; International Commercial Litigation); Expert Guide to the World's Leading Litigation Lawyers; Guide to the World's Leading Experts in Commercial Arbitration; Asia Law Leading Lawyers; Chambers & Partners Global; Legal 500; Asia-Pacific Legal 500; Asia Law Profiles and International Financial Law Review (IFLR 1000).

Colin has been described as "Tactically brilliant' and a 'feared opponent'"[Asia Pacific Legal 500 (2005/6)]; "a reputation for strong banking capabilities. ...is regularly consulted on high-profile disputes and arbitrations.and also provides advice to regional quasi-government bodies. [IFLR (2005/6)]; "Colin Ong is the best lawyer in town," claimed satisfied clients, who singled out his "in-depth knowledge of commercial matters." and "frequently involved in highprofile litigations and arbitrations relating to Brunei, Singapore and Malaysia." [Chambers & Partners Global 2006]; and "Dr Colin Ong has been described by the market as possessing a "complete mastery of the law" and "a brilliant commercial understanding of deals," which allows him to "absorb information quickly and to draft complex corporate documents with ease." [IFLR (2006/7)]; "Most respected local banking law expert.and...active throughout the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) region" [AsiaLaw Profiles 2007]

Education:

LLB (Hons) (University of Sheffield) (1990)
Barrister at Law of Inner Temple (1991)
LLM (University of London) (1992)
Ph.D (University of London); (1995)
Diploma Intl. Commercial Arbitration (2003)
Chartered Arbitrator (2005)
Fellow, Chartered Institute Arbitrators (2004)
Fellow, Malaysian Institute of Arbitrators (2004)
Fellow, AMINZ (Arb) (2005)
Fellow, Singapore Institute of Arbitrators (2005)

Accredited/ Nominated Panel of Arbitrators of:

AABD (Brunei); ACICA (Australia); BANI (Indonesia); CAM (Mexico); CARICI (Switzerland); CIETAC (China till 2008); CRCA (Cairo); DIAC (Dubai); HKIAC (Hong Kong); ICC (Paris); KCAB (Korea till 2008); KLRCA (Malaysia); LCIA (London); AAA/ICDR (Ireland); Commercial Initiative For Dispute Resolution (London); Indian Council for National & Intl. Commercial Arbitration; ICADR (India); Philippine Dispute Resolution Centre; Malaysian Institute Arbitrators; Monaco Chamber of Maritime Arbitration; PAM (Malaysia); SIAC (Singapore); Singapore Institute of Arbitrators; WIPO (Geneva); VENCA (Italy); Neutral Panelist for WIPO Domain Names and other national institutions.

Qualifications:

Appointments as arbitrator, lead counsel, counsel, mediator, conciliator and expert witness in both ad hoc and institutional commercial arbitrations around the world. Accredited Arbitrator and panelist of over 25 international and national institutions. Appointments by international and Quasi-Government bodies in ASEAN on corporate, investment and restructuring matters. Author of several law books and numerous articles. Advisory/Editorial board member of several international journals including: Asia Business LR; American Biographical Institute; Asian In-House Handbook; Amicus Curiae (Institute of Advanced Legal Studies); Asian Int. Arbitration Journal; Business Law International (Int. Bar Association); Butterworths Journal of Int. Banking & Financial Law; Maritime Risk International; Drafting Committee member, Malaysia PAM 2006 Standard Building Forms of Contract and others.

Publications Books and Looseleafs (excluding Articles):

Cross Border Litigation within ASEAN (Kluwer, 1996); Chapter in OFC Publication (Euromoney,1999); Trade Mark Laws of Brunei Darussalam (Oceana, 2002); GTDT: Dispute Resolution (contributing author, 2003); Brunei chapter; Indonesia chapter (Co-author, Professor Dr Priyatna Abdulrassyid) and Malaysia chapter (Co- Author, Dato' Noorashikin Binte TS Abdul Rahim) in Attachment of Assets, (Juris, 2006); Intl. Comp. Legal Guide to International Arbitration (contributing author, GLG, 2005); Malaysia chapter (Co-author, Dato Syed Ahmad Idid) & Brunei chapter (co-author, Datin Hayati Salleh) in Enforcement of Money Judgments, (Juris, 2005); Chapter in Foreign Judgments (Garb & Lew, 2005); [Forthcoming publications - chapter in Encyclopedia of Intl Com. Litigation (Colman (ed), Kluwer); Cross-Examination chapter in Leading Asian Arbitrators Handbook (Juris); UNCITRAL Arbitration Law: Malaysian Practice (Thomson)]

Languages:

Chinese: Fluent/Mother tongue- Hokkien, Teochew, Mandarin and some Cantonese
Malay: (award writing)
English (award writing)