On 7 August, 2019, at a solemn ceremony held in Singapore within the High Level Conference on Mediation with the participation of representatives from over 70 countries, Ukraine’s Minister of Justice signed the UN Conventionon International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (the Convention) on behalf of Ukraine. Ukraine has become one of the 46 signatories to this important international treaty. Its implementation will enhance the role of mediation as an alternative to arbitration for the settlement of international commercial disputes, and will generally have a positive impact on the development of international trade.
Though there is no separate law on mediation in Ukraine, to implement the provisions of the Convention in due course, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine established a Working Group on developing steps towards the ratification of the UN Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation. The Working Group includes government officials, scholars, mediators, as well as the representatives of the International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ukraine – Vice President of ICAC at UCCI Inna Yemelianova and Advisor to the President of the ICAC at the UCCI Olga Kostyshyna.
The Working Group is tasked to develop amendments to the national legislation for the effective application of the Convention in Ukraine.
The ratification of the Convention contributes to strengthening the investment climate, reducing dispute resolution costs for business and lowering the case load of the Ukrainian courts.