Mediation has long offered businesses an attractive proposition: resolve a dispute faster, at lower cost, confidentially and, where possible, without destroying a valuable commercial relationship. Yet one question has continued to concern parties to international transactions: What happens if the other side does not honour the settlement?

That is the problem the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation—the Singapore Convention on Mediation—was designed to address. For the UAE, the move towards accession is therefore more than another development in dispute resolution. It complements the country's ambition to provide international businesses with a sophisticated, predictable and modern legal environment for resolving disputes.

Why Was the Convention Needed? International arbitration has long benefited from the 1958 New York Convention, which provides a widely accepted framework for the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. Mediation did not have an equivalent. A mediated settlement is essentially an agreement voluntarily reached between parties. If one party subsequently refused to perform, the other could face the prospect of commencing proceedings based on breach of that settlement.

The Singapore Convention seeks to address this weakness. Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2018 and opened for signature in Singapore on 7 August 2019, it establishes an international framework through which qualifying commercial settlement agreements resulting from mediation can be relied upon and enforced across borders. Put simply, it seeks to give international mediated settlements something they have historically lacked: greater enforceability and predictability.

Where Does the UAE Stand? The UAE announced its intention to join the Singapore Convention in March 2022. A significant step followed in 2026 with Federal Decree No. 85 of 2026, approving the UAE's accession to the Convention. Domestic approval does not mean the Convention is already operational in the UAE. Under Article 14, the Convention enters into force for a state six months after its instrument of accession is deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Until the UAE completes that process and the prescribed period has elapsed, the Convention's enforcement framework will not apply in the UAE. So businesses should not yet treat the new enforcement mechanism as available.

The UAE has chosen to make use of both reservations permitted under Article 8. First, the Convention will not apply to settlement agreements involving the UAE government, governmental agencies or persons acting on their behalf. Second, and particularly important for businesses, the UAE has adopted the opt-in reservation. The Convention will therefore apply only where the parties have expressly agreed to its application.

Once the Convention becomes effective for the UAE, lawyers drafting international mediated settlements should specifically consider whether their clients want its protection. If they do, the agreement should expressly record the parties' agreement to the application of the Convention. A few carefully drafted words could determine whether an international enforcement mechanism is available. What Does It Mean for Business? Consider a UAE company involved in a substantial dispute with an overseas supplier. The parties mediate, reach a settlement, preserve their commercial relationship and avoid costly proceedings. Then one party fails to perform. The Convention is intended to strengthen that position. Once applicable in the UAE, a party to a qualifying international commercial mediated settlement—where the UAE's opt-in requirement has been satisfied—will be able to seek relief under the Convention in accordance with applicable procedural rules, without first having to obtain a judgment on the settlement or convert it into an arbitral award.

That changes the commercial calculation. The question is no longer simply, "Can we settle?" It also becomes, "If we settle, can we rely upon it internationally?"
Greater confidence in the answer may encourage businesses to mediate earlier, rather than treating mediation as a final attempt after lengthy litigation or arbitration. A valuable alternative. Mediation is often promoted because it can save time and money. But that undersells its real value. Its greatest strength may be flexibility. A court or tribunal generally determines legal rights and remedies. Mediation allows parties to explore solutions that a court may never be able to order. Payment schedules can be renegotiated. Commercial arrangements can be restructured. Future business can be preserved. Confidentiality can be protected. Parties can devise solutions reflecting commercial realities rather than simply legal entitlements.

This is particularly valuable in the UAE, where business relationships frequently cross jurisdictions, cultures and legal systems. A dispute does not always need a winner and a loser. Sometimes the best result allows both sides to move forward. The move towards the Convention is part of a larger story. Over the past two decades, the UAE has developed sophisticated dispute resolution infrastructure. The DIFC Courts, ADGM Courts, arbitration institutions and increasing emphasis on mediation have helped establish the country as an international dispute resolution hub.

The Singapore Convention adds another dimension. Legal certainty matters to investors. Businesses want to know not only what happens when transactions succeed, but what happens when they go wrong. A jurisdiction offering credible litigation, arbitration and mediation mechanisms give businesses meaningful choices. The Convention could also stimulate mediation as a profession in the UAE. Greater confidence in mediated settlements should increase demand for qualified mediators, mediation centres and lawyers skilled in mediation advocacy. Lawyers may also need to adjust their approach. Effective mediation advocacy is not simply litigation conducted around a conference table. It requires understanding interests as well as rights, identifying commercially acceptable outcomes and recognizing when compromise creates greater value than victory. The Convention should not be overstated. It contains grounds on which relief may be refused, including incapacity, issues concerning the validity or binding nature of a settlement, certain serious breaches of mediator standards and public policy considerations.

The UAE's opt-in reservation also means the Convention will not automatically apply to every mediated settlement. Parties must consciously choose it. There is also a emporal limitation. Under Article 9, the Convention applies only to settlement agreements concluded after it enters into force for the relevant Convention Party. Existing settlements will therefore not suddenly acquire Convention protection. These limitations do not diminish its importance. They demonstrate why effective dispute resolution depends not merely on treaties, but also on good drafting, informed lawyers, competent mediators and consistent judicial implementation.

Perhaps the Convention's has been convincing them that mediation offers sufficient certainty when substantial international interests are at stake. A credible cross-border enforcement framework changes that conversation. For the UAE, the development fits naturally with its position as a centre for international trade, investment and dispute resolution. Accession will broaden the options available to international businesses and reinforce the country's commitment to modern commercial dispute resolution.

The real success of the Convention, however, will not be measured by how many lawyers cite it. It will be measured by how many disputes never reach a courtroom or arbitral tribunal because businesses have sufficient confidence to sit across a table, negotiate and compromise—and know that the agreement they sign carries international weight.

Mediation has always offered the possibility of settlement. The Singapore Convention offers something more important: greater confidence in that settlement. And in international commerce, confidence can make all the difference.

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