Proudly presenting "Contemporary Issues In Mediation Volume 8"!



CIIM Volume 8

This is the eighth volume in the widely acclaimed series, "Contemporary Issues in Mediation", and was officially launched on 24 October 2023 at the NUS Faculty of Law. 

CIIM Volume 8 is a collection of the best entries of the 8th Singapore International Mediation Institute Annual Mediation Essay Competition.

It has been three years since the ratification of the Singapore Convention on Mediation (“SCM”). The SCM has arguably created a profound impact on thought leadership in the area of mediation and has since engendered rich discourse on its applicability and feasibility in the world of modern mediation practice. These developments highlight and underscore the SCM’s increasing importance in the ongoing effort to recognise mediation globally as a legitimate and effective means of dispute resolution. CIIM Volume 8 adds further food for thought to this rich discourse with nine thought-provoking essays that shed light on the diversity of issues and challenges that define the contemporary mediation landscape today. 

The SCM is one of the central topics discussed in this volume. The top entry, “Operationalising Article 5(1)(e) of the Singapore Convention on Mediation” scrutinises the definition and required threshold of certain terms used in the aforementioned Article in the SCM, and discusses whether evidentiary proof requirements may affect the confidentiality of the mediation process. Other essays on this topic highlight certain challenges of the SCM from a more macro perspective, such as the reasons behind the hesitation in adopting the SCM in both the European Union and China.

Another central topic examined in this volume is the multitude of issues surrounding mediation in the context of family disputes. The essays in this volume discuss, inter alia, the unique role of a family mediator in dealing with “high conflict personalities”, the inter-relatedness of mediation, therapeutic justice and the family justice system in Singapore, and whether it would be in the “best interest” of children to be involved in divorce mediation processes.

Aside from these two central topics, the other essays in this volume also provide meaningful discussions on mediator burnout, the potentially oxymoronic nature of mandatory mediation, and the tension between confidentiality and transparency in investor-State mediation processes.


 

 

 

  1. Operationalising Article 5(1)(e) of the Singapore Convention on Mediation
    By Valerie Lim
  2. The Hesitation of the European Union in Adopting the Singapore Convention on Mediation: Perspectives from International Relations Theory
    By Elyssa Tan

  3. Keeping Confidentiality or Pursuing Transparency: The Dilemma of Transparency in Investor-State Mediation Mechanism
    By Fan Xiaoyu

  4. Healing the healer: It is Okay to Not be Okay
    By Gini Wong
  5. Navigating Two Different Truths in Family Mediation: One Size Will Not Fit All
    By Neo Xin Xuan
  6. The Fundamental Concept of Voluntariness in Mediation: Is Mandatory Mediation an Oxymoron?. 
    By Nicole Ng
  7. In Pursuit of Therapeutic Justice: Mediation and Singapore’s Family Justice System
    By Christabelle Tan
  8. Children Should Be Heard To Be Seen: Including Children in Divorce Mediation
    By Tan Pei Han
  9. Challenges to Ratification and Practice of the Singapore Convention on Mediation in China
    By Tao Chongyang

 

 

  


  


E-copies of the essays are also available through our publisher here.

 

Endorsements

"What a wonderful opportunity for students of dispute resolution to be published in this excellent collection of essays!  Several different essays examine commercial disputes including the implementation of the Singapore Convention—when countries refuse to enforce the convention or hesitations respectively in the EU and in China—as well as investor-state mediation; other essays dig into family and divorce mediation arguing for more inclusion, more flexibility and a broader approach to the emotional impact of these conflicts.  And yet other essays question the actual structure of mediation—is it voluntary?  And, in a very timely essay, how can we support the mediators themselves as they work to heal others?  This is a terrific array of topics that is sure to provide useful information and thought-provoking reflections for its readers.  Congratulations to SIMI for Volume 8."

Prof Andrea Kupfer Schneider 
Professor of Law, Cardozo School of Law
Director, Kukin Program for Conflict Resolution

"The articles in it speak of a profession increasingly finding its own feet and self-confidence, as well as its place in the accepted societal and global order of dispute resolution. Speaking personally and as a (primarily) international commercial and investor/state mediator, I have learned much from other fields of mediation, and indeed from other disciplines beyond mediation. If I may offer one encouragement to all of us involved in mediation, it is to recognise the breadth of wisdom and learning across the whole mediation field - and beyond it - and to stay curious and open to what each of us can learn from others. 

CIIM helps us to do just that. I recently had the pleasure and privilege of speaking at a private forum in Singapore for governments on the practicalities of investor-state mediation - it is no surprise that this kind of intellectual leadership arises from SIMI too. I am delighted to commend this edition to you."

Mr  Bill Marsh
International Mediator

SIMI Certified Mediator