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Knowledge Highlights 5 September 2024
On 12 September 2020, the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, also known as the Singapore Convention ("Convention"), will enter into force. The Convention is an instrument for the facilitation of international trade and the promotion of mediation as an alternative and effective method of resolving trade disputes. Being a binding international instrument, it is expected to bring certainty and stability to the international framework on mediation.
The Convention was opened for signature in Singapore on 7 August 2019. As at the time of writing, there are 53 signatories to the Convention with six countries - Singapore, Fiji, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Belarus and Ecuador - having deposited their respective instruments of ratification or approval.
The Convention applies to international settlement agreements resulting from mediation (“settlement agreement”). It establishes a legal framework for settlement agreements and their enforcement, addressing the need for an effective means to enforce cross-border commercial mediated settlement agreements.
Parties to the Convention will be obliged to enforce settlement agreements if they meet the following criteria:
Reference materials
Information on the Convention can be found on its dedicated website http://www.singaporeconvention.org/.
The list of signatories to the Convention and the Convention text are available on the United Nations Treaty Collection website treaties.un.org or by clicking here.