Newly inked UN-backed Singapore Convention on Mediation promises neutral settlement of trade and commercial disputes. China and US are among treaty’s first signatories
Singapore became the first of 46 countries to sign a new United Nations (UN) treaty on commercial mediation on August 7, when officials from 70 nations convened in the city-state to officiate an agreement designed to facilitate global trade and resolve cross-border disputes.
The Singapore Convention on Mediation, the first treaty concluded under UN auspices to be named after the city-state, aims to give businesses greater confidence to settle international disputes through mediation, which involves a neutral party working with different sides to come to an agreement rather than resort to costly court proceedings.
While both the United States and China remain at loggerheads in an escalating trade war, the world’s two largest economies were among the convention’s first signatories, an outcome that observers see as a small coup for Singapore, a staunch free trade advocate that has cautioned against an unravelling of multilateral institutions.
Once ratified, the treaty’s provisions establish a framework for commercial parties in a dispute to enter a mediated negotiation with the ability to enforce the terms of a settlement in any of the convention’s signatory jurisdictions. Parties to the treaty are obliged to ensure that the terms of any settlement are enforced by their courts.
Nile Bowie is a writer and journalist with the Asia Times covering current affairs in Singapore and Malaysia. He can be reached at nilebowie@gmail.com.
Singapore became the first of 46 countries to sign a new United Nations (UN) treaty on commercial mediation on August 7, when officials from 70 nations convened in the city-state to officiate an agreement designed to facilitate global trade and resolve cross-border disputes.
The Singapore Convention on Mediation, the first treaty concluded under UN auspices to be named after the city-state, aims to give businesses greater confidence to settle international disputes through mediation, which involves a neutral party working with different sides to come to an agreement rather than resort to costly court proceedings.
While both the United States and China remain at loggerheads in an escalating trade war, the world’s two largest economies were among the convention’s first signatories, an outcome that observers see as a small coup for Singapore, a staunch free trade advocate that has cautioned against an unravelling of multilateral institutions.
Once ratified, the treaty’s provisions establish a framework for commercial parties in a dispute to enter a mediated negotiation with the ability to enforce the terms of a settlement in any of the convention’s signatory jurisdictions. Parties to the treaty are obliged to ensure that the terms of any settlement are enforced by their courts.
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