A. The Singapore Convention on Mediation has finally come into force.
Q. What is Singapore Convention?
It is aimed to provide a more effective way of enforcing mediated settlements of corporate disputes involving businesses in India and other countries that are signatories to the Convention.
Also known as the UN Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, this is also the first UN treaty to be named after Singapore.
With the Convention in force, businesses seeking enforcement of a mediated settlement agreement across borders can do so by applying directly to the courts of countries that have signed and ratified the treaty.
The harmonized and simplified enforcement framework under the Convention translates to savings in time and legal costs.
Q. Which countries are its signatories?
The Convention has 53 signatories, including India, China and the U.S.
Singapore had worked with the UN Commission on International Trade Law, other UN member states and non-governmental organisations for the Convention.
Q. What is significance of the convention?
The Convention would boost India’s ‘ease of doing business’ credentials by enabling swift mediated settlements of corporate disputes.
Businesses in India and around the world will now have greater certainty in resolving cross-border disputes through mediation.
