UAE joins Singapore Convention to help lift trade and promote commercial dispute mediation

Emirates will be 56th signatory to convention

Abu Dhabi Global Market, along with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation and the Ministry of Justice, support the UAE’s entry into the Singapore Convention. Victor Besa / The NationalShow less

The UAE is set to join the Singapore Convention on Mediation as it aims to accelerate international trade and investment and promote mediation as a viable way to settle cross-border commercial disputes.

It will be the 56th signatory to the convention and will start enacting a framework for the enforcement of settlement agreements that result from commercial disputes, said a statement released on Wednesday by Abu Dhabi Global Market.

“Joining the Singapore Convention will be a momentous step for the UAE, underlining its progressive spirit and leadership and reinforcing its position as a global trading hub,” ADGM chairman Ahmed Al Zaabi said.

The move will help boost international trade and investment, encourage commercial dispute resolution through mediation and “strengthen the UAE as a global business destination of choice”, he said.

The UAE is forging partnerships with other countries to advance economic opportunities. This month alone, it engaged with major global economies such as the US, Israel and Singapore to improve trade and investments.

The Emirates has also enacted robust legal frameworks and created authorities to handle commercial disputes. Last November, Dubai Courts said it was forming a committee and new courts to expedite the resolution of disputes related to securities.

A month later, Dubai International Financial Centre Courts launched a special court to deal with disputes related to the digital economy.

Also last year, Abu Dhabi set up a fast-track court to hear financial disputes, covering commercial and civil cases, which passes judgments within 15 days of the case being registered.

Joining the Singapore Convention will be a momentous step for the UAE, underlining its progressive spirit and leadership and reinforcing its position as a global trading hub

Ahmed Al Zaabi,
chairman of Abu Dhabi Global Market

ADGM announced the move at its inaugural dispute resolution forum, Resolve 2022. The capital’s financial centre is supporting the UAE’s entry to the convention along with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation and the Ministry of Justice.

The convention will give the UAE a “uniform and efficient mechanism” by which to enforce the terms of agreements in other jurisdictions, a similar framework to what the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Arbitral Awards does for international arbitral awards, ADGM said.

Businesses will benefit from mediation as an additional dispute resolution option to litigation and arbitration in settling cross-border disputes, the Singapore Convention’s website says.

The Singapore Convention on Mediation entered into force at the UN Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation in 2020. It was finalised in mid-2018 and opened for signature on August 7, 2019, attracting 46 signatories.