Mediation Cases between Wedding Couples and Vendors Affected by COVID-19 Restrictions
Ministry of LawSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the number and success rate of mediations between wedding couples and vendors affected by COVID-19 restrictions as raised by Mr Darryl David. Minister for Law K Shanmugam explained that while these figures are not centrally tracked, the free MinLaw COVID-19 (Wedding) Mediation Programme was launched on 14 July 2021. This programme assists parties affected by Heightened Alert measures who cannot reach independent agreements by providing trained mediators to facilitate mutually agreeable ways forward. Prior to this, parties utilized the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act for relief, often resolving disputes through a moratorium or personal negotiation. The Minister urged both vendors and couples to exercise fairness and mutual understanding, noting that cooperation is essential to navigating the difficulties caused by pandemic-related restrictions.
Transcript
28 Mr Darryl David asked the Minister for Law (a) how many mediation cases have there been between wedding couples and vendors who are affected by the COVID-19 restrictions in the last 12 months; and (b) how many of these cases have been successful.
Mr K Shanmugam: Mediations between wedding couples and vendors affected by COVID-19 may have taken place with various organisations offering mediation services in the last 12 months. MinLaw is unable to track the number of such mediations and the number of successful settlements arising from such mediations.
Between 20 April 2020 and 31 January 2021, wedding couples and vendors whose wedding events were affected by COVID-19 could seek relief under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act. Some parties secured a moratorium against enforcement action under the Act, and mutually resolved the matter between themselves, including via mediation.
In early May 2021, after the Heightened Alert was announced, some wedding events could not be carried out as contracted due to the tightened safe management measures. MinLaw received feedback that, in many cases, parties were able to work out alternatives amongst themselves, but there were some who were unable to reach an agreement on how to proceed with the contract for the wedding event.
To help wedding couples and vendors affected by the Heightened Alert measures and who have been unable to reach an agreement on how to proceed with the contract for the wedding event, MinLaw introduced the MinLaw COVID-19 (Wedding) Mediation Programme (MCMP) on 14 July 2021. Under the MCMP, a neutral, trained mediator will facilitate discussions between the parties and assist parties to work out a mutually agreeable way forward. Mediation under the MCMP is free-of-charge.
We encourage contracting parties to be fair and reasonable to each other. The COVID-19 restrictions have affected both wedding couples and vendors, and mutual understanding of the difficulties faced will help them reach a better outcome.