Issue #66: Don’t Overstep!
Welcome to the latest edition of OiA!
Here are the latest 🌶 headlines in APAC:
Ling Yah
P/S: Know of any interesting seminars happening? Drop us a note at editor@overheard.asia!
P/P/S: Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter to find out where you can find the food featured above!
Grey Market Sales
There is no place for half-truths, even for the likes of Estée Lauder.
🍿 What Happened?
The case stems from Estée Lauder’s increasing reliance on China’s “daigou” grey market – where resellers purchase duty-free products, particularly in Hainan province – following COVID-19 disruptions.
When Chinese authorities cracked down on these practices in January 2022, shareholders alleged that the beauty company had deliberately concealed the negative impact of the crackdown on sales until 1 November 2023.
👀 Ruling
Judge Arun Subramanian found merit in these claims, citing “several misleading omissions” in company disclosures until November 2023, when the truth finally emerged and shares plummeted 19%, erasing USD 8.7 billion in market value.
As Judge Subramanian noted, “What matters is that Estée Lauder touted the reasons for its success while leaving out the parts of the truth it found inconvenient.”
Looks like Estée Lauder will have to face those fraud charges after all!
Don’t Overstep!
In a ruling that reinforces institutional autonomy, the Singapore High Court has drawn a clear line between arbitration administration and judicial oversight.
🍿 What Happened?
The dispute originated from oil sales contracts between two anonymised parties, “DNA” and “DMZ”, dating back to 2017.
When DNA initiated arbitration in June 2024, requesting consolidation of claims across multiple contracts, the SIAC registrar initially set July 2024 as the commencement date. After DMZ argued DNA’s claims were time-barred, the registrar corrected the commencement date to June 2024.
DMZ then sought to challenge this correction in court, claiming it violated SIAC rules.
👀 Ruling
Justice Hri Kumar Nair dismissed the challenge, ruling that by adopting SIAC rules, parties waive their right to judicial review of administrative decisions.
While acknowledging registrar decisions aren’t “unimpeachable”, the court emphasised that its intervention is limited to specific circumstances expressly stated under the International Arbitration Act 1994.
Evidently, SIAC administrative decisions are conclusive and generally not subject to court review except in exceptional cases!
Elon Challenges the Indian Government
Elon Musk has taken on the Indian government?!
🍿 What Happened?
The dispute centres on the Indian government’s contentious “Sahyog” portal, which launched in 2024.
In gist, the Sahyog portal enables government agencies, state authorities, and local police to issue content takedown notices without adhering to safeguards mandated under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act.
X alleges the portal creates an “impermissible parallel mechanism” that bypasses constitutional protections for lawful expression by using Section 79(3)(b) – a safe harbour provision – to implement mass censorship outside the traditional legal framework.
👀 Ruling
Consequently, X Corp proceeded by filing a lawsuit against the Ministry of Information Technology in the Karnataka High Court.
In this battle of Goliaths, who do we think will win?!
Spotlight: Jennifer Lim
Global citizen and independent international disputes lawyer based in Singapore
Food Reveal
Anyone looking for a classic British dish?
Are you a student or young lawyer?
Want to get involved in helping to run Overheard? Meet senior practitioners? Do legal research with real world impact?
We're always looking for bright, young talent like yourself so if you're interested, give us a holler at team@overheard.asia!
Special thanks to Overheard in Asia’s sponsor:
David Grief was described as "the Law's Middleman" (Business Times, 2021). You can reach out to him at dg@davidgrief.com if you need help identifying the right lawyer, arbitrator or expert for your matters, or even if you just want to grab a drink 🍵🍺 with someone who has managed and mentored lawyers for almost 5️⃣0️⃣ years!