On this day, the Singapore Convention on Mediation comes into force. You can view the ratification ceremony here.. At the time of writing, there are 53 State Parties to the Convention, six of which have ratified it (Singapore, Fiji, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Belarus and Ecuador). Qatar was the third signatory State Party to deposit its…

In recent years, mediation has been actively discussed for the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) regime, particularly as a means of reducing costs and delays. This interest is one reaction to growing discontent about the option of investor-state arbitration (ISA) typically offered by host states in international investment treaties, to make substantive commitments (like non-discrimination) more…

The Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy (SIDRA) released its International Dispute Resolution Survey: 2020 Final Report (‘2020 SIDRA Survey’) on 3 July. It is a compendium of the experiences and views of legal and client users from common and civil law jurisdictions on why and how they choose dispute resolution mechanisms to resolve cross-border disputes….

Update: As this post was published, the Singapore Convention Bill was passed into law. In previous blog entries, we have outlined the provisions of the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (also known as the Singapore Convention on Mediation), reported on its signing ceremony and observed that more than 50 States…

Over the past decade, the concept of resolving international investment disputes through mediation has gained traction among States, practitioners and academics. This is seen in the significant number of recent investment treaties that refer to mediation either as a pre-condition to arbitration, or as a stand-alone mechanism for resolving disputes. Support for mediation is also…

“Does the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (“Singapore Convention”) apply to investor-state disputes?” This intriguing question was deliberated recently at George Washington University Law School by a star-studded panel comprising of the Hon’ble Judge Charles N. Brower (Twenty Essex Street Chambers, London), Ms. Frauke Nitschke (Legal Counsel, ICSID) and Mr….

I have recently been approached to enrol myself in an investor-state mediation training programme and also to speak at one of the sessions. That triggers off my deeper thoughts on the topic of investor-state mediation and related issues. This blog is an attempt to share my thoughts so that fellow mediation practitioners may consider whether…