Legal Assessment of the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation Regarding Civil Procedure and Enforcement-Bankruptcy Law

Abstract

The signing ceremony of the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation was held in Singapore on 07 August 2019. As per the Law No. 7282 regarding the Approval of the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation dated 25 February 2021, the Turkish Parliament deemed approval of the Convention suitable, and Presidential Decree No. 3866 dated 21 April 2021 approved the Convention.

The Singapore Convention on Mediation, which [would] became part of Turkish legislation carries some questions in terms of domestic law. This study will assess the Convention in light of Turkish Civil Procedure and Enforcement- Bankruptcy Law. In this context, the study will first provide (1) some information with respect to regulations in the Convention such as (a) the scope of the Convention's application, (b) the enforcement of and reliance on settlement agreements, and (c) grounds for refusing to grant relief, and then discusses the issues of (2) whether or not the Convention applies to settlement agreements resulting from mediation conducted according to Turkish law and (3) how settlement agreements resulting from mediation conducted in a foreign contracting state should be evaluated under Turkish Civil Procedure and Enforcement-Bankruptcy Law regarding (a) the legal nature of settlement agreements and their consequences, (b) the ability to be subject to mediation, and (c) the effect of settlement agreements as a cause of action.