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The Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (hereinafter referred to as the Singapore Convention) entered into force on 12 September 2020. The States’ striking enthusiasm for the Singapore Convention since the day of its enactment and onwards seems to be an encouraging indicator of the increasing use of mediation for the settlement of international commercial disputes. More precisely, the Convention establishes an international legal framework for the enforcement of settlements reached through mediation, and provides for a very limited number of requirements thereon. Hence, and considering that the enforceability of arbitral awards is perceived as arbitration’s most important feature, the cross-border enforceability of the settlement agreements reached through mediation conferred by the Singapore Convention could somehow erode arbitration’s edge. Furthermore, the entry into force of the Singapore Convention will promote the use of mediation in the States comprised within the Belt and Road Initiative, in Europe and in the Asia- Pacific, namely within the construction sector and the shipping industry and also in investor-state disputes insofar as the wording of the Convention leaves room for an extensive interpretation that could encompass such disputes. Investment funds, reserved AIFs, share classes, fair treatment, seniority privilege, minimum interest privilege, non-contagion principle, preferential treatment, shift of wealth

We are experiencing a digital revolution that is changing the very nature of law. Digital code becomes a form of regulation through which private actors link their values to technological artifacts that prove capable of conditioning their operations both on a material and moral level. But technological artifacts appear to be non-neutral means, reflecting choices of different nature, among which those of a political nature stand out. The more the regulatory provisions are implemented through the use of technologies, the more the codes acquire the status of a regulatory technique, which can be used both to define and incorporate regulatory and contractual provisions into codes both to implement them. The impact of the algorithm is of crystal clear relevance not only in regulation but also in the other side of the coin: surveillance. Each new option brought by the development of technology brings new possibilitiesand changes the way humans relate to each other. All these beautiful technological devices that few of us are willing to abandon produce a positive enhancement of the human and new kind of addiction, but also a new slavery”. The algorithmic revolution spills over to society andpublic systems designed to ensure its well-being. So, fiscal consequences of the algorithmic revolution risk, if not governed, to call into question the very foundation of the social pact, to which the fiscal duty is connected as a manifestation of solidarity within an organized community, not only within the borders of the individual State but also in a wider sphere. Legal scholars can face the newest challenges of the present without fear and without nostalgia.But to this purpose he must remove all obstacles to the necessary dialogue between jurists of different backgrounds, between jurists and non-jurists, between jurists and society.

Traditional mediation is conducted in person with all affected parties at a physical ‘table’ with a session is orchestrated by the mediator with the parties and their representatives, often utilizing both joint and caucus sessions. Techniques as subtle as non-verbal cues, and techniques as overt as removing one party from the mediation room can be used. Online dispute resolution (ODR) takes place in ‘cyberspace’, described by the US Supreme Court as the virtual world ‘located in no particular geographic location but available to anyone, anywhere in the world, with access to the Internet’ (Reno v. Aclu, 521 U.S. 844, 849 (1997). ODR differs from traditional mediation in at least three ways relating to the formation and resolution of disputes. It represents a virtual community which deconstructs time, space, and the physical. Because it eliminates and changes boundaries it is important to rethink the traditional paradigms for resolving conflict and create opportunities for design of an interest-based dispute resolution model for the internet. This article discusses the differences between traditional mediation and ODR and with an online mediation conducted like traditional mediation, in which a neutral human third party facilitates discussions between the parties and helps them reach a voluntary settlement.