Singapore Mediation Convention: the advisability of Portugal's accession

Mariana Soares David and Beatriz de Macedo Vitorino sign the article "Singapore Mediation Convention: the advisability of Portugal's accession" which is part of the book "The Law on Conflict Mediation - Studies on its application" published by Almedina.

Her article is summarised as follows: In 2019, the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, approved by UNCITRAL and the United Nations General Assembly (the Singapore Mediation Convention), was opened for signature. The Convention aims to overcome one of the main criticisms commonly made of mediation: the unenforceability of international agreements arising from mediation. Although more that fifty State have already signed the Convention, it is still soon to conduct a thorough analysis of it effects. Nonetheless, the evolution of international accession to this Convention should be followed with great expectation. Inspired by the New York Convention and by its impact on international arbitration, the Singapore Mediation Convention may well transform the use of mediation, as it simplifies the recognition and enforcement of international settlement agreements. In this paper -, written at a time when the accession of the European Union to the Convention is still uncertain (namely, for being uncertain whether Member States will be able to take such an initiative by themselves or if they will have to wait for a joint accession of all Member States) - , we will confront the potential advantages and disadvantages of the accession of Portugal to the Convention, taking into account the novelties of the Singapore Mediation Convention will when compared to the mediation regime currently in force in Portugal. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the clarification of the concept of mediation in the Portuguese legal community, to shed some light on the recent mediation regulation trends and to envision the future of mediation with reference to the Singapore Mediation Convention, both in the Portuguese legal order and in the international context. In our opinion, the potential advantages justify the adhesion to this Convention.

(This article is only available in Portuguese).