KOH Swee Yen, Senior Counsel, is the Head of the International Arbitration Practice and a Partner in the Asset Recovery & International Enforcement, Commercial & Corporate Disputes and Commodities & International Trade Practices.  

Her practice has a particular focus on complex, high-value and multi-jurisdictional disputes involving asset recovery, commodities, energy, fraud, infrastructure, international trade, joint ventures, transport and technology. She regularly appears before the Singapore Courts (including the Singapore International Commercial Court) and in international commercial and investment arbitrations under the major institutional rules, including ICSID, ICC, ICDR, LCIA, SIAC, and UNCITRAL. She is admitted to the Roll of Solicitors of England & Wales and also has rights of audience before the DIFC Courts.

Swee Yen is the Co-Chair of the IPBA Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Committee, and an officer of the IBA Asia Pacific Regional Forum. She has been appointed as a member of the ICC Court, and was a former Vice-Chair of the IBA Arbitration Committee. She is also a Board member of the Swiss Arbitration Association, and a member of the LCIA Asia Pacific Users’ Council. She has sat as an arbitrator in HKIAC, ICC, LCIA, SCC and SIAC administered arbitrations, and is on the Panel of Arbitrators of AIAC, BICAM, BAC/BIAC, DIAC, HKIAC, IIAC, KCAB and SIAC. She has been designated by Singapore to the ICSID Panel of Arbitrators, being one of only four designees.  

Swee Yen is regarded as a global leader in litigation and international arbitration, the go-to lawyer for cross-border asset recovery, fraud, commercial disputes, enforcement and setting aside proceedings, and has been involved in numerous landmark and ground-breaking decisions in these fields. She is ranked as one of the best advocates in dispute resolution by various legal publications, including Chambers Global, Chambers Asia-Pacific, The Legal 500, Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific and Lexology Index. 

She was listed in GAR’s exclusive 45 under 45 list in 2023 and is a recognised Global Elite Thought Leader in Arbitration (reserved for the top 5% of practitioners worldwide), Thought Leader in Commercial Litigation and Global Leader in Asset Recovery and Energy by the Lexology Index. She was awarded Dispute Resolution Lawyer of the Year at the ALB SE Asia Law Awards 2024, and Litigation Lawyer of the Year at The Legal 500 Southeast Asia Awards 2023.

Chambers Global & Asia-Pacific lauded Swee Yen as "a top legal mind" "adept at handling the most complex matters before the Singapore courts." She is described as "simply outstanding", "the best of a new generation of savvy, fully internationalised disputes specialists", " one of the best disputes partners in the world right now" and "a complete joy to work with." The Legal 500: Asia Pacific commended her for being "a leading authority in the field of arbitration" with "an exceptional ability to navigate complex legal issues and provide clear and strategic advice to clients." Benchmark Litigation: Asia-Pacific describes her as "calm, composed, and brilliant at thinking on her feet, effortlessly tackling the court’s toughest questions."

Swee Yen graduated with First Class Honours from the National University of Singapore (NUS). She was awarded the Singapore Academy of Law prize for being the top student in her final year, and won subject prizes for Evidence and Procedure and Intellectual Property Law. Swee Yen served as a Justices' Law Clerk to the Chief Justice of Singapore before entering private practice. She was also on the Supreme Court's Young Amicus Curiae scheme in 2010.

In addition to being on the Executive Committee of the Foundation for International Arbitration Advocacy, Swee Yen is the President of the Singapore branch of the International Law Association, and a member of the Governing Board for the Centre of International Law, NUS.

She is appointed by the Ministry of Home Affairs as a member of the Criminal Law Advisory Committee (Hearing) and Citizenship Committee of Inquiry. She is also a Deputy Commissioner of the Government Procurement Adjudication Tribunal, and a Board member of the Singapore Land Authority.
 

Matters of significance in which Swee Yen has been involved in include the following:

