Jiahui is a dual-qualified English barrister and Singapore lawyer with a broad practice across all of Chambers’ core practice areas, including international commercial arbitration and litigation, shipping, technology disputes, and public international law. He is regularly instructed in cases before the English High Court and in London- and Singapore-seated arbitrations , and has also appeared before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).
Before joining Chambers in London, Jiahui worked in litigation and dispute resolution in Singapore for 6 years, most recently as an Assistant Registrar and District Judge at the Supreme Court of Singapore. In that role, he dealt with a wide range of civil and commercial disputes and worked on the reform of the civil procedure rules, while concurrently serving as Special Assistant to Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon.
Prior to that, he spent two years clerking for the Chief Justice and the judges of the Singapore Court of Appeal, High Court and the Singapore International Commercial Court. He began his legal career conducting criminal prosecutions at the Singapore Attorney-General’s Chambers in 2017, when he was gazetted as a State Counsel and Deputy Public Prosecutor.
Jiahui studied law at the University of Oxford, graduating first in his year and winning a number of other academic prizes. He then obtained a Masters in Law from Harvard Law School, where he worked as a research assistant for Professor Naz K Modirzadeh at the Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict and received the John Gallup Laylin Prize for best student paper in public international law.
Jiahui grew up in Singapore and China, and is a native Mandarin Chinese speaker. He maintains an active interest in the Singapore and Asia-Pacific markets.
Jiahui practises in the English courts and in international arbitration and litigation from Twenty Essex in London as a barrister regulated by the Bar Standards Board. In the Singapore courts, Jiahui’s practice is conducted separately and independently under the sole proprietorship Huang Jiahui (UEN: 53509398E).
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Example cases
- Acting in a claim before the English High Court to enforce a letter of indemnity in relation to a ship arrest, including an application for a mandatory interim injunction for the provision of security (Manta Penyez Shipping v Aston Agro-Industrial, led by Oliver Caplin KC).
- Acting for a lender before the English High Court in a claim relating to a commercial property alleged to have been transferred and registered by fraud (led by Tony Beswetherick KC).
- Acted for the Marshall Islands before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in The M/T “Heroic Idun” (No. 2) (Marshall Islands/Equatorial Guinea), relating to a coastal state’s interception of a foreign-flagged vessel in the EEZ of a third State and subsequent detention and transfer of the vessel and its crew (team led by Sir Daniel Bethlehem KC and Penelope Nevill).
- Acted in related SIAC arbitrations for substantial trade financing claims involving allegations of sham trading in commodities (led by Simon C Milnes KC).
- Advised on a US$70m claim relating to the theft and copyright infringement of software code (with Lawrence Akka KC).
- Advised an online casino on the recovery of stolen cryptocurrency across multiple jurisdictions, including through a “persons unknown” freezing order (with Henry Byam-Cook KC).
- Acted in an SCMA arbitration in respect of a US$60m charterparty dispute concerning damage to a DP offshore vessel (led by Julian Kenny KC).
- Acted in a London-seated arbitration regarding a US$50m salvage operation in the Gulf Coast (led by Timothy Hill KC).
- As an Assistant Registrar of the Supreme Court of Singapore, heard interlocutory applications in civil and commercial cases ranging from summary judgment and the enforcement of arbitral awards to disclosure applications and bankruptcy petitions.
- As a Justices’ Law Clerk at the Supreme Court of Singapore, worked on a wide range of cases spanning areas such as international arbitration, commercial law, insolvency, criminal law and constitutional law, both at first instance before the High Court and the Singapore International Commercial Court, and on appeal before the Court of Appeal.
Arbitration and mediation
- Acted in numerous London and Singapore seated arbitrations, including under the LMAA, SIAC, SCMA and ad hoc arbitrations (see cases listed under “Shipping” and “Commodities” below).
- Acted in a section 67 Arbitration Act 1996 jurisdictional challenge in the Commercial Court in London against an award in a charterparty arbitration involving competing arbitration agreements.
- Assisted (as a pupil) Julian Kenny KC and Michal Hain in King Crude Carriers v Ridgebury November [2023] EWHC 3220 (Comm), [2024] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 115 (appealed to the Supreme Court in [2025] UKSC 39), involving a section 69 Arbitration Act 1996 appeal regarding the deemed fulfilment of conditions precedent for the payment of a deposit in a ship sale contract and a section 68 Arbitration Act 1996 challenge against the failure of the tribunal to decide issues put to it.
- Drafted skeleton (as a pupil) to set aside the enforcement of an arbitral award under section 66 of the UK Arbitration Act 1996.
- Drafted mediation position paper (as a pupil) in a claim for laytime, demurrage and detention arising out of a voyage charterparty.
- As an Assistant Registrar of the Supreme Court of Singapore, regularly dealt with applications for enforcement of arbitral awards under the Singapore International Arbitration Act 1994 and Arbitration Act 2001, and issued a judgment (DFD v DFE [2023] SGHCR 23) addressing the joinder of third parties seeking to set aside the enforcement of an arbitral award.
- As a law clerk at the Supreme Court of Singapore, assisted on a case concerning the circumstances under which sovereign immunity may prevent the enforcement of an arbitral award against a foreign state.
Shipping
- Acting in a London-seated arbitration regarding a US$50m salvage operation in the Gulf Coast (led by Timothy Hill KC).
- Acted in an SCMA arbitration in respect of a US$60m charterparty dispute concerning damage to a DP offshore vessel (led by Julian Kenny KC).
- Acting in a claim before the English High Court to enforce a letter of indemnity in relation to a ship arrest, including an application for a mandatory interim injunction for the provision of security (Manta Penyez Shipping v Aston Agro-Industrial, led by Oliver Caplin KC).
