A voluntary, without-prejudice process for reaching a negotiated settlement, with a structured route to making that settlement enforceable across borders.
Mediation under the Solomaris Mediation Rules is voluntary and without prejudice — no statement, admission, or proposal made during mediation may be relied upon in any later arbitration or litigation over the same dispute. Parties may select a Mediator jointly from the Solomaris certified roster, or agree to a verifiable-random-function draw instead. Where mediation does not produce a settlement, either party may proceed to, or resume, arbitration under the Solomaris Arbitration Rules without further reference to the mediation.
A settlement reached under the Solomaris Mediation Rules may be recorded as a consent Award under the Solomaris Arbitration Rules — giving it the same New York Convention enforceability, in 172 states, as an Award on the merits. Direct enforcement under the 2019 Singapore Convention on Mediation is also available, but its coverage is materially thinner today: roughly sixty states have signed it, far fewer have ratified, and neither the EU nor any member state has signed. The UAE has publicly committed, with ADGM's support, to becoming a signatory, and Saudi Arabia and Qatar have already ratified — a better regional picture than the global one, but not a substitute for the consent-Award route.
The recommended structure for most commercial agreements: the parties first attempt mediation under a defined time limit, and if the dispute is not resolved within that period, either party may refer it to arbitration under the Solomaris Arbitration Rules. This does not cost the right to a binding outcome — it gives every dispute a real chance to settle cheaply before either side commits to arbitration.
"The parties shall first attempt to resolve any dispute arising out of or relating to this Agreement by mediation administered under the Solomaris Mediation Rules. If the dispute is not resolved within [30] days of the Request for Mediation, either party may thereafter refer the dispute to arbitration administered by Solomaris Arbitration under the Solomaris Arbitration Rules."