Last week the long-awaited Irish Mediation Bill was finally published. Its purpose is to introduce a coherent comprehensive regulatory framework for mediation in Ireland. For a number of reasons it is interesting also for international readers. The hitherto mediation regulations in Ireland were criticized not only by experts but also by the local judiciary. In…

Nothing is more fundamental to life than water. Water is also a potent fuel for conflict. Access to water has created many disputes through the ages. Conflicts over water are about scarcity, control, degradation, incompatible use, and quality. Their history goes back to much earlier than 2500 BC, when the city-states of Lagash and Umma…

The Directive 2013/11/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2013 on alternative dispute resolution for consumer disputes (Directive on consumer ADR) obliged Member States to bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with said Directive by 9 July 2015. Today we should hence be celebrating…

If you were unaware that last week was Cyberweek 2014, you missed a chance to take part in the 17th annual online conference dedicated to innovations and development in Online Dispute Resolution (ODR). Its program included 17 live webinars, 8 discussion forums and a variety of other activities to discuss the integration of technology and…

The UK Government seeks to implement “the most significant family justice system reforms in a generation.” In late August it published ‘A Brighter Future for Family Justice’ report, and announced a new program of free mediation sessions for separating couples. It comes as no surprise that this issue is attracting political attention. The statistics speak…

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. The judiciary in the Big Apple took an important step for promotion of mediation. On July 28, the Commercial Division in New York County Supreme Court introduced a pilot mandatory mediation program. In 1993 New York pioneered in creating a specialized commercial court to handle complex business…

On December 4, 2013, the ICC launched the new Mediation Rules which will replace the 2001 ADR Rules as from January 1, 2014. In the words of Hannah Tuempel, Manager of the ICC International Centre for ADR, “there’s no earth-shaking new change to the rules”. At the global launch event last Wednesday, ‘simple’ and ‘flexible’…

The “Italian mediation explosion” attracted a lot of attention from the international mediation community. The mediation explosion came to a sudden halt in December 2012, when the Italian Constitutional Court ruled that the provisions had been unconstitutional. Just recently, on September 20, 2013, a new regulation came into effect, again opting for mandatory mediation, but…