Author ORCID Identifier
0000-0002-5453-6703
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2019
Keywords
Treaty-making process, Singapore Convention, International treaties, Dispute System Design, International commercial mediation
Abstract
Although specialists in international law are well-versed with the formalities associated with negotiating an international treaty, little if anything is known or written about how national and international actors decide to develop and pursue particular proposals for new international instruments. Indeed, the initial process of · determining which ideas to develop is almost entirely hidden from public view, even though these choices are critical to international law and policy, "since whoever controls the agenda has control over the scope of the governance system and its ability to change over time."
This Article seeks to provide insights into the "black box" of early treaty-making processes by undertaking a case study of the development of the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, known colloquially as the Singapore Convention on Mediation (Singapore Convention). The discussion focuses on several issues that have seldom been addressed in the legal literature, including the way in which a proposal for an international treaty makes its way to the relevant decision-makers and how those decision-makers determine which of the various alternatives to pursue. The analysis also considers how interested individuals can assist the treaty-proposing process, particularly if they are not a member of a non-governmental organization ("NGO").
When considering these issues, this Article contemplates the role that dispute system design (Section II) and empirical research (Section III) played in the early development of the Singapore Convention before turning to questions relating to how interested individuals can assist the development of international instruments, using the Singapore Convention as a case study (Section IV). The Article then ties together the various strands of analysis and provides some observations about how the various techniques described herein can be applied to future projects (Section V).
First Page
1103
Publication Title
Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution
Recommended Citation
S. I. Strong, The Role of Empirical Research and Dispute System Design in Proposing and Developing International Treaties: A Case Study of the Singapore Convention on Mediation, 20 Cardozo J. Conflict Resol. 1103 (2019).
Included in
Comparative and Foreign Law Commons, Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Commons, International Law Commons, International Trade Law Commons
