Lessons from Singapore

Members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Alternative Dispute Resolution (APPG) travelled to Singapore for a fact-finding visit organised by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) last year. Their report, ‘Securing the UK’s position as a global disputes hub: lessons from Singapore’, published last week, draws on a wide range of evidence from both countries.

It notes the judiciary has played an important role in Singapore in directing parties towards mediation, and suggests the UK equip its judges to do the same. It suggests policymakers engage ‘proactively’ and ‘over the long-term’ with the Judicial ADR Liaison Committee, which was established last year.

Other proposals include using the government’s own procurement policies to promote ADR by ensuring all public contracts have robust dispute resolution mechanisms in place.

Conflict Avoidance Boards (CABs), which exist throughout the duration of the contract and seek to prevent conflict arising in the first place, have been used ‘to great effect’ in projects including the London Olympics and Hong Kong International Airport. The APPG recommends both the UK and Singapore make greater use of CABs and calls on the UK to incorporate CABs as standard practice on all complex public contracts. It points out: ‘From IT to defence contracting, CABs offer a way of managing complexity and guarding against costly disputes and delays.’

The APPG also recommends signing the Singapore Mediation Convention and training more expert mediators among other professions.

John Howell, APPG chair, said: ‘We think government should be proactive in promoting the UK as a disputes hub on the world stage, and take practical steps to proliferate the use of ADR for the resolution of commercial disputes.’