Thayananthan Baskaran is a partner with Baskaran, Kuala Lumpur, and a barrister and the Head of Southeast Asia at International Construction Chambers, London. Since 2012, Mr. Baskaran has sat as sole arbitrator or as co-arbitrator in 8 arbitrations, arising from building and engineering contracts, development agreements, and hotel management agreements. Since 2001, Mr. Baskaran has appeared as counsel in 21 arbitrations, of which 10 are international and 11 are domestic, all of which arise from building and engineering contracts. The highest amount in dispute in these arbitrations is in excess of USD 666 million.

Mr. Baskaran is on the panel of the Asian International Arbitration Centre, the Brunei Darussalam Arbitration Centre, the Dubai International Arbitration Centre, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, the Indonesian National Board of Arbitration, the Malaysian Institute of Architects, the Oman Commercial Arbitration Centre, the Russian Arbitration Centre and the Singapore International Arbitration Centre.

Mr. Baskaran has been recommended by Lexology Index/Who’s Who Legal Arbitration, who quotes clients and colleagues as saying he is ‘a pillar of the Malaysian arbitration community’ and ‘He is great both as counsel and arbitrator’. Asia Business Law Journal quotes clients as saying he has a ‘deep understanding of both legal and technical aspects of construction … ability to combine legal precision with technical insight is truly impressive’. Global Arbitration Review quotes a colleague as saying he is ‘… “leading practitioner” in Malaysia, who is particularly sought after for construction disputes … “Thaya is the best example of the new wave of Asian practitioners who offer great talent and fresh ideas. He is incredibly smart, agile and resourceful.”’ Mr. Baskaran has been included in the Legal 500 Arbitration Private Practice Powerlist: Southeast Asia Region.

Mr. Baskaran is the author of Arbitration in Malaysia: A Commentary on the Malaysian Arbitration Act (Wolters Kluwer 2019). The reviews say, ‘This book is outstanding, and I would recommend it to all in the arbitration community’ Dr Cyril Chern in Dispute Board Federation. ‘There can be little doubt that this work will become one of the leadings texts on the subject…a solid first edition’ Gordon Blanke in Arbitration: The International Journal of Arbitration, Mediation and Dispute Management. And, ‘This book is both a valuable addition to the existing corpus of leading works on arbitration law and practice in Malaysia and an essential reference tool for arbitrators and practitioners alike’ Robert Morgan in Asian Dispute Review.

Mr. Baskaran was the Chair of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Malaysia Branch (2017-19) and the President of the Society of Construction Law Malaysia (2016-17). Mr. Baskaran is the editor of Construction Law International, the magazine of the International Bar Association International Construction Projects Committee.

Mr. Baskaran was educated at St John’s Institution, Kuala Lumpur, read law at King’s College, London, studied construction engineering at Queens’ College, Cambridge, and was called to the Bar by Gray’s Inn. Mr. Baskaran is a Fellow of the Charted Institute of Arbitrators, the Malaysian Institute of Arbitrators, and the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators.