The Singapore Convention on Mediation And the Path Ahead

On August 7, 2019, forty-six State Parties, including the United States, China, India, and South Korea,¹ signed the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, also known as the "Singapore Convention on Mediation."² The Convention aims to promote the use of mediation to resolve cross-border commercial disputes by enhancing the enforceability of international mediated settlement agreements.

Mediation can be an effective means for disputing parties to resolve their dispute efficiently and creatively. It seeks to achieve a practical outcome based on the disputing parties' underlying motivations.

Historically, there has been one significant barrier to settling international disputes through mediation: if a party to a mediated settlement agreement defaults on its obligations, the non-defaulting party must turn to litigation, arbitration, or any other method contemplated by the settlement agreement to enforce the agreement