Last september the so-called Singapore Convention on Mediation entered into force, marking a significant development in commercial conflict resolution at a global level. With the convention companies around the world can look forward to greater security in resolving cross-border disputes through mediation, as the Convention provides a more effective means of enforcing agreements concluded through mediation.

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The convention opened for signatures at a major ceremony on August 7 2019, when as many as 46 countries signed the convention and thus became one of the UN trade conventions, which on the first day has achieved the highest level of approval among UN member states which reflects international recognition and the desire to promote the use of mediation as a conflict resolution tool.

Since the opening of signatures last year, a total of 54 countries, including the United States, China and India, have acceded to the convention.

The convention aims to give companies around the world greater security in resolving cross-border disputes through mediation by enabling them to go directly to the courts of countries that have ratified the treaty. The harmonized and simplified framework aims to lead to time savings and lower costs, which is especially important for companies in times of uncertainty, e.g. during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

The convention has created a basis for companies to rely on mediation as an effective and secure conflict resolution tool for their cross-border agreements and to have assurance that the agreements entered into through mediation can be enforced.

United Nations Commission On International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) together with the Singapore Ministry of Law is hosting the Singapore Convention Week 2021 (SCW2021) in Singapore this september.

Read more about the SCW2021 here.