Singapore Convention on Mediation opens for signature on 7 August

  1. On 20 December 2018, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation. The new Convention will be named the Singapore Convention on Mediation and opens for signature in Singapore on 7 August 2019.

  2. The Singapore Ministry of Law, together with the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), will be organising the Singapore Convention Signing Ceremony and Conference in Singapore on 6 - 7 August 2019. This will be part of a series of related events which will take place during the Singapore Convention Week from 2 to 8 August.

  3. The Singapore Convention on Mediation needs three signatories to sign and thereafter ratify it in order for the Convention to come into force. To date, more than 10 countries, including Singapore, are expected to be amongst its first signatories. At least 40 other countries are expected to send high-level delegations to attend the signing ceremony and conference.

  4. Mr K Shanmugam, Singapore Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law said, “It is a great honour for Singapore to host the signing of the new United Nations Convention on Mediation and for this Convention to be named after Singapore. The strong turnout at the upcoming signing ceremony on 7 August is a powerful statement of support for a rule-based dispute resolution framework that will help facilitate the free flow of trade and investments.”

  5. The new international treaty provides for cross-border enforcement of mediated settlement agreements. It gives businesses greater certainty that they can enforce and invoke such agreements in countries which are parties to the Convention.

  6. Some 700 government leaders and officials, business executives, legal practitioners and academics from around the world, will gather at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore on 7 August 2019 to witness the historic signing ceremony and attend the Conference.

  7. Singapore Prime Minister Mr Lee Hsien Loong and Mr Stephen Mathias, Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, United Nations, will deliver the formal addresses. Mr António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations will also be delivering a message via video. Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Mr Heng Swee Keat, will deliver the keynote address at the Gala Dinner that evening.

  8. Notable speakers at the Conference include Judge Xue Hanqin, Vice-President, International Court of Justice, Mr Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara, Chief Executive Officer, Temasek International Pte Ltd, Dr Marty Natalegawa, Former Foreign Minister, Indonesia, Professor Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler, President, International Council for Commercial Arbitration and Justice Edward Torgbor, Former Judge of the High Court, Kenya and Visiting Academic, University of Oxford.

Please see attached information sheet and visit https://www.singaporeconvention.org for more information on the Singapore Convention Signing Ceremony and Conference

MINISTRY OF LAW
22 JULY 2019

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Helenn Loh
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