The ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR has published an interesting report on “Facilitating Settlement in International Arbitration” (“Report”), which provides guidance on the effective use of mediation within arbitration proceedings, as well as on other manners of facilitating settlement by arbitrators. The ICC has been promoting mediation – within the framework of its mainstream…

This blog was written by Petra Drgoňová (Lawyer & International Accredited Mediator) and Constantin Adi Gavrilă. Gender equality, the state of men and women having equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities, represents a vital prerequisite for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. The relevance of gender equality has been recognized by major societal actors across numerous…

In today’s ever-changing world, the pursuit of social peace and harmony remains a fundamental goal. One of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Goal 16, specifically focuses on promoting peace, justice, and strong institutions. This goal reflects the global commitment to fostering societies that are just, peaceful and inclusive. In this article, we will…

Unless we ourselves are involved, whether as mediators, advisors, parties or support persons, we do not often find out what happened in a mediation because communications between the participants are predominantly confidential and “without prejudice”, so evidence of who said what to whom is inadmissible in court proceedings. One of the few exceptions in New…

Metaphorically speaking mediators will often invite parties to a conflict to get into each other’s shoes to try to help broaden perspectives and deepen understanding of concerns, issues and needs to help generate options for resolving the dispute. Philosopher John Rawls used a thought experiment which in some respects builds on this idea but takes…

Ms Machimdhorn Khampiranont (“MA”) is the Acting Managing Director of Thailand Arbitration Center (“THAC”