Mediation in Singapore: how it works and when to use it

Most disputes settle. The question is when, and at what cost. Mediation gives the parties a structured chance to settle early, in private, with the help of a neutral mediator. Used well, it saves time and money and keeps commercial and family relationships intact.

What mediation is

Mediation is a confidential negotiation led by a mediator who has no power to decide the dispute. The mediator helps each side understand the other’s position, tests the strengths and weaknesses of each case, and looks for terms both can accept. Nothing is binding unless the parties sign a settlement agreement.

When it works best

• Where the parties have a continuing relationship: shareholders, business partners, family members, landlords and tenants.
• Where the cost of litigation is out of proportion to the sum in dispute.
• Where privacy matters, for example to a public figure or a business worried about its reputation.
• Where a creative outcome is possible that a court could not order, such as a buy-out on staged terms or a public apology.

It works less well where one side needs an urgent court order, such as an injunction, or where a point of law must be decided for the future.

Courts expect you to consider it

Under the Rules of Court 2021, parties are expected to consider resolving their dispute amicably, including by mediation, before starting proceedings and while they are under way. An unreasonable refusal to try can count against a party, including when costs are decided.

How a mediation runs

1. Preparation. Each side sends the mediator a short case summary and the key documents.
2. Opening. The mediator explains the process and each side sets out its position.
3. Private sessions. The mediator meets each side separately. What you say in a private session stays confidential unless you agree it can be shared.
4. Negotiation. Offers move between the rooms until terms are agreed or it is clear they will not be.
5. Settlement. Agreed terms are written up and signed before the parties leave.

Confidentiality and enforceability

The Mediation Act 2017 protects the confidentiality of mediation communications, subject to limited exceptions, so offers made at mediation cannot ordinarily be used in later proceedings. With the parties’ agreement, a mediated settlement agreement can be recorded as an order of court and enforced as one. For international commercial disputes, the Singapore Convention on Mediation, signed in Singapore in 2019, provides a framework for enforcing settlement agreements in other countries that have joined it.

Where mediation happens

Commercial disputes are often mediated through the Singapore Mediation Centre or, for cross-border matters, the Singapore International Mediation Centre. The courts run their own dispute resolution and mediation programmes, and the Law Society runs a mediation scheme. Arbitration clauses can combine the two, for example through an arbitration–mediation–arbitration protocol.

How to prepare

• Know your alternatives. What is the realistic best and worst outcome if the case goes to trial, and what would it cost to get there?
• Bring decision-makers. Someone with authority to settle must attend.
• Think beyond money. Timing, confidentiality, apologies and future dealings can all be part of a deal.
• Get the drafting right. A settlement that is vague, or missing a term on costs or default, can start a new dispute.

Our experience

Akesh is an Accredited Mediator with the Singapore Mediation Centre, an Associate Mediator under the Law Society Mediation Scheme and an Empanelled Mediator with the Bangalore International Mediation, Arbitration and Conciliation Centre. He also acts as counsel for parties in mediation, including in a multi-party international logistics dispute before the Singapore Mediation Centre and SIAC, and in family and cross-border matters settled through mediation.

Common questions