Cross-Border Enforcement of Mediated Settlement Agreements and Potential Impact on the Practice of International Arbitration: Observations from Singapore on the Adoption of the Singapore Convention on Mediation

Abstract

On 7 August 2019, the new convention opened for signature at a ceremony in Singapore and at the time of publishing has 51 signatories. This article explores the potential impact of the new Convention on the practice of international arbitration. It predicts that while international arbitration is currently experiencing some transformative trends from other sources in the international dispute resolution landscape, the growth of cross-border mediation anticipated as a result of the new enforcement regime is unlikely to result in reduced reliance on international arbitration as a primary means of dispute resolution for current users. Instead, the new Convention will expand the suite of services available to international dispute resolution users and providers and expand access to dispute resolution for micro, small and medium enterprises conducting cross-border and transnational commerce in the new enforcement regime.