The conference was attended by the Justice Minister, the Vice President of Legal Affairs, the Vice President of the Judiciary, the Vice President of the Islamic Consultative Parliament, the University chancellor, professors and experts.
The United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation was signed by ۴۶ States yesterday at an official signing ceremony in Singapore. To be known as the « Singapore Mediation Convention» , the Convention is intended to facilitate the enforcement of settlement agreements that have been entered into with the assistance of mediation. Furthermore the Convention is an instrument for the facilitation of international trade and the promotion of mediation as an alternative and effective method of resolving trade disputes. Being a binding international instrument, it is expected to bring certainty and stability to the international framework on mediation, thereby contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), mainly the SDG ۱۶. The Convention is open for signature by States and regional economic integration organizations (referred to as “ Parties”).
The Singapore Mediation Convention provides a process for the direct enforcement of cross-border settlement agreement between parties resulting from mediation. The Convention provides that a settlement agreement may be enforced directly by the courts of a State. This allows the party seeking enforcement to apply directly to the courts of the State where the assets are located such that execution may also be sought if the enforcement process is successful. This prevents potential multiple proceedings. During the official signing ceremony, ۴۶ States signed the Singapore Mediation Convention, including the US, Singapore, China, India, Malaysia, the Philippines and South Korea. Notably, the UK, the European Union and Australia have not yet signed the Convention. The Convention will enter into force ۶ months after ۳ States have acceded or ratified the Convention. The success of the Convention (when entered into force) will in large part depend on the extent to which it is accepted and ratified by States. Nonetheless, the Convention is likely to encourage parties involved in cross-border projects and transactions to consider mediation as a time and cost efficient process as part of their dispute resolution toolkit. The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is the core legal body of the United Nations system in the field of international trade law. Its mandate is to remove legal obstacles to international trade by progressively modernizing and harmonizing trade law. It prepares legal texts in a number of key areas such as international commercial dispute settlement, electronic commerce, insolvency, international payments, sale of goods, transport law, procurement and infrastructure development. UNCITRAL also provides technical assistance to law reform activities, including assisting Member States to review and assess their law reform needs and to draft the legislation required to implement UNCITRAL texts.