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31 July 2019 / James South
Issue: 7850 / Categories: Features , Mediation , ADR
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Working better together

James South marks a mediation milestone— the signing of the Singapore Convention—and predicts an increased uptake in mediation

The signing of the Singapore Convention on Mediation on 7 August this year, and subsequent ratification by countries around the world, will prove to be a significant milestone in the use of mediation, not only for cross border disputes but for domestic jurisdictions as well. The Convention was approved by resolution of the United Nations General Assembly in December 2018 and is intended to do the same for mediated settlements in cross-border disputes as the New York Convention of 1959 has done for International Arbitral Awards. Despite this positivity, the Convention is unlikely to change the field of mediation overnight. Nonetheless, critics who expect no change at all are also likely to stand corrected over time. In order to understand the reasons for change, one must look closer at both history and circumstance.

Why a Mediation Convention?

For decades there has been a wish to improve the status of cross border mediated agreements

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

Fieldfisher partner appointed president as LSLA marks milestone year

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Firm promotes two lawyers to partnership across employment and family

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Firm promotes five lawyers to partnership across key growth areas

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
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