New Med-Arb Protocol: SIMC Mediation Settlement Agreements To Be Enforceable As SCIA Arbitral Awards

Introduction

There has been a growing trend globally in recent years towards alternative dispute resolution mechanisms such as mediation. In 2021, the Singapore International Mediation Centre ("SIMC") administered disputes with a total value of over US$3 billion, equalling the total dispute value for the preceding six years (i.e. 2014 to 2020).

The strong trend towards mediation has been further aided by the Singapore Convention on Mediation (formally known as the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation) which was signed in 2020. In this regard, parties to the Singapore Convention are obligated to recognise and enforce international commercial settlement agreements, greatly improving the ease of international enforcement of settlement agreements. Indeed, despite the short span of time since it was opened for signature in August 2019, the Singapore Convention has 55 signatories as of December 2022, of which eight