Mediating International Commercial Disputes - Singapore Convention PDF
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The University of Queensland
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Summary
This document discusses the Singapore Convention on Mediation, a multilateral treaty designed to streamline international commercial dispute resolution through mediation. It outlines key criteria for mediation settlement agreements and the circumstances under which a party state may refuse to grant relief. The document emphasizes using mediation as an alternative to litigation and arbitration to resolve international commercial disagreements.
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### Mediating international commercial disputes -- Singapore Convention United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (the "Singapore Convention on Mediation") Multilateral treaty offering a harmonised framework for enforcement of international commercia...
### Mediating international commercial disputes -- Singapore Convention United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (the "Singapore Convention on Mediation") Multilateral treaty offering a harmonised framework for enforcement of international commercial agreements reached at mediation Designed to minimise the impact of international trade disputes. Promotes mediation as an effective ADR alternative to arbitration (and litigation). It addresses the absence of an efficient cross-border mechanism for enforcement of agreements reached at mediation The amended Model Law (the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Mediation and International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (2018)) was adopted at the 51^st^ UNCITRAL (UN Commission on International Trade Law) Commission session in mid 2018 December 2018 UN General Assembly adopted the convention, recommended it be known as "the Singapore Convention on Mediation" and authorised a signing ceremony for September 2019 57 signatory countries -- including USA, China, India, South Korea and 14 parties who have ratified the convention into domestic law (Belarus, Ecuador, Fiji, Georgia, Honduras, Japan, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Uruguay. Australia became a signatory in September 2021 Key criteria: - The mediation settlement agreement must be international in character (Art 1(1) SCM) - The dispute must be commercial: excludes family, inheritance, or employment law (Art 1(2) SCM) - The agreement has not arisen as a consequence of a judgment or arbitral award (Art 1(3)(b) SCM). - No preferred model -- Convention refers to the concepts of "mediation" and "conciliation" interchangeably Mediation settlement agreements: - can be directly enforced by the relevant competent authority of a Party state, in accordance with its rules of procedure and under the conditions laid down in the Convention. (Art 3(1) SCM) -- party must provide evidence that the agreement has resulted from a mediation - can be invoked to prove that the matter has been resolved if a dispute arises in relation to a matter already resolved by the settlement agreement. (Art 3(2) SCM) Party state may refuse to grant relief pursuant to the terms of the agreement if: - a party to the settlement agreement was under an incapacity. (Art 5(1)(a) SCM) - the settlement agreement is not binding, or is null and void, inoperative or incapable of being performed under the law to which it is subjected. (Art 5(1)(b) SCM) - there was a serious breach of applicable mediator standards by the mediator (Art 5(1)(e) SCM), - there has been a failure to disclose circumstances that raise doubts as to mediator impartiality or independence (Art 5(1)(f) SCM), without which the party would not have entered into the agreement; - granting relief would be contrary to the public policy of the Party state. (Art 5(2)(a) SCM)
