Singapore, China, India and the USA were among the first 46 countries to sign the treaty, which will come into force at a later date, according to data provided by the Standard P&I Club.

Adopted by the United Nations general assembly in December 2018, the Singapore convention on mediation provides for cross-border enforcement of international commercial settlement resulting from mediation in member states which in turn, gives businesses greater certainty, assurance and facilitates international trade and commerce.

Prior to the introduction of the treaty, parties lacked an efficient and harmonised framework for cross-border enforcement of settlement agreements resulting from mediation.

The Singapore convention on mediation responds to this need with the twin goals of facilitating international trade and promoting the use of mediation for the the resolution of cross – border commercial disputes.

The Singapore convention on mediation has been hailed as the 'missing piece' in the enforcement framework of international disputes which up till now includes the convention on the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards ('New York convention') and the Hague convention on choice of court agreements designed to assist cross-border enforcement of arbitration awards and court judgments, respectively.

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