India, among 40 odd countries sign Singapore Convention on Mediation – on 7th August 2019. This aims to boost mediation as another means of solving international commercial disputes.
Implications of the Convention on the Use of Mediation in the International Domain
Before the enactment of the Convention, there was one major obstacle that hindered the growth of Mediation as a preferred ADR mechanism for dispute settlement. This pertained to issue of enforcement of mediated settlements in the case of International Commercial Mediation. After the Singapore Convention, parties will have an option to have their Mediated Agreements enforced without having to go for either litigation or arbitration and hence Mediation may become an attractive dispute resolution mechanism.
Apart from speedy, less expensive, and simpler procedure, Mediation also offers parties some other advantages. These include – (i) preservation of the relationship of the parties, since the process involves negotiation and is a consensus-based mechanism; (ii) greater autonomy; (iii) preservation of privacy and confidentiality concerns of the parties, in litigation and in some arbitration disputes, both privacy and confidentiality of the parties is compromised; (iv) in multiparty contracts, one issue that mostly arises is the question of joinder of parties. This issue can be resolved easily with Mediation considering that there is no definitive structure in place for the conduction of mediation.
In light of the above mentioned advantages, it is clear that the Convention given its simple procedural requirements is bound to have a positive impact on the International Mediation Regime globally.
Conclusion
The Convention makes several noteworthy promises to the commercial parties across the Globe and offers them a tool to settle their disputes in a much more time bound and amicable manner. This is a great step towards moving away from traditional ways of settlement of disputes and exploring other avenues that have lot to offer. Its success however depends how many States ratify the Convention. As the title of this article suggests the Convention is in fact a new light at the end of the tunnel!
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Article by Alok Vajpeyi and Gauri Bharti
Singhania & Co
Source : http://www.mondaq.com
