Law minister K. Shanmugam on Thursday told 260 mediators and lawyers at the opening of the inaugural Asian Mediation Association Conference that 81 per cent of the 1,911 parties surveyed from 1997 and March said they saved costs, and 85 per cent of them saved time.

Since it began operations in 1997, the SMC has mediated 1,422 cases involving $1.7 billion of disputed assets. Of these, 75 per cent were settled, and of the resolved cases, more than 90 per cent were settled within a day.

The response from lawyers was equally positive. Out of the 1,590 lawyers who responded to the survey, 82 per cent noted that their clients were likely to have saved costs and 81 per cent felt their clients had saved time.

'What I think is most heartening, however, is this: 93 per cent of the parties and 98 per cent of the lawyers said that they would recommend the use of mediation to others in similar situations,' added Mr Shanmugam, who is also the Second Minister of Home Affairs.

The delegates from Asean countries as well as United States, Europe, South America, Australia and New Zealand are attending the two-day conference at the Marina Mandarin hotel to promote mediation as a cost-efficient way to resolve disputes.

Titled Mediation Diversity - Asia & Beyond, the conference is hosted by the Singapore Mediation Centre.

Former President Martti Ahtisaari of Finland shared his experiences in helping to mediate peace in Aceh in 2005. He said that a peace agreement was only the beginning.

'Post conflict reconciliation is an equally vital part of the peace process. The hard work only begins after a peace agreement has been signed,' he added.