Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

acceptedVersion

Publication Date

9-2025

Abstract

Private settlements have been consistently encouraged by the Singapore civil justice system. Depending on the context, the settlement may take on many forms, including consent orders and settlement agreements. This begs the question of whether the exact form of settlement matters, or whether a settlement “by any other name” suffices. This article proposes the concept of “sustainable settlements” – comprising the measures of ease of enforcement, finality, and confidentiality – to holistically appraise the effectiveness of settlement mechanisms. The assessment of six settlement mechanisms using these measures clearly indicates that not every mechanism is equally sustainable. Exploring settlement amidst the increasingly complex dispute resolution landscape thus requires greater prudence in the choice of settlement mechanisms, that is informed by both the context as well as jurisprudence concerning enforceability, finality and confidentiality.

Keywords

settlement agreement, consent order, sustainable settlements, negotiation, mediation, arbitration, Singapore Convention

Discipline

Dispute Resolution and Arbitration

Research Areas

Dispute Resolution

Publication

Singapore Law Journal (Lexicon)

First Page

1

Last Page

33

ISSN

2737-5048

Publisher

Singapore Management University School of Law

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