SINGAPORE: Community mediation is set to take on a bigger
role with changes expected to the law to strengthen the use of
mediation.
You may remember the Everitt Road saga, where as many as seven
families were involved in a dispute which attracted much public
attention.
Such spats could be resolved by having the police refer disputes
between neighbours to Community Mediation Centres. The aim is to
engage the wider community.
And that is what the Home Affairs Ministry will do by developing
community-based solutions to deal with community-related
problems.
It will also explore more streamlined processes for dealing with
the growing number of issues on the ground. This is also to ensure
police resources are deployed efficiently.
Taking it further, the Ministry of Law will increase public
awareness when it comes to community mediation by highlighting the
advantages as well as the process of mediation. More training will
be given to community mediators to further advance their
skills.
With the face of terrorism constantly evolving, the various
agencies will also continue to coordinate and collaborate to deal
with the issue.
The Law Ministry says it will continue to build upon Singapore's
positioning as an international arbitration venue of choice.
Leveraging heritage and technology, Maxwell Chambers is the world's
first integrated dispute resolution complex, housing hearing
facilities as well as leading international arbitral institutions
and practitioners.
The chambers will have 14 fully-equipped hearing rooms, 12
preparation rooms and a full suite of supporting services, such as
recording, transcription, catering, concierge and
secretarial.
Maxwell Chambers will host the inaugural Singapore International
Arbitration Forum (SIAF) 2010 from January 21 to 22, 2010, in
Singapore.
The event is co-organised by the Singapore International
Arbitration Centre and supported by the International Chamber of
Commerce, the International Centre for Dispute Resolution
Singapore, the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the Singapore
Institute of Arbitrators.
The SIAF 2010 will bring together some of the world's most
respected and influential figures in international arbitration for
an open dialogue and exchange of information, best practices, views
and insights on critical issues facing the industry around the
central theme, "The Future for International Arbitration".
The Ministry of Law and Ministry of Information, Communication and
the Arts are jointly leading efforts to develop a national spatial
data infrastructure called the Singapore Geospatial Collaborative
Environment (SG-SPACE).
Under a three-year masterplan, SG-SPACE will facilitate greater
sharing and use of geospatial information for both government
agencies and the private sector through investments to create a
geospatial information exchange system.
The Law Ministry says better access to geospatial information will
help in areas such as security and emergency planning and
operations, communicable disease control and management, public
healthcare planning, environmental and climate change
monitoring.
- CNA/yt