SCCA highlights Saudi progress in enabling mediation at UNCITRAL session

SCCA highlights Saudi progress in enabling mediation at UNCITRAL session

Published Date: 16/11/2022

 

Before representatives of Asia-Pacific States

 

With a view to presenting Saudi Arabia’s efforts to enable commercial mediation in the country, the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration recently took part in the regional session on ADR that UNCITRAL holds each year in cooperation with the South Korean Ministry of Justice.


This year’s session, “Regional Perspectives on Cross-border Dispute Resolution,” was attended by Korean Deputy Minister of Justice Soonjeong Kwon, UNCITRAL Secretary Ms. Anna Joubin-Bret, and representatives of 16 states in the Asia-Pacific region.


The aim of the session was to report on the latest regional developments in commercial mediation, one of the most important emerging forms of ADR, following the 2019 Singapore Convention on Mediation. Saudi Arabia took the initiative to sign and ratify the convention (Saudi Arabia being the 4th state of 8 states to ratify the Convention - of the 55 signatory states), a clear indication of its leadership’s commitment to encouraging ADR in the country, in particular amicable means of dispute resolution.


The SCCA was represented at the session by SCCA case counsel Ms. Rahaf Alhamawi. She discussed the package of legislative tools that Saudi Arabia has enacted in recent years to support the use of mediation, in addition to the Ministry of Justice efforts to establish its Conciliation Center to settle disputes amicably. The resulting agreements are converted into an enforceable title without the need for the parties to go to court.  


Ms. Alhamawi also referenced the SCCA efforts to make mediation an effective, flexible option for commercial dispute resolution. The SCCA is one of few centers in the region to offer a range of advanced mediation services based on its mediation rules, which align with the latest international standards and practices.


UNCITRAL holds this session every year with the participation of government officials and international ADR and legal experts. The aim is to share knowledge and help build state capacities in order to enable ADR, in particular arbitration and mediation. These two options have a legislative framework established by UNCITRAL, beginning with the 1958 New York Convention, UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, UNCITRAL Mediation Rules, UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration, UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Mediation and International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation and the Singapore Convention on Mediation.