ABA Virtual 2020 Annual Meeting: Thinking Big After the Singapore Convention – The Growing Promise of Cross-Border Mediation

Please join Ranse Howell, JAMS Director of International Operations, invited as a speaker to provide his unique insight on the impact of the Singapore Convention on cross-border mediation.

On August 7, 2019, 51 countries, including the United States, China, India and South Korea signed the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements for Mediation in Singapore. The promise of the Singapore Convention is profound, allowing the enforcement of mediated settlements between signatory states and reinforcing the use of mediation in resolving complex cross-border disputes. The backdrop to the Singapore Convention is one of growing political and socio-economic uncertainty, coupled with a slowdown in cross-border trade and a downward trend in foreign direct investment. Disputes will arise and international mediation may be the right tool at the right time. The panel will review the immediate and potential longer-term impacts of the Singapore Convention from multiple perspectives, both private and public, governmental and commercial. Experts will speculate about whether mediation post-Singapore will become as prominent on the international stage as did arbitration following the New York Convention.