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Ms. Natalie Y. Morris-Sharma

Ms. Natalie Y. Morris-Sharma
Senior Director / Senior State Counsel
Attorney-General’s Chambers, Singapore

Biography Biography in PDF

International Economic Law
Dispute Settlement
The Singapore Convention on Mediation

There has been an unmistakable growth in the interest in mediation and the promise it holds for the amicable settlement of disputes.  As part of efforts to promote further certainty in the outcomes of mediations, the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (also known as the “Singapore Convention on Mediation”) was developed.  

This lecture will introduce the key provisions of the Singapore Convention on Mediation, on general principles, scope of application, form requirements for settlement agreements, grounds for refusing to grant relief, and reservations.  How appropriate inspiration from the New York Convention was drawn will be elaborated on.  Why certain aspects of mediation are addressed by the treaty in the way that they are (e.g., the grounds for refusal, particularly on mediator (mis)conduct), and why certain aspects are not explicitly addressed in the text (e.g., agreements to mediate, confidentiality), will be additional subjects of analysis.

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(02/10/2025, 33 minutes)


International Economic Law
Dispute Settlement
The Singapore Convention on Mediation

A. Legal Instruments

Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes, The Hague, 29 July 1899.

Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International, The Hague, 18 October 1907.

Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, New York, 10 June 1958, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 330, p. 3.

United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, New York, 20 December 2018.

B. Documents

UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Mediation and International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation with Guide to Enactment and Use, 2018 (amending the Model Law on International Commercial Conciliation, 2002).

General Assembly Resolution 73/198 of 20 December 2018 (United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation).

ICSID Mediation Rules and Regulations, July 2022.

C. Doctrine

H. Abramson, “The New Singapore Mediation Convention: The Process and Key Choices”, Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution, vol. 20, pp. 1037-1062, 2019.

N. Alexander, “Ten Trends in International Mediation”, Singapore Academy of Law Journal, vol. 31, pp. 405-447, 2019.

I. Apter and R. B. David, “Chronicles of the Singapore Convention - an insider view”, in G. Palao (ed.), The Singapore Convention on Mediation, Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, pp. 1-40, 2022.

B. Clark, “The Singapore Convention: A Solution in Search of a Problem?”, Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly, vol. 71, pp. 481-499, 2020.

C. Kessedjian, and. al., “Mediation in Future Investor–State Dispute Settlement”, Journal of International Dispute Settlement, vol. 14(2), pp. 192-212, 2023.

B. Kohler, “Blaming the Middleman? Refusal of Relief for Mediator Misconduct under the Singapore Convention”, Journal of Private International Law, vol. 19(1), pp. 42-66, 2023.

N. Y. Morris-Sharma, “Constructing the Convention on Mediation: The Chairperson’s Perspective”, Singapore Academy of Law Journal, vol. 31, pp. 487-519, 2019.

N. Y. Morris-Sharma, “The Singapore Convention on Mediation: Per Aspera Ad Astra”, in C. N. Brower, and al. eds., By Peaceful Means: International Adjudication and Arbitration – Essays in Honour of David D. Caron, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 153-178, 2024.

F. Nitschke, “Amicable Investor-State Dispute Settlement at ICSID: Modernizing Conciliation and Introducing Mediation”, BCDR International Arbitration Review, vol. 6(2), pp. 381-432, 2019.

T. Schnabel, “The Singapore Convention on Mediation: A Framework for the Cross-Border Recognition and Enforcement of Mediated Settlements”, Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal, vol. 19, pp. 1-60, 2019.

B. L. Steele, “Enforcing International Commercial Mediation Agreements as Arbitral Awards under the New York Convention”, UCLA Law Review, vol. 54, pp. 1385-1412, 2007.

D. Additional References

Travaux preparatoires for the Singapore Convention on Mediation.

Status of the Singapore Convention on Mediation, with up-to-date information on aspects such as signatures, ratifications, reservations.

ICSID’s Overview of Investment Treaty Clauses on Mediation, July 2021.