- Acting as sole counsel in an LMAA arbitration arising out of a collapsed stow and a fire on board a container ship.
- Acting as sole counsel in an LMAA arbitration for freight and demurrage claims following from a deviation under a voyage charterparty.
- Advised a P&I club on liability under a time charterparty to pay for allowances under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.
- Advised on the interpretation of a bespoke clause for the conversion of a long-term time charterparty into a bareboat charter on terms to be agreed (with Timothy Hill KC).
- Advised on consumption claims under a long-term charter of an LNG carrier (with Richard Greenberg).
- Assisted (as a pupil) David Lewis KC in Orion Shipping v Great Asia Maritime (The Lila Lisbon) [2024] EWHC 2075 (Comm) regarding the recoverability of loss of bargain damages when exercising a contractual right of termination under the Norwegian Saleform.
Public international law and sanctions
- Acting for the Marshall Islands before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in The M/T “Heroic Idun” (No. 2) (Marshall Islands/Equatorial Guinea), relating to a coastal state’s interception of a foreign-flagged vessel in the EEZ of a third State and subsequent detention and transfer of the vessel and its crew (team led by Sir Daniel Bethlehem KC and Penelope Nevill).
- Worked on sanctions advice (as a pupil), including the interpretation of the OFSI legal services general licence and the application of the UK, EU and US sanctions regimes to arbitration proceedings.
- Assisted (as a pupil) with advice on the UK Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 and its interaction with UNCLOS.
- Prepared research note (as a pupil) on the prospects of an investment treaty claim.
- As a research assistant at the Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict, assisted with preparing weekly updates on counterterrorism and humanitarian law to a Senior Law and Policy Working Group.
Commodities and international trade
- Acting in a US$7m claim in the English High Court for losses arising from the delivery of off-specification oil (Manta Penyez Shipping v Aston Agro-Industrial, led by Oliver Caplin KC).
- Acting in related SIAC arbitrations for substantial trade financing claims involving allegations of sham trading in commodities (led by Simon C Milnes KC).
- Drafted advice (as a pupil) on the merits of a claim for unjust enrichment by a subsequent purchaser against the original seller in a chain of contracts involving a fraudulent sale of commodities.
- Drafted statement of claim (as a pupil) in relation to a dispute over conflicting versions of a contract for the sale of oil.
Commercial law and civil fraud
- Acting for a lender before the English High Court in a claim relating to a commercial property alleged to have been transferred and registered by fraud (led by Tony Beswetherick KC).
- Advised on a US$70m claim relating to the theft and copyright infringement of software code (with Lawrence Akka KC).
- Drafted defence (as a pupil) against a claim for breach of a confidentiality agreement.
- Prepared research note (as a pupil) on the enforceability and interpretation of a contractual price review clause containing an agreement to negotiate.
- As an Assistant Registrar of the Supreme Court of Singapore, regularly dealt with the merits of commercial disputes in applications for summary judgment and the striking out of proceedings, including substantial claims brought under banking and commercial contracts.
- As a law clerk at the Supreme Court of Singapore, assisted on a number of commercial and fraud cases, including a substantial conspiracy claim in respect of a listed company and a long-running market manipulation trial.
Civil procedure and private international law
- Acting in an application to the English High Court for a mandatory interim injunction to enforce a letter of indemnity in respect of a foreign ship arrest (Manta Penyez Shipping v Aston Agro-Industrial, led by Oliver Caplin KC).
- Advised an online casino on the recovery of stolen cryptocurrency across multiple jurisdictions, including through a “persons unknown” freezing order (with Henry Byam-Cook KC).
- Drafted skeleton (as a pupil) seeking security for costs in the English High Court for a multi-jurisdictional charterparty claim.
- Prepared research note (as a pupil) on the validity of service out of jurisdiction under an exclusive jurisdiction agreement and the application of Art 8 of the Rome I Regulation.
- As an Assistant Registrar of the Supreme Court of Singapore, assisted with the drafting of the Singapore Rules of Court 2021 and the Singapore International Commercial Court Rules 2021, and regularly heard interlocutory applications in civil and commercial cases, including applications for summary judgment, disclosure of documents, security for costs and stay of proceedings.
- As a Justices’ Law Clerk at the Supreme Court of Singapore, assisted on a number of cases on civil procedure and conflict of laws, including a jurisdictional challenge before the Court of Appeal in a substantial claim for breach of trust.
Technology law
- Advised an online casino on the recovery of stolen cryptocurrency across multiple jurisdictions, including through a “persons unknown” freezing order (with Henry Byam-Cook KC).
- Advised on a US$70m claim relating to the theft and copyright infringement of software code (with Lawrence Akka KC).
- Drafted advice (as a pupil) on the legal implications of payments made on fraudulent invoices sent via spoofed or hacked email accounts.
Jiahui is familiar with programming in Python and VBA and with web design using HTML, CSS and JavaScript. He also has a working knowledge of programming in C/C++. He holds a Graduate Certificate in Law and Technology from the Singapore Management University Academy, covering blockchain, smart contracts, AI and machine learning.
Insolvency
- Drafted skeleton (as a pupil) on the application of the fraudulent trading provisions under the ADGM Insolvency Regulations.
- As an Assistant Registrar of the Supreme Court of Singapore, regularly heard bankruptcy applications (including issuing a judgment dealing with the effect of premature reliance on a statutory demand: DBS Bank v Bryan Ong [2023] SGHCR 2), dealt with presentations of company winding up applications under rule 63 of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution (Corporate Insolvency and Restructuring) Rules 2020, and worked on reviewing cross-border insolvency procedures in Singapore.
