In conjunction with the activities that took place around the Singapore Convention Week this year, Withers KhattarWong hosted an event “Mediation and Arbitration in the ASEAN region” featuring our arbitration specialist Partner Shaun Leong, FCIArb alongside the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Singapore International Mediation Centre, and experienced leading practitioners from the ASEAN region.
The Singapore Convention on Mediation (formally known as the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation) entered into force on 12 September 2020. The Singapore Convention marked a critical milestone in the development of mediation as alternative dispute resolution for commercial disputes.
Prior to the Singapore Convention, the practice of mediation had been gaining traction over the years as a confidential, cost-efficient, flexible and conciliatory method of settling commercial disputes out of court and out of the public eye. Nevertheless, before the Singapore Convention, there remained some hesitation for its utility in international or cross-border disputes given that there was no harmonised framework amongst the various global jurisdictions for the invocation and enforcement of settlement agreements. Parties worried about whether a settlement could truly be said to be “full and final” if multiple jurisdictions might impose different requirements for reliance on a settlement agreement or recognise different grounds to challenge a settlement agreement.
This was the very obstacle that the Singapore Convention sought to address. It seeks to provide a single unified framework for the invocation and enforcement of settlement agreements, to give parties certainty regarding their legal position and confidence in being able to avail themselves of the benefits of having a settlement agreement. The spirit of the Singapore Convention is no doubt to be lauded.
Nevertheless, in the international chess play of cross border disputes, one can expect savvy players to deploy tactical means in an attempt to unravel a compromise legitimately made. This article focuses on the guerrilla tactics that could be used and the strategic issues that may arise in challenging the international enforcement of a settlement agreement.
Content Authorship and Sources
Shaun Leong
Arbitration and Mediation Panelist at BIAMC
Equity Partner at Withersworldwide
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