The Singapore Convention: A Solution in Search of a Problem?

Abstract

This paper explores the purpose and efficacy of the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (‘Singapore Convention’ or ‘Convention’). The Convention’s genesis was premised on the notion of alleviating the enforceability issues that are annexed to settlement agreements arising from cross-border mediation (IMSA). While such enforceability issues are not entirely unfounded, the way in which the Convention has been drafted to address such issues has been the subject of criticism. In view of such criticisms, this paper explores the empirical research upon which the Convention’s introduction is based and queries whether the structure of the instrument heralds an unnecessary juridification of the mediation process. In particular, a close review of the research highlights the unintended consequences that can flow from the Convention’s uptake, suggesting that the introduction of the Convention may lead to an increase in issues pertaining to IMSA enforcement. It is in this context in which this paper submits that the Convention may be regarded as a solution in search of a problem.

The Singapore convention on mediation to reinforce the status of international mediated settlement agreement: Breakthrough or redundancy?

“…If a solution is brokered during mediation, the matter is conveyed back to the arbitral tribunal for recording as a consent award. It has been asserted that commencing the procedure in hybrid ADR is enough to fill the gap and address mediation's enforcement problems (Clark & Sourdin, 2020). When mediation in the Hybrid ADR leads to a compromise that the disputants document as a consent arbitral award, it has the advantage since the ambiguity about the enforcement issues has been eliminated (Hussin et al, 2018).…”

“…In short, it is posited that the SCM may be redundant but needed. As a result, it is suggested that the assumption for the establishment of the SCM is founded on the debatable issue of enforcement failure (Clark & Sourdin, 2020). This failure is particularly related to the belief that international commercial mediation has not progressed significantly (Yin, 2014).…”

“…Even knowledgeable clientele may still get the bulk of their understanding about ADR techniques from their attorneys. The potential of mediation is hardly mentioned by conflicting parties as a viable line of action (Clark & Sourdin, 2020). There is a well-known tendency among clients to resist using mediation.…”

Chronicles of the Singapore Convention - an insider view

“…Scholars making this argument argued that the Convention will only cater to the interests of private sector lawyers, adding there is no merit, but only harm, in the Convention. 198 As public international lawyers engaged with the Convention and its aftermath and international dispute resolution design, it is difficult to objectively respond to these arguments. The EU's hesitancy in joining the Convention might be attributed to the fear of risk of abuse of process by one of the parties against the other when applying to the competent authority to give effect to the mediated settlement agreement.…”

Gentlemen seek harmony but not uniformity: The heterogeneity of entrepreneurial team and organizational resilience

“…Therefore, to uncover the “black box” formed by the organizational resilience of new ventures in the context of Localization in China, it is necessary to consider the characteristics of local culture ( Arikan et al, 2020 ) and interpret the mediating and moderating effects from a new perspective ( Muguto and Muzindutsi, 2022 ). Considering the long-standing problems of culture and economy ( Niedermeyer et al, 2020 ), Weber’s debates on culture and economic ethics, new institutional economics ( Carnevali et al, 2021 ), and informal institution theory ( Fricke et al, 2022 ) have made important contributions to studying the relationship between culture and economy ( Clark and Sourdin, 2020 ). With enterprises as the main body of economic development, how culture affects the growth of enterprises has attracted more and more scholars’ attention ( Abudureheman and Nilupaer, 2021 ).…”