  • Acting for investors against States in investment treaty arbitrations and court proceedings, including acting for foreign investors in investment treaty claims arising from the misappropriation of gaming investments and securing a ground-breaking victory on the applicability of bilateral investment treaties based on state succession principles; acting against a State in an investment treaty arbitration for expropriation of diamond mining leases and in an application to set aside an investment treaty award finding the State liable for denial of justice in relation to its role in the shuttering of the Southern African Development Community Tribunal; acting against a State in investment treaty claims concerning the expropriation of a cement production enterprise serving China’s Belt and Road initiative; acting against a State in investment treaty claims concerning the withdrawal of renewable energy incentives, and acting in cross-border asset recovery, setting aside, enforcement and execution proceedings against States and State-owned entities.
  • Acting for States and State-owned entities in investment treaty arbitrations and court proceedings involving injunctive relief, setting aside and enforcement of arbitral awards and judgments, including successfully defeating an ICSID claim brought against a State for expropriation of mining assets and acting for the State in court proceedings concerning the management of US$1.5 billion of assets; acting for a State against a telecommunications company in an ICSID arbitration in a dispute over the imposition of taxes; acting for a State against a multinational automobile manufacturer in challenging a jurisdictional award in an investment treaty arbitration concerning claims in connection with certain tax incentives allegedly promised by the State; and acting for a State in setting aside proceedings arising from arbitrations under the Energy Charter Treaty.
  • Acting in various commodities, energy and infrastructure disputes, including in disputes involving floating production storage and offloading systems, offshore rigs and shipbuilding; disputes arising out of large scale engineering, procurement, construction contracts and projects; for PRC investors in a dispute concerning a petroleum exploration and production project in Georgia; for a Thai coal-mining entity in relation to its claim arising from the termination of a power plant project; for an affiliate of a leading Nigerian oil and gas conglomerate against a state-owned entity for breach of an international sales contract for crude oil; for a renewable energy company against an investment company over a share purchase transaction; for an Uzbekistan oil and gas company in disputes concerning the termination of a communications project along a 2,000 km gas pipeline; and in asset-tracing and multi-jurisdictional claims involving Yukos.
  • Acting in various transport-related disputes across aviation, maritime and land sectors, including defending a leading aircraft manufacturer against a PRC aviation company against claims arising out of the termination of an agreement granting exclusive licensing, production and sales rights; acting for a leading logistics company in claims concerning alleged breaches of various investment agreements concerning entities across multiple jurisdictions including Canada, India, Japan and Hong Kong SAR; and acting for shipowners, charterers, port operators and shipyards in maritime-related disputes.
  • Acting in various information technology, intellectual property, telecommunications and technology-related disputes across sectors involving mobile telecommunications operators, digital and cryptocurrency payment service providers, systems integrators as well as content-service providers, and obtaining search orders and other injunctive reliefs.
  • Acting in various high-profile and significant commercial, corporate, real estate, minority oppression and joint venture disputes across industry sectors, involving private equity investments, public listed entities, multinational corporations, founders, family companies, family offices and high-net worth individuals; as well as in group representative actions and class-action equivalent claims.

Related Practices

  • Asset Recovery & International Enforcement 
  • Commercial & Corporate Disputes
  • Commodities & International Trade Disputes
  • International Arbitration
  • China
  • India
  • Vietnam

Swee Yen has various publications, in particular on civil procedure, enforcement of judgments and awards, international commercial and investment arbitration and litigation. Her publications include:

  • Lexology In-Depth: The Investment Treaty Arbitration Review: Objection of Manifest Lack of Legal Merit of Claims under the ICSID Arbitration Rules Chapter: (10th Edition) (2025)
  • The Legal 500 Country Comparative Guide Singapore: International Arbitration (2025)
  • Chambers Global Practice Guide - Litigation 2025 (Trends and Developments)
  • Chambers Global Practice Guide - International Arbitration 2025 (Questions & Answers; Trends and Developments)
  • Chambers Global Practice Guide 2025: Enforcement of Judgments (Trends and Developments)
  • International Comparative Legal Guide – Investor-State Arbitration 2025 (Singapore Chapter)
  • Global Arbitration Review (GAR) The Guide to Investment Treaty Protection and Enforcement; 3rd edition (2025)
  • Jus Mundi Arbitration Review Issue 2 (2024)
  • The Rules of Court 2021: Perspectives from the Bar (2024) 36 SAcLJ 503
  • Preventing further bites of the cherry in challenging arbitral awards (SAL Practitioner) (2024)
  • Practical Insights on Fraud and Corruption in International Arbitration, 2024 (Wolters Kluwer)
  • The Proposed Reforms to the English Arbitration Act 1996: A Singapore Perspective – Singapore Arbitration Journal (2023)
  • The Legal 500 Country Comparative Guide Singapore: Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (2023)
  • Provisional and Emergency Measures in International Arbitration (Edward Elgar Publishing) (2023)
  • Singapore Rules of Court: A Practice Guide, 2023 Ed (Singapore Academy of Law Publishing) 
  • ICSID Rules and Regulations 2022: Article by Article Commentary (CH Beck)
  • Arbitration and Corruption: Duty or Right of Arbitrators to Report Suspicion of Corruption to Authorities, 2021 (Wolters Kluwer)
  • Getting the Deal Through: Investment Treaty Arbitration 2021 – Singapore Chapter (Lexology)
  • The Future of Investment Treaty Arbitration in the EU: Intra-EU BITs, the Energy Charter Treaty, and the Multilateral Investment - Arbitration, Public Policy and Enforcement after Achmea: A perspective from Singapore, Chapter 11, 2020 (Wolters Kluwer)
  • International Arbitration: In the Age of Technological Revolution, 2020 (Volume 1) (Lumen Juris)
  • International Arbitration Comparative Guide 2020 – Singapore Chapter (Mondaq)
  • Lye Lin Heng's Landlord and Tenant Law in Singapore, 2020 (2nd Edition) (LexisNexis)
  • The Legal 500 & The In-House Lawyer Hot Topic – Singapore: International Arbitration (4th Edition)
  • International Arbitration in the Energy Sector 2018: Energy Investor State Disputes in Asia (Oxford University Press)
  • European International Arbitration Review, 2017: The Incidence of Iura Novit Arbiter in Singapore Arbitration Law - Volume 6:1 (JurisNet, LLC)
  • The Use of Emergency Arbitrators in Investment Treaty Arbitration: ICSID Review - Foreign Investment Law Journal, 2016 (Oxford University Press)
  • Singapore Civil Procedure: Volume I, Chapter 29: Interlocutory Injunctions, Interim Preservation of Property, Interim Payments; Volume II: Arbitration Act and International Arbitration Act (Sweet & Maxwell)
  • Atkin's Court Forms (Singapore): Defamation (LexisNexis)
  • The Practice of Law, 2016 (LexisNexis)

