- Foreign Counsel and Mediators: The Act removes the restrictions on the practice of Singapore law for mediation counsel and mediators in mediations administered by an approved mediation service provider or a certified mediator. New Mediation Bill for Ireland The Mediation Bill 2017 was published on 13 February 2017 and contains proposals for a statutory framework to promote the resolution of disputes through mediation as an alternative to litigation or as an option where court proceedings are ongoing. Arbitration Act proceedings, disputes subject to statutory employment dispute resolution processes, matters under tax and customs legislation and proceedings under the Child Care Act and the Domestic Violence Act are excluded. Practising solicitors will be required to advise clients to consider mediation as an alternative to court proceedings. For this purpose, they must provide clients with information on mediation services, including details of mediators, information about the advantages and benefits of mediation and where court proceedings are instituted on behalf of a client, the application must be accompanied by a statutory declaration made by the solicitor confirming that these obligations have been discharged in relation to the client and the proceedings to which the declaration relates. If the declaration is not submitted, the court will adjourn the proceedings until the solicitor complies with the requirements. When awarding costs in such proceedings, a court may, where it considers it just to do so, take into account any unreasonable refusal or failure by a party to consider using mediation, or to attend mediation. The effect of an arbitration agreement on liquidation proceedings The New Zealand and UK Arbitration Acts generally require court proceedings to be stayed if the parties have agreed to resolve disputes through arbitration. In a recent address to the Insolvency Lawyers Association, the new Chancellor of the UK High Court, Sir Geoffrey Vos, discussed briefly the effect of that statutory stay upon winding-up petitions. He observed that there are many cases where a creditor might think that it can show that the debt under the contract is not disputed in good faith, but that creditor is still obliged to go ahead with a lengthy arbitration process because, if it fails to do so, it will be restrained from proceeding with his petition to wind up Vos J explained that contrary to the views of some following his judgment in Changtel Solutions UK Ltd (formerly Enta Technologies Ltd) v Revenue and Customs Commissioners [2015] EWCA Civ 2, he agreed with the leading judgment of his predecessor in Salford Estates (No 2) Ltd v Altomart Ltd (No 2) [2014] EWCA Civ 1575, in which the Court of Appeal concluded that the mandatory stay when there is an agreement to arbitrate does not apply to winding-up petitions. However, the Court considered that (except in exceptional circumstances) when there is a dispute in relation to the existence of a particular debt, the Court should exercise its discretion to stay the winding-up application and compel the parties to resolve the dispute through arbitration.