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| Abbreviation | SMC |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1997 |
| Services | Mediation |
Chairperson | Belinda Ang |
Chief Executive | Kevin Kwek |
| Website | http://www.mediation.com.sg |
Singapore Mediation Centre (SMC) is a not-for-profit organisation structured as a company limited by the guarantee of the Singapore Academy of Law. [1]
In 1996, a cross-profession committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) chaired by then Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee, was formed to study how mediation in Singapore could be promoted outside the courts. The Committee made two main recommendations. One of which was the creation of a commercial mediation centre under the Singapore Academy of Law. This centre, the Singapore Mediation Centre, was launched on 16 August 1997. SMC is limited by the guarantee of the Singapore Academy of Law, a body presided by the Chief Justice of Singapore and governed by a Senate, most of whose members are also judges of the Supreme Court. [2]
SMC is located within the Supreme Court's premises. Mediations at the SMC are usually held at the mediation chambers in the Supreme Court. Mediation provides strategic conflict management in which parties can resolve their own disputes, including commercial, contractual, or matrimonial disputes with the help of a neutral third party. The mediator acts only as a facilitator to guide and regulate the process. The outcome of the mediation is determined by the parties themselves. Mediation is an interest-based approach that is non-confrontational, and focuses on solving problems in regards to the parties' interest. Examples of mediation services are the Healthcare Mediation Scheme, which offers subsidised mediation services for disputes between patients and healthcare institutions, and mediation for disputes arising from the Personal Data Protection Act. [3]
SMC is governed by a board of directors chaired by Justice Belinda Ang; and assisted by a board of advisors who provide strategic advice to enable SMC to achieve its mission. [4] SMC has 3 panels of mediators, classed as International, Principal and Associate Mediators. [5]
As of 31st December, 2023, the Singapore Mediation Centre (SMC) has successfully mediated over 6,520 cases with a combined value exceeding $15.6 billion since its inception on August 16, 1997. The largest single claim mediated by the centre amounted to $1.06 billion. [6] SMC has achieved a commendable settlement rate, with approximately 67% of cases being resolved. Notably, over 90% of these settlements were reached within one day, demonstrating the efficiency and effectiveness of the mediation process. [7]
With the introduction of the Mediation Act in Singapore on 1 November 2017, the Ministry of Law designated SMC as one of the 4 designated mediation service providers in Singapore, along with the Singapore International Mediation Centre, Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management and World Intellectual Property Organisation Arbitration and Mediation Center. [8]
Dispute resolution or dispute settlement is the process of resolving disputes between parties. The term dispute resolution is conflict resolution through legal means.
Mediation is a negotiation facilitated by a third-party neutral. It is a structured, interactive process where an impartial third party, the mediator, assists disputing parties in resolving conflict through the use of specialized communication and negotiation techniques. All participants in mediation are encouraged to actively participate in the process. Mediation is a "party-centered" process in that it is focused primarily upon the needs, rights, and interests of the parties. The mediator uses a wide variety of techniques to guide the process in a constructive direction and to help the parties find their optimal solution. A mediator is facilitative in that they manage the interaction between parties and facilitates open communication. Mediation is also evaluative in that the mediator analyzes issues and relevant norms ("reality-testing"), while refraining from providing prescriptive advice to the parties. Due to its voluntary nature, a person cannot be compelled to use mediation to resolve their dispute. However, a suggestion from the Court may be difficult to resist.
Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam, better known as J. B. Jeyaretnam or by his initials JBJ, was a Singaporean politician and lawyer. A former member of the opposition Workers' Party, he served as the party's secretary-general between 1971 and 2001. He was also the de facto Leader of the Opposition between 1981 and 1986 when he won a by-election in Anson SMC and served as a Member of Parliament between 1981 and 1986. He was also a Non-constituency Member of Parliament between 1997 and 2001.
The legal system of Singapore is based on the English common law system. Major areas of law – particularly administrative law, contract law, equity and trust law, property law and tort law – are largely judge-made, though certain aspects have now been modified to some extent by statutes. However, other areas of law, such as criminal law, company law and family law, are almost completely statutory in nature.
The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) is an international arbitration institution established in 1966 for legal dispute resolution and conciliation between international investors and States. ICSID is part of and funded by the World Bank Group, headquartered in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It is an autonomous, multilateral specialized institution to encourage international flow of investment and mitigate non-commercial risks by a treaty drafted by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development's executive directors and signed by member countries. As of May 2016, 153 contracting member states agreed to enforce and uphold arbitral awards in accordance with the ICSID Convention.
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) is a non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom. Its purpose is to improve organisations and working life through the promotion and facilitation of strong industrial relations practice. Acas provides employment law and employment relations advice for employers and employees through its website and helpline. It also offers dispute resolution services such as arbitration or mediation, although the service is perhaps best known for its collective conciliation function – that is resolving disputes between groups of employees or workers, often represented by a trade union, and their employers.
International arbitration is arbitration between companies or individuals in different states, usually by including a provision for future disputes in a contract.
Tan Lee Meng is an emeritus professor in the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law. He was first appointed as a Judicial Commissioner on 2 February 1997, and then appointed Judge in August 1997, serving until he reached the mandatory retirement age of 65 on 7 July 2013. He also completed two consecutive three-year terms of service as a Senior Judge of the Supreme Court of Singapore. He returned to the NUS after his time in the judiciary, having made "outstanding contributions to the Supreme Court, the Legal Service and the legal profession." At the time of his appointment, Tan was the first ever academic to be appointed to the Supreme Court and his judgments were said to be "instructive, soundly reasoned, and easy to grasp."
Belinda Ang Saw Ean is a Singaporean judge of the Court of Appeal. Ang received her Bachelor of Laws from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth in 1976 and her Master of Laws from the University College London. She was appointed Judicial Commissioner in February 2002, Judge of the Supreme Court in January 2003, Judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in January 2021, and Justice of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court in November 2022. Prior to these appointments, she joined Godwin & Co in 1980 and was made junior partner in 1983. She founded Ang & Partners in 1985, and was appointed Senior Counsel in 1998. She is a member of the senate and executive committee of the Singapore Academy of Law, and is chairperson of the Singapore Mediation Centre.
Arbitration is a formal method of dispute resolution involving a neutral third party who makes a binding decision. The third party neutral renders the decision in the form of an 'arbitration award'. An arbitration decision or award is legally binding on both sides and enforceable in the courts, unless all parties stipulate that the arbitration process and decision are non-binding.
Collaborative law, also known as collaborative practice, divorce, or family law, is a legal process through which couples who have decided to separate or end their marriage work together with a team of collaboratively trained professionals including lawyers, divorce coaches, and financial professionals to achieve a settlement that meets the needs of both parties and their children without the need for litigation. The process allows parties to obtain a fair settlement while minimizing the time, cost, uncertainty, and acrimony that can accompany a litigious divorce or separation. Couples initiate this voluntary process by signing a contract binding each other to the process and disqualifying their respective lawyer's right to represent either one in any future family-related litigation.
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), or external dispute resolution (EDR), typically denotes a wide range of dispute resolution processes and techniques that parties can use to settle disputes with the help of a third party. They are used for disagreeing parties who cannot come to an agreement short of litigation. However, ADR is also increasingly being adopted as a tool to help settle disputes within the court system.
A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to transfer any of those at a future date. The activities and intentions of the parties entering into a contract may be referred to as contracting. In the event of a breach of contract, the injured party may seek judicial remedies such as damages or equitable remedies such as specific performance or rescission. A binding agreement between actors in international law is known as a treaty.
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