A win-win option for all

THIS WEEK'S TOPIC: What is the biggest consideration for a business when seeking to resolve a commercial dispute? How will the new Singapore Convention on Mediation affect the decision?

Yeoh Oon Jin Executive Chairman PwC Singapore

Disputes are generally viewed as distractions for businesses who prefer their management to concentrate on expansion and growth. Thus, when a business is faced with a commercial dispute, the aim is usually to quickly resolve the matter with minimal time, resources and reputational damage. While court litigation and arbitration offer binding and enforceable solutions, such processes are usually adversarial and enable only one side to win the case. Where parties are willing to mediate and negotiate terms of settlement, it is more likely that they will be able to achieve a win-win solution as the Singapore Convention on Mediation offers them greater certainty of enforcing such agreement in all signatory countries.