The Singapore Convention on Mediation is the very first United Nations (UN) convention to be named after Singapore.

And once the signing ceremony is completed on Aug. 7, it will highlight our reputation as an international legal hub.

Alternate path for settling disputes

While companies currently have access to the New York Convention for Arbitration and the Hague Convention for litigation, the Singapore Convention will build on them and serve as the "missing link" in the international framework for settling disputes.

The Convention will provide for the cross-border enforcement of international, commercial settlement agreements that were reached through mediation, with the help of a neutral third party.

Mediation promises to be a cheaper, quicker, and more amiable way to settle disputes than the other options, and is also more amenable to many cultures worldwide.

Speaking to the media on July 29, Minister for Law and Home Affairs K Shanmugam said: "The Singapore Convention is going to be extremely significant and historic for Singapore."

Singapore's baby

Shanmugam pointed out that Singapore played an active role in obtaining consensus for the Convention.

The UN General Assembly unanimously approved the resolution in December 2018, and in light of Singapore's contribution, approved it to be named after Singapore.

Ministers and senior officials of more than 50 countries will be in Singapore on Aug. 7 to mark the occasion when the Convention opens for signature.

Other events are planned, such as the inaugural Asia Pacific conference of the International Bar Association, and the opening of the International Association of Restructuring, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Professionals (INSOL)'s Asia Hub in Singapore.

Singapore as a legal hub

Shanmugam highlighted that Singapore has much to offer as an international hub for legal work.

"It's a place where you can put your money, and your money is safe. No one is going to take it away from you," he said.

"If you come in, physically, you're safe as well. No one is going to disappear. Something bad is not going to happen to you just because somebody likes you or doesn't like you."

He added that Singapore had developed both the "software", such as the trust in our judiciary, and the "hardware", such as the new Maxwell Chambers Suite, which will house new dispute resolution institutions and firms.

Singapore's value proposition

Shanmugam acknowledged that other cities could also develop this capacity.

But companies who face disputes in larger countries might decide to settle them in a place that is seen as neutral.

That's what Singapore can offer.

Shanmugam added: "I would say advisedly today that we are the top dispute resolution centre in Asia, and one of the top three in the world."

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Top image by Rachel Ng.