The United Kingdom has signed the Singapore Mediation Convention - will international mediation agreements be easier to enforce?
- Singapore Convention on Mediation
- Procedural grounds for refusal to enforce an international mediation agreement
- The benefits of accession to the Mediation Convention
On 3 May 2023, the British Government signed the UN Convention on International Settlement Agreements reached through Mediation (concluded in Singapore on 07 August 2019) (hereinafter referred to as the Singapore Convention on Mediation), expanding the recognition and enforcement of international mediation agreements in the United Kingdom.
Singapore Convention on Mediation
The Singapore Convention on Mediation is an international agreement that provides a framework for the enforcement of mediation agreements in international commercial disputes reached through mediation.
Thus, if, in the context of a commercial dispute, the parties have entered into an international mediation agreement which is subsequently not enforced by one of the parties, the involved party may apply to the competent court for the recognition and enforcement of such mediation agreement on the basis of the Singapore Convention.
Procedural grounds for refusal to enforce an international mediation agreement
Similar to the UN Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitration Decisions (New York, 10 June 1958), the Singapore Convention in Article 5 establishes procedural grounds for refusal to enforce an international mediation agreement if:
- a party to the mediation agreement has been disabled in any manner;
- mediation agreement is null and void, voidable or unenforceable, not binding or not final according to its terms; or has been subsequently amended;
- provision of assistance would be contrary to the terms of the mediation agreement;
- a serious violation by the mediator of the standards applicable to the mediator or mediation, as without such a violation the party would not have entered into the mediation agreement;
- mediator has failed to disclose to the parties’ circumstances that give rise to reasonable doubts as to impartiality or independence of the mediator,
- provision of assistance would be contrary to the public policy of that Party;
- subject matter of the dispute cannot be the object of mediation under the party's legislation.
However, the Singapore Convention does not regulate the mediation procedure itself, but establishes a procedure for the recognition and enforcement of international mediation agreements. The scope of application of the Convention is limited to international commercial disputes, which does not include family, labour or consumer disputes.
The United Kingdom is currently a signatory to the Singapore Convention, but it will become binding upon ratification and once the United Kingdom has implemented its national legislation in accordance with the provisions of the Convention.
The accession of the United Kingdom implies new possibilities in resolving disputes with its residents from the moment of its entry into force.
The benefits of accession to the Mediation Convention
Major benefits of accession to the Mediation Convention:
- Expansion of the scope of alternative means of international dispute resolution
The Convention has significantly increased the possibilities of recognising mediation agreements in different jurisdictions and of actually enforcing them, both voluntarily and already in an enforced procedure.
- Enforcement of mediation agreements
Mediation agreement can be promptly enforced in accordance with the procedure established by national law. Previously, the lack of enforceability of a mediation agreement significantly deterred parties from considering mediation.
- Simplified form of conclusion of the agreement
Mediation agreement must be signed by the parties to the agreement and have any admissible evidence that an agreement was reached as a result of the mediation in order to be enforceable. In turn, the form of the agreement may be either written or electronic.
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For the reference The Singapore Convention entered into force for the Republic of Belarus on 15 January 2021. The Republic of Belarus has made a reservation to the Singapore Convention on its non-applicability to agreements to which a government agency is a party. |
