Summary:

With the deposit of the instrument of ratification, effected on 2^nd September, Honduras becomes the seventh state party to the ‘Singapore Convention on Mediation ‘ which occurred shortly before the inaugural of UNCITRAL Academy.

Content:

The Singapore Convention on Mediation, formally the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation which was adopted on 20 December 2018 and opened for signature on 7 August 2019, is an international agreement regarding the recognition of mediated settlements.

The Singapore Convention ultimately aims to facilitate international trade by rendering mediation an efficient and entrusted method for resolving disputes, alongside arbitration and litigation. Prior to the Singapore Convention, an international mediated settlement agreement lacked enforceability in and of itself.

The Singapore Convention on Mediation (the “Singapore Convention” or “Convention”) is a uniform and efficient framework for international settlement agreements resulting from mediation. It applies to international settlement agreements resulting from mediation, concluded by parties to resolve a commercial dispute.

The Singapore Convention on Mediation facilitates international trade and promotes mediation as an alternative and effective method of resolving commercial disputes by providing an effective mechanism for the enforcement of international settlement agreements resulting from mediation.

Because of its international benefits, Honduras, being the most recent country to ratify the Convention, joined Singapore, Fiji, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Belarus, and Ecuador as the seventh state party to the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, also known as the “Singapore Convention on Mediation”. The ratification by Honduras was effected on 2 September 2021 and the Convention will enter into force for Honduras on 2 March 2022. 

The deposit of the instrument of ratification by Honduras came shortly before the UNCITRAL Academy, which took place in Singapore on 7 and 8 September 2021 with more than 1,000 participants. The UNCITRAL Academy covers not only the Singapore Convention, but the comprehensive UNCITRAL Mediation framework, which also includes the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Mediation and International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation with its accompanying Guide to Enactment and Use, the Mediation Rules, and the Notes on Mediation. 

Bangladesh should also ratify the convention because of its multiple benefits. Signing the convention will purposefully encourage Foreign Direct Investment, as Most of the foreign investors now seek to resolve the disputes in a confidential way. Other than that, there are many Mediators in Bangladesh, who are Internationally qualified to practice Mediation. Signing the convention can enable them to resolve foreign disputes through mediation from the private to national level.

Considering the similar national condition and culture, Bangladesh can also follow India who has already signed the convention. In 2019, India was among the first group of signatories to the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements which we know as the “Singapore Mediation Convention” today. The current pandemic situation has made it crucial to sign the Convention.

Source:  Singapore Convention