India needs strong pool of international mediators: Singapore International Mediation Centre

Singapore: India must build a strong pool of international mediators to manage trade and contract disputes as its economy expands at 6.5 per cent, said a top official from Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC).

“We are seeing an increasing number of mediation cases from India, which is a global market and a leading member of the global supply chain. This means there is an urgent need to build mediation capacity in the country,” SIMC Chief Executive Officer Chuan Wee Meng told PTI on Friday.

He noted that mediation is becoming the preferred way to resolve disputes as it is quicker and less costly than arbitration. SIMC, which has handled cases from 68 jurisdictions, plans to resume training programmes for international mediators, including law experts from India, to meet the growing demand.

The centre has previously conducted two such sessions in India in 2018 and 2023.

Chuan said SIMC has worked with Indian organisations such as CAMP Mediation, Mediation Mantras and the International Arbitration and Mediation Centre in Hyderabad to promote dispute resolution.

India, he added, has taken major steps by amending the Commercial Courts Act in 2018 and passing the Mediation Act 2023 to institutionalise mediation as a primary dispute resolution tool.

Indian parties are the second-largest users of SIMC services, accounting for 8.4 per cent of its overseas clients. “This reflects Indians’ preference for Singapore’s capabilities in managing mediation cases,” Chuan said.

He added that Singapore offers a neutral ground for Indian businesses to resolve cross-border disputes and predicted stronger engagement once India ratifies the UN-backed Singapore Convention on Mediation, which it signed in 2019.

The Singapore International Arbitration Centre, a sister body with an office in Mumbai, remains a popular arbitration venue for Indian companies, underlining the growing partnership between the two countries in commercial dispute resolution.