Insights

The Covid-19 pandemic has adversely affected companies around the world, forcing businesses to rethink how disputes can be managed effectively.

When the UK Government imposed a lockdown in Mar 2020, John Sturrock QC thought that mediations would dry up.

To the leading international commercial mediator, the process was “highly personal” and required physical presence. He said: “When the lockdown occurred for us at the end of March, as far as I was concerned, this marked the end of my business and my work would simply stop.”

Over the years, India’s appetite for resolving disputes amicably through mediation is evident. In addition to statutory provisions, the Supreme Court of India has upheld the provisions of mediation and general dispute resolution processes in several rulings for the past few decades. Some of these high profile cases include the dispute between the Ambani brothers; the takeover of South African...

Our Specialist Mediators (Singapore) describe their journey and perspectives on mediation in the past one year, and how it has changed the way they view their practice, and life.

Braving negotiations for almost two decades, the Singapore Convention on Mediation finally came into force this year, on 12 September 2020 – a win for international commercial mediation.

In the third instalment of our Singapore Convention on Mediation series, we unlock the near misses, miracles and milestones that led to the coming into force of the Convention.

A webinar jointly hosted by JIMC and SIMC took place via Zoom on the evening of 20 November 2020. Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law in Singapore, K. Shanmugam SC and Minister for Justice in Japan, Yoko Kamikawa as well as distinguished panellists spoke at the event.

SIMC Chairman George Lim SC plays a key role in promoting mediation as the next game changer in dispute resolution, and positioning Singapore as a respected global business hub in the world.

The World Bank had recently announced that in East Asian and Pacific countries alone 38 million more people would fall below the poverty line due to the coronavirus pandemic. Given the severe economic challenges experienced by businesses and people all over the world, George Lim SC hopes mediation would become the preferred mode of dispute resolution to help parties solve disputes amicably.

The question of the role of lawyers in a mediation process inevitably arises when one thinks that a mediator, as a neutral third party, is already facilitating negotiations between disputing parties.

This is particularly so given that disputing parties typically play a more central role themselves in the mediation process, with the platform to communicate their key interests to each other...

As international trade treaties go, the Singapore Convention on Mediation is relatively short. It was designed to be simple and easily applicable to different jurisdictions – no matter their legal traditions. Despite its brevity, the Convention packs a powerful punch in allowing mediated settlement agreements to be globally enforceable. In the second instalment of this series, we illustrate the...