Teresa Cheng
Secretary-General of the International Organization for Mediation (IOMed)
Former Secretary for Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR)
Chief Justice Zhang Jun, distinguished judges and members of the International Commercial Expert Committee, colleagues from international organizations, ladies and gentlemen,
It is a privilege to join you at this important gathering in my new capacity as Secretary General of the International Organization for Mediation (IOMed). It is still a very young organization, but it was created for a very old and fundamental purpose: peaceful settlement of disputes. Article 33 of the United Nations Charter expressly places mediation amongst the means by which disputes should be resolved peacefully, and forms a fundamental basis for our work.
The International Organization for Mediation (IOMed) is the world’s first intergovernmental legal organization dedicated to resolving international disputes through mediation. It is established based on the Convention on the Establishment of the IOMed which was opened for signature on 30 May 2025, entered into force on 29 August 2025, and IOMed commenced operations on 20 October 2025.
Our purpose is to promote and facilitate the peaceful settlement of international disputes through mediation, and in doing so to strengthen friendly relations and cooperation among States. In practical terms, we want to help build a global mediation ecosystem.
How can that be achieved? I would highlight three areas.
First, promotion. We are actively bringing mediation to a wider international audience. We have hosted activities such as the Global Mediation Summit in Hong Kong SAR, which brought together over 1,000 participants from more than 60 countries and regions. Step by step, these activities help build awareness, practical understanding and a stronger international mediation community.
Secondly, case administration. IOMed can administer three categories of disputes: State-to State, disputes between national of a state and another state such as investor-State disputes and thirdly, international commercial. We have two sets of mediation rules, one for State-to-State mediation and one for commercial and investment mediation. We also maintain two Panels of Mediators: a State-to-State Panel and a General Panel. Mediators on the two Panels are designated by Contracting States and the Governing Council, with due regard to representation of principal legal systems, geographical diversity and gender balance.
Consent remains the foundation of mediation. Under the IOMed Commercial & Investment Mediation Rules, Article 8 provides the route where the parties already have an Agreement to Mediate in the base contract or where the parties enter into a stand-alone agreement to refer an existing dispute to mediation. Article 9 provides another route where no prior agreement exists: one party may make an Offer to Mediate via the IOMed to which the other party may respond by filing an Acceptance to Mediate form. The IOMed can explain the process of mediation and the services of IOMed with a view to help parties to reach consent to mediate but leaving the decision on the party whether to accept.
We have administered a few cases and there are more than 1 success stories. In early May, an international maritime dispute involving parties from China and Singapore was successfully resolved through an IOMed-administered mediation in Hong Kong SAR, resulting in a written settlement agreement. With the consent of the parties and mediator, the result was announced at the Global Mediation Summit and was subsequently reported publicly.
Thirdly, capacity building. The IOMed Convention expressly recognises and gives priority to the needs of developing countries in this area. Our work therefore goes beyond administering cases; we also help States and practitioners develop the skills needed to use mediation effectively. Our first IOMed Seminar was held in Hong Kong SAR in May.8 We followed it with online State-to-State mediation training in June and online investor-State mediation training in July. As announced earlier this year, these online programmes are to be followed by in-person training in Hong Kong SAR in November. We want capacity building to be practical, continuous and international.
Let me turn to the relationship between mediation institutions and courts. The CICC’s One Stop Guidelines establish a structured procedural framework for cooperation between the Court and international commercial mediation institutions. Parties may choose mediation, while the CICC may also coordinate and entrust cases to an institution. Settlements may then be reviewed and embodied in a civil mediation document or judgment. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss with CICC collaboration to assist in the resolution of international disputes.
I also welcome the SPC’s 2025 policy direction to improve the judicial-confirmation mechanism for international commercial mediation agreements and to strengthen cooperation with IOMed. The 2026 Regulations on Commercial Mediation further strengthen this mediation-court linkage by providing for judicial confirmation of commercial mediation agreements. As the above framework develops, I hope that IOMed can become part of it, so that IOMed-mediated settlements can move smoothly from mediation to judicial support in China.
This judicial confirmation mechanism provides a domestic legal procedure to ensure that where a settlement agreement is not voluntarily complied with, it can be enforced. Internationally the Singapore Convention on Mediation plays a pivotal role which enables cross-border enforcement to be sought under that Convention. This not only ensures enforcement it actually promotes the use of mediation. Even if it is not invoked as mediated settlement agreement tends to be complied with, this legal framework is indispensable to give confidence to parties to use mediation.
This brings me to the broader picture. If I may use a simple analogy, the Singapore Convention is part of the “software” of the international mediation system. It provides a harmonised legal framework for invoking and enforcing qualified international commercial settlement agreements. IOMed supplies institutional “hardware”: a permanent Secretariat, rules, panels, facilities, case administration and capacity-building infrastructure that is dedicated exclusively to promoting mediation. Software and hardware perform different functions, but each becomes indispensable and increase in functionality when synergy is cradled and created. They are therefore complementary, working to a common goal – wider use of mediation in international disputes. The two conventions are therefore two important pillars both jointly supporting the cause of mediation.
The third but inspirational pillar is the general international legal regime that has been there for states to adopt when desirous of promoting the use of mediation. UNCITRAL has supported mediation through devising and updating its Mediation Rules, Model Law on Mediation and, more recently, through Working Group III’s work on mediation in international investment disputes. ICSID in the meantime updated the Conciliation Rules and introduced the new Mediation Rules for investment disputes in 2022.
Together, these initiatives all converge and merge into the noble cause of creating a global mediation ecosystem.
That is why international cooperation is not simply desirable for IOMed but all who is desirous of resolving disputes peacefully through mediation. Our mandate of IOMed expressly includes cooperation and communication with other international organizations and dispute-resolution bodies. We aim to complement and cooperate, and not to replace nor create aggression.
I would like to emphasize the point that no single convention, court or institution can create a global culture of mediation alone. A genuine mediation ecosystem needs rules that give confidence, institutions that provide services, courts that support outcomes, professionals who have the necessary skills, and States willing to participate and cooperate. IOMed intends to be a practical part of that network.
Our ambition is therefore not to stand apart, but to work together internationally: to make mediation more accessible, more credible and more effective, and ultimately to make peaceful dispute resolution a more natural choice in international relations and international commerce and investment.
Thank you.
