The disruption brought by Covid-19 will increase the number of disputes. Mediation is one solution to dealing with these disputes for businesses to transition to the new normal.

Upon closer examination, virtual/remote mediations via video conference have revealed some surprising advantages over traditional in-person mediation conferences. 

In the near future, it is likely that mediations will continue to take place by video, with all participants appearing that way. We are at the beginning of a new frontier of video mediation.

Saudi Arabia has become the fourth country to ratify the Singapore Mediation Convention, an international agreement on cross-border mediation.

Called the SGUnited Mediation Initiative, the Supreme Court will identify and refer suitable cases to the Singapore Mediation Centre (SMC), where a neutral third-party mediator helps disputing parties to achieve a mutually acceptable and amicable resolution.

The Supreme Court and the SMC have come together to launch the SGUnited Mediation Initiative to refer suitable cases in the Supreme Court for mediation at no charge to parties.

Business associations in Singapore have formed a Fair Tenancy Framework Industry Committee (FTFIC) to address the “growing imbalance” in the relationship between institutional landlords and tenants as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to severely hurt businesses.

Belarus believes that the convention will have a positive impact on the entire system of international commercial mediation, including the work of international courts and arbitration.

Mediation is a process of handling conflict in which parties come together and try to settle their issues by talking. The parties are assisted by a mediator who takes up the role of the neutral in facilitative mediation.

SMC has issued Supplementary Rules for Electronic Adjudication Lodgement (2^nd Edition, 25 April 2020) which provide for the submission of accompanying documents of more than 50MB.