UK confirms it will sign the Singapore Convention on Mediation

The convention provides a framework for the recognition and enforcement of international commercial settlement agreements reached via mediation. It enables a party to enforce a cross-border mediated agreement in any country that is party to the convention without needed to launch an action for breach of contract. The convention also establishes rules on procedures for cooperation on the taking of evidence, service of legal documents and cooperation between competent authorities.

Some 55 countries have signed it since it opened for signature in 2019, and it has been ratified by 10 countries, Fiji, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Belarus, Ecuador, Honduras, Turkey, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Singapore.

The government consulted on whether to join the convention in February 2022, with a majority of responses received in favour of ratification. In a statement this week, Justice minister Lord Bellamy said the government had concluded ‘it is the right time for the UK to become a party to the convention’ and would sign it as soon as possible.

Lord Bellamy said: ‘This decision will be a clear signal to our international partners that the UK is committed to maintaining and strengthening its position as a centre for dispute resolution and to promote the UK’s flourishing legal and mediation sectors.’

Bar Council vice chair Sam Townend KC said: ‘Barristers make excellent mediators and mediation advocates; the profession leads the world in the provision of mediation as one of many forms of dispute resolution.

‘The Bar Council welcomes the UK government’s commitment to ratify the Singapore Convention. The move bolsters confidence in the UK legal sector and is further recognition of the vital contribution that British lawyers make to UK exports.’

Henrietta Jackson-Stops, member of the London International Disputes Week (LIDW) Strategy Group, said the government’s decision was ‘a clear indication of the UK's ambition to remain a global leader in the development of international dispute resolution.

‘Signing the convention will give added weight to London as a centre to resolve disputes and help raise the profile of mediation. The wider dispute resolution offering is a key agenda item for discussion at LIDW23, which will be an even hotter topic given this news.’