The Attorney General’s Office has stated that the Singapore Convention on Mediation will be implemented once it becomes law.

The Maldives signed the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, or the Singapore Convention on Mediation, earlier this month.

Speaking to the parliament committee, AG Office’s senior state attorney Sama Ahmed Najeeb said that while the Maldives has signed the agreement, the country will begin adhering to it once the necessary laws are put in place.

She also said that they drafted and submitted the relevant bill to parliament since, according to the Constitution, any law affecting the citizens need to be approved by the parliament, and that the mediation convention will be implemented once the bill becomes law.

She added that, even if Maldives has signed the mediation convention, the country currently has no obligation towards adhering to it.

Responding to questions, she said that the convention will have no affect on the state budget but that economic assessments will be made before implementing it.

According to the UN Commission on International Trade Law, the convention is an instrument for the facilitation of international trade and the promotion of mediation as an alternative and effective method of resolving trade disputes.

According to the UN it aims to “have a global framework that will give businesses greater confidence to settle international disputes through mediation rather than taking them to court, which can be obstructively time consuming and expensive.”