Chambers Global – The World's Leading Lawyers for Business 

  • Dispute Resolution: Arbitration – Foreign Expertise – Singapore
  • Dispute Resolution: Expertise Based Abroad – India

"She understands the local market well."

"She is one of the most formidable litigators in Singapore."

Chambers Asia-Pacific – Asia Pacific's Leading Lawyers for Business

  • Dispute Resolution: Arbitration – Singapore – Band 3  
  • Dispute Resolution: Litigation – Singapore – Band 3  

"I think that she is one of the best disputes partners in the world right now - she is a complete joy to work with."

"A strong team lead and a mastermind of strategy and execution."

"Swee Yen is a top legal mind and is adept at handling the most complex matters before the Singapore courts."

"She is an excellent leader. She is decisive and outcome-focussed."

"She is simply outstanding. The best of a new generation of savvy, fully internationalised disputes specialists."

The Legal 500: Asia Pacific – The Guide to Asia's Commercial Law Firms 

  • International Arbitration – Singapore: Leading Individual
  • Dispute Resolution – Singapore: Leading Individual
  • Litigation Lawyer of the Year for The Legal 500 Southeast Asia Awards 2023

"Koh Swee Yen is an expert in arbitration and a well-recognised individual in the legal community. She has established herself as a leading authority in the field of arbitration. She has an exceptional ability to navigate complex legal issues and provide clear and strategic advice to clients."

"Koh Swee Yen is very committed to her clients and thinks from a "solution" perspective."

"Koh Swee Yen is an absolute superstar in Wong Partnership. She is always on the ball, well informed, and does not shy from taking on complex situation."

"The team is led by Koh Swee Yen, who is a terrific leader, a brilliant strategic mind and an exceptional advocate. She helped us achieve an important win before the Singapore High Court in an investor-state matter."

Benchmark Litigation: Asia-Pacific 

  • International Arbitration: Litigation Star
  • Female Lawyer of the Year
  • Top 100 Women in Litigation – Asia Pacific

"Swee Yen is incredibly confident and passionate. In private settings, she’s charming and always such a delight to be around. But in the courtroom, she transforms—calm, composed, and brilliant at thinking on her feet, effortlessly tackling the court’s toughest questions. I’m certain we’ll stay great friends and partners throughout our careers!"

Asian Legal Business (ALB)

  • Asia's Litigators of the Year 2024
  • Dispute Resolution Lawyer of the Year at the ALB SE Asia Law Awards 2024
  • Women Lawyer of the Year (Law Firm) at the ALB SE Asia Law Awards 2021

asialaw – The definitive guide to Asia's Leading Law Firms and Lawyers

  • Dispute Resolution – Singapore: Distinguished Practitioner

Lexology Index

  • Arbitration: Global Elite Thought Leader, Thought Leader & Recommended in Southeast Asia National Report
  • Commercial Litigation: Thought Leader, Recommended in Global Report & Southeast Asia National Report
  • Asset Recovery: Recommended in Global Report & Southeast Asia National Report
  • Energy: Recommended in Global Report & Southeast Asia National Report
  • Listed in GAR's 45 under 45 List, 2023 

Contact Details

Qualifications

National University of Singapore (LL.B., Hons.)

Singapore Bar 

Roll of Solicitors of England & Wales

DIFC Courts
 

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