IMI celebrates the significant expansion of the Singapore Convention on Mediation (United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation). Three major milestones have recently highlighted its growing importance: Kyrgyzstan and the Sultanate of Oman has ratified the Convention. Egypt became the 59th signatory.
Kyrgyzstan acceded to the Convention on the 1st of December 2025, thereby becoming the 20th State Party to the Convention. In accordance with the Convention’s provisions, it will enter into force for Kyrgyzstan six months later, in June 2026. Upon accession, Kyrgyzstan made a reservation pursuant to Article 8(1)(b) of the Convention, exercising the option provided to States to limit the application of the Convention in respect of certain categories of settlement agreements.
Furthermore, Egypt signed the Convention on the 13th of January 2026, thereby becoming the 59th signatory to the Convention.
Finally, Oman has also taken a major step in strengthening its international dispute-resolution landscape by ratifying the Convention through Royal Decree No. 6/2026 on 11-Jan-2026
yet to be announced on the UNCITRAL website
The accession of Kyrgyzstan and Oman to the Singapore Convention, together with Egypt’s signature of the Convention, represents an important advancement in promoting mediation in international commercial dispute resolution. The Convention provides a uniform legal framework for the recognition and enforcement of settlement agreements resulting from mediation, filling a longstanding gap in cross-border dispute resolution and complementing existing national and international mechanisms.
Kyrgyzstan’s and Oman’s accession enhance legal certainty for parties engaged in international trade and investment, while Egypt’s signature signals its commitment to strengthening mediation as a credible and effective dispute resolution tool. Collectively, these developments encourage the broader use of mediation as an efficient, cost-effective, and collaborative alternative to litigation and arbitration, enabling businesses to rely with greater confidence on the cross-border enforceability of mediated settlements.
The Convention remains open for signature, ratification, acceptance, approval, or accession by States and eligible regional economic integration organizations. The convention now has 20 contracting parties and 59 signatories. Updated information on the Convention’s status is available on the official Singapore Convention on Mediation website managed by the Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy (SIDRA), with the support of the Ministry of Law, Singapore.
IMI continues to support the development and implementation of the Singapore Convention on Mediation through its recently established Mediation Public Policy Committee, with the goal of promoting the integration of mediation into public policy, legislative and regulatory frameworks, and governmental practices on a global scale. Among its initial projects, the Committee is tasked with providing more structured support to the further understanding and adoption of the Singapore Convention on Mediation, a project which IMI has supported and co-created.Read more about the work of the Committee here: Introducing IMI’s New Mediation Public Policy Committee — International Mediation Institut.
Heads-Up: Two Singapore Convention Events on 4–5 March 2026
In support of this important public policy topic, we would like to draw attention to two upcoming events focused on the Singapore Convention on Mediation.
🥐 “Private International Law of Commercial Mediation and the Singapore Convention”
📅 Date: Wednesday, 4 March 2026
🕗 Time: 08:15 CET
💻 Format: Online (Zoom)
🌐 Language: French
Please register on the website to indicate your participation.
Speaker: Haris Meidanis
Haris Meidanis is Director of the Athens Mediation and Arbitration Organization (EODID), a lawyer, arbitrator, and mediator with extensive expertise in private international law, arbitration, and cross-border commercial disputes. He is the author of The Private International Law of Commercial Mediation (2025), the first systematic work linking mediation and private international law.
This event is co-organised by:
- International Francophone Association for Mediation (AFIM)
- Swiss Chamber of Commercial Mediation (SCCM / CSMC / SKWM)
Switzerland and the Singapore Convention on Mediation – 5 March 2026, Bern
📅 Date: Thursday, 5 March 2026
🕝 Time: 14:30 – 17:30 CET (followed by drinks 🥂)
📍 Location: Kursaal Bern, Kornhausstrasse 3, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
🌐 Language: English
This strategic discussion will examine Switzerland’s potential accession to the Singapore Convention and its implications for business, legal practice, and public policy.
Confirmed speakers include a distinguished and internationally recognised panel:
🎥 A special recorded message from Sundaresh Menon, Chief Justice of Singapore, offering a high-level comparative perspective on the global development of mediation and the significance of the Singapore Convention.
- Ivana Ninčić Österle, Executive Director of the International Mediation Institute, will bring IMI’s global perspective on mediation standards and public policy frameworks.
- IMI Honorary Director George Lim – Chairman of the Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC) and strategic advisor to the Government of Singapore on mediation policy.
- Nadja Alexander – Director of SIDRA and a leading academic authority on the Convention.
- Daniel Girsberger – Professor at the University of Lucerne and expert in private international law and dispute resolution.
- Mauro Poggia – National Councillor and lawyer who initiated the parliamentary interpellation that revitalised Switzerland’s debate on accession to the Convention.
Participation fees (excluding VAT):
- CHF 55 – SCCM/CSMC/SKWM Members
- CHF 75 – AFIM members, selected Swiss bar associations, FSM, IMI and affiliated entities
- CHF 95 – External participants
🥂 Aperitif included.
Together, these events reflect the evolving global landscape of mediation, from philosophical questions about justice to concrete policy debates on enforceability and international frameworks.
We encourage IMI members across jurisdictions to engage with these timely discussions and continue shaping the future of mediation practice and policy worldwide
As jurists, policymakers, civil society and public-spirited individuals around the world work hard to accomplish the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 16 on “Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions”, the rise in number of signatures, ratification and accessions to the Singapore Convention certainly represent an important progressive step in promoting mediation in domestic and international dispute resolution frameworks. There are important practical reasons for this as the courts in various jurisdictions grapple with the problems of arrears and backlog. Litigation is not suitable method for settling each and every dispute.
Addressing an international mediation conference in Goa on 26 December 2025, Honourable Chief Justice of India, Justice Surya Kant said the growing acceptance of mediation should not be seen as a weakness of the legal system. “Mediation is not a sign of the law’s weakness, but its highest evolution,” he observed. Drawing a contrast between litigation and mediation, Honourable Justice Surya Kant had remarked, “Litigation is often the autopsy of a dead relationship. Mediation, on the contrary, is the remedial surgery that seeks to preserve the living pulse of a connection.” So, wide acceptance of mediation is a reality of the dispute resolution landscape of the contemporary world. The recent accession of Kyrgyzstan and Oman to the Singapore Convention, along with Egypt’s signature of the Convention needs to be looked at from such a pragmatic perspective. The Singapore Convention offers a standard or uniform legal framework for recognition and enforcement of settlement agreements resulting from mediation. It is a landmark development that fills a longstanding gap in cross-border dispute resolution. It complements and supplements the prevalent municipal and international mechanisms.