On 25 July 2018, I was privileged to be part of a conference panel moderated by the inimitable Professor Nadja Alexander, CEO of the Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy and my colleague at the Singapore Management University School of Law. The panel’s inspired title was “Feel the Earth Move – Shifts in the International Dispute…

The Kashmir valley in India is a stressed region and though older generations have ‘lived’ through some tense winters, this generation is not ready to ‘survive’ through the silence and indifference. Deaths are on the rise and if this constantly raging battle between the militants and the Indian administration is not addressed appropriately and immediately,…

The forthcoming Singapore Convention on Mediation will be the first UN Treaty named after Singapore. At the 51st Session of the United Nations (UN) Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) on 26 June 2018, the final drafts of the Convention on the Enforcement of International Settlement Agreements and corresponding Model Law were approved. A resolution…

I still remember the very first time I met Colin. It was during my CIArb fellowship oral assessment in Hong Kong. Entering the room with an overwhelming presence, he asked the candidates several questions on costs in arbitration. While the questions themselves were tough and challenging, it was apparent through his encouraging tone and body…

The hills above Edinburgh, Scotland, were bursting with the splendor of bright yellow flowers when mediators from across the globe assembled for the spring conference of the International Academy of Mediators. I had been asked by the conference organizers to lead a discussion, with the goal of inspiring some of the world’s most successful commercial…

Having looked at The Rise of Co Mediation in Mega Mediations last month and the challenges such cases pose for mediators, let’s get a little closer to the inner workings of these mediations, especially at the intake stage. So many moving parts – the people, the paper, the posturing –  like a long haul plane sitting…

The International Association of Mediators conference in Edinburgh last month provided a great opportunity to reflect on the lessons learned from the application of a principled negotiation approach, as set out in ‘Getting to Yes’. The conference benefited from the experience of over a hundred leading mediators from around twenty countries, along with policy makers…

I write this in the aftermath of the really uplifting and wonderfully diverse conference which I had the privilege to host and chair recently in my home city, under the auspices of the International Academy of Mediators. Nearly 120 mediators from over 20 countries attended and shared deep discussions about how we as mediators can…

During its 68th session from 5 – 9 February in New York UNCITRAL Working Group II (Dispute Settlement) concluded its work on the preparation of an instrument or instruments on the enforcement of international commercial settlement agreements arising from mediation. In the mediation community we often refer to such settlements as (international) mediated settlement agreements…

Winning is wonderful. No question. As I write this, I am admiring the winner’s trophy – earned by my team from the University of New South Wales in Australia – at the recently concluded 13th annual International Commercial Mediation Competition in Paris. Two years ago we earned the same trophy and I never imagined we…