30/09/2019
HE CHANGING LEGAL ENVIRONMENT ON MEDIATION
Are you a lawyer or a lover of alternative dispute settlement mechanisms? If your response is yes, then get to know about United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, popularly known as the Singapore Convention. The Convention focuses on increasing the enforceability of settlement agreements that arise out of mediation.
Touted as mediation's equivalent of the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York Convention), many herald the Singapore Convention as marking a pivotal moment for the growth of mediation as a method of dispute resolution.
Importantly, Uganda and many other countries signed this convention on the 7th day of August 2019. In effect; this convention will go a long way towards influencing international mediation practice in Uganda.
Scope of application
1. This Convention applies to an agreement resulting from mediation and concluded in writing by parties to resolve a commercial dispute (“settlement agreement”) which, at the time of its conclusion, is international in that:
(a) At least two parties to the settlement agreement have their places of business in different States; or
(b) The State in which the parties to the settlement agreement have their places of business is different from either:
(i) The State in which a substantial part of the obligations under the settlement agreement is performed; or
(ii) The State with which the subject matter of the settlement agreement is most closely connected.
2. This Convention does not apply to settlement agreements:
(a) Concluded to resolve a dispute arising from transactions engaged in by one of the parties (a consumer) for personal, family or household purposes;
(b) Relating to family, inheritance or employment law.
3. This Convention does not apply to:
(a) Settlement agreements:
(i) That have been approved by a court or concluded in the course of proceedings before a court; and
(ii) That are enforceable as a judgment in the State of that court;
(b) Settlement agreements that have been recorded and are enforceable as an arbitral award.
In short, the Singapore Convention provides a uniform international framework to enforce mediated agreements of cross-border disputes. Its aim is to give businesses more confidence in opting for mediation to resolve disputes, ultimately facilitating international trade.
