SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Foo Yuet Min, Kong Man Er, Shumin Lin and See Chern Yang, Drew & Napier LLC
tion unless it has reasonable grounds to do so. The court may even order the parties to attempt to resolve the dispute by amicable resolution or suggest solutions for the amicable resolution of the dispute to the parties at any time as the court thinks fit. Courts may take into account a party’s failure to discharge its duty to consider amicable resolution, including any unreasona- ble refusal to participate in ADR in apportioning costs between the parties. The Supreme Court Practice Directions provide that parties may make formal offers for engag- ing in ADR, and the court may give directions for the adjournment of pending proceedings if the parties are willing to attempt ADR. The State Courts integrate ADR services into their dispute resolution framework through the SCCDR. Appropriate matters (such as non-inju- ry motor accident cases, personal injury cases and medical negligence cases) before the State Courts will automatically be fixed for ADR at the SCCDR. It is the professional duty of advocates and solicitors in Singapore to advise their clients to consider ADR and to give their clients sufficient information about the different ways in which their disputes may be resolved using an appro- priate form of ADR. Singapore has also sought to make ADR a more attractive option for dispute resolution by enhancing the enforceability of mediated set- tlements, through making mediated settlement agreements enforceable in the same manner as a court judgment or order under the Mediation Act. The United Nations Convention on Inter- national Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation also provides for the direct enforce- ment (and execution) of mediated settlement
agreements across signatory countries. Singa- pore is a signatory to the convention and has enacted the Singapore Convention on Mediation Act for this purpose. The Mediation Act 2017 provides for the confi- dentiality and inadmissibility of mediation com- munication, which includes anything said or done and any document prepared or information provided for the purpose of or in the course of the mediation, including the agreement to medi- ate and the mediated settlement agreement. 12.3 ADR Institutions Various institutions in Singapore provide a range of ADR services. The main arbitration institution in Singapore is the SIAC, which administers both international and domestic cases. International arbitration institutions have also set up regional offices in Singapore, including the International Court of Arbitration of the International Cham- ber of Commerce (ICC), the International Centre for Dispute Resolution, the international division of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and the Arbitration and Mediation Centre of the World Intellectual Property Organization. Private mediation service providers include the SMC and the SIMC. There are also bodies pro- viding mediation services for specific disputes, such as: • the Community Mediation Centre for commu- nity disputes; • the Consumers Association of Singapore for consumer-business disputes; • the Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Centre for disputes between consumers and financial institutions; • MOH Holdings’ Healthcare Mediation Scheme for healthcare disputes; and
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