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31 July 2019 / James South
Issue: 7850 / Categories: Features , Mediation , ADR
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James South marks a mediation milestone— the signing of the Singapore Convention—and predicts an increased uptake in mediation

The signing of the Singapore Convention on Mediation on 7 August this year, and subsequent ratification by countries around the world, will prove to be a significant milestone in the use of mediation, not only for cross border disputes but for domestic jurisdictions as well. The Convention was approved by resolution of the United Nations General Assembly in December 2018 and is intended to do the same for mediated settlements in cross-border disputes as the New York Convention of 1959 has done for International Arbitral Awards. Despite this positivity, the Convention is unlikely to change the field of mediation overnight. Nonetheless, critics who expect no change at all are also likely to stand corrected over time. In order to understand the reasons for change, one must look closer at both history and circumstance.

Why a Mediation Convention?

For decades there has been a wish to improve the status of cross border mediated agreements in order to improve the enforceability of settlements. This is

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