Partnering with UNCITRAL, SCCA highlights Saudi Arabia’s leadership in enabling mediation
Published Date: 25/11/2021
The Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA) held an international webinar in partnership with the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) to highlight the great strides made in the year since the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, also known as the Singapore Convention, took effect in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
With the UNCITRAL secretary taking part, SCCA representatives and other legal experts informed business sectors locally and internationally of Saudi Arabia’s achievements in promoting the amicable resolution of commercial disputes.
UNCITRAL Secretary Ms. Anna Joubin-Bret and SCCA CEO Dr. Hamid bin Hassan Merah delivered the opening remarks of the webinar, “The Singapore Convention - one Year on Mediation in KSA.”
Ms. Anna Joubin-Bret said she was pleased to hold this joint webinar with SCCA and that Saudi Arabia’s initiative in signing and ratifying the Singapore Convention is a clear indication of its leadership’s commitment to encouraging ADR in the country, in particular amicable means of resolution such as mediation.
Dr. Merah said that the direct translation of the Singapore Convention locally is the collaboration between SCCA and the Ministry of Justice, represented by the Conciliation Center, by creating of a mechanism whereby amicable settlement agreements resulting from mediation are converted into enforceable bonds without need for the parties to go to court.
“The Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration is one of the few centers in the region that provide advanced mediation services,” Dr. Merah added. “These services are based on SCCA Mediation Rules, which it issued in 2016 and which are consistent with the latest international practices in this regard.”
The Saudi justice sector was represented in the webinar by Sheikh Suliman bin Abdul Karim Al-Olayan, deputy assistant minister of justice for courts affairs and supervisor of the Conciliation Center. In his remarks, he highlighted the Ministry’s efforts to enable mediation as effective, successful options for resolving commercial disputes and to align the services with international best practices.
UNCITRAL Legal Officer Corinne Montineri and SCCA Chief of ADR and General Counsel Christian Alberti also took part in the webinar to familiarize the audience with the Singapore Convention and its role in the enforcement of international settlement agreements in all the countries that have signed the Convention, which number 55 to date.
The Singapore Convention is the first international compact on the enforcement of international settlement agreements resulting from mediation, which facilitates international commerce, and it serves to promote mediation as an effective way to resolving cross-border commercial disputes. Seeking to align local legislation with the latest international conventions, the Government of Saudi Arabia was quick to sign the agreement at the initial signing ceremony in August 2019, and Saudi Arabia was the fourth country to ratify it.