Singapore clinches bid for UN Convention on Mediation to be named after Singapore
- On 20 December 2018, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), at its 73rd session in New York, passed a resolution to adopt the United Nations (UN) Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, and to name it after Singapore.
- The Convention will be known as the “Singapore Convention on Mediation”. It is the first treaty to be named after Singapore among the treaties concluded under the auspices of the United Nations organisation. At the session, UNGA also agreed that the signing ceremony for the Convention will be held in Singapore on 7 August 2019.
- On the same day at the UN in New York, Singapore delivered a statement, commending the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) for its work on mediation and expressing appreciation for the support for the signing ceremony to be held in Singapore.
- Singapore is expected to be amongst the first signatories of the Convention. The Convention will provide for the cross-border enforcement of mediated settlement agreements. This will give businesses greater certainty that mediated settlement agreements can be relied upon to resolve cross-border commercial disputes.
- Singapore welcomes other countries to be amongst the first signatories of the Convention on 7 August 2019, and to participate in the events which will be organised in conjunction with the signing ceremony.
- Being amongst the first signatories to the Convention will be a strong statement of a country’s commitment to trade, commerce and investment. It will strengthen a signatory’s position as a leader in international trade law and will be warmly welcomed by businesses and foreign investors.
- “We would like to thank everyone for their overwhelming support for the UN Convention on Mediation to be named the Singapore Convention. This is the first UN treaty carrying the Singapore name. It is a singular honour for Singapore and will further cement Singapore’s place on the world map for international dispute resolution. We look forward to welcoming everyone for the signing ceremony on 7 August next year”, said Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law, Mr K Shanmugam.
- Over the years, the Singapore Ministry of Law has made various moves to establish Singapore as an international dispute resolution centre. It has set up various institutions, including the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC), and Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC) and Maxwell Chambers to provide a full suite of dispute resolution services for international commercial parties to resolve their disputes in Singapore, which is a trusted, neutral venue with high quality jurisprudence. Singapore also enacted the Mediation Act 2017, which provides, among other things, for the recording of mediated settlement agreements as orders of court, and facilitates the enforcement of mediated settlement agreements.