46 Countries Sign Singapore Convention on Day 1
7th August 2019
On 7 August 2019, Singapore hosted the signing ceremony for the "Singapore Convention on Mediation". This is significant for the small island state not least because of the name of the convention, but also because it signifies the growth of the legal landscape in Singapore, in its bid to become a dispute resolution hub in the region and beyond.
The Singapore Convention was signed by 46 countries, surpassing the 10 countries who had initially signed the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the "New York Convention") when it opened for signature in 1958. Economic powerhouses like China, India and the United States are signatories of the Singapore Convention. From the perspective of international trade, this is promising because countries that have yet to be a signatory may feel a greater impetus to do so.
