What's in a Name? The Terms "Commercial" and "Mediation" in the Singapore Convention on Mediation

One could interpret Shakespeare's famous quote as standing for the proposition that labels do not alter the essence of the thing named. In this article I draw inspiration from the quote to provide a foil for examining the use of the terms "commercial" and "mediation" in the Singapore Convention and Mediation Model Law. I will consider how the terms are framed and defined, the extent to which the names and their associated meanings introduce new ideas, and how their use might matter for the interpretation of important concepts in these instruments. Part I of the article discusses the term "commercial" and compares the way UNCITRAL treats the concept in the Convention and the Mediation Model Law.

Part II considers UNCITRAL's introduction of the term "mediation" as a substitute for "conciliation."