ABSTRACT
Private settlements have been consistently encouraged by the Singapore civil justice system. Depending on the context, the settlement may take on many forms, including consent orders and settlement agreements. This begs the question of whether the exact form of settlement matters, or whether a settlement ‘by any other name’ suffices. This article proposes the concept of ‘sustainable settlements’ – comprising the measures of ease of enforcement, finality, and confidentiality – to holistically appraise the effectiveness of settlement mechanisms. The assessment of six settlement mechanisms using these measures clearly indicates that not every mechanism is equally sustainable. Exploring settlement amidst the increasingly complex dispute resolution landscape thus requires greater prudence in the choice of settlement mechanisms, that is informed by both the context as well as jurisprudence concerning enforceability, finality and confidentiality
Quek Anderson, Dorcas, A Settlement by ‘Any Other Name’: Evaluating the Sustainability of Settlement Mechanisms (July 10, 2025), Singapore Management University School of Law Research Paper Forthcoming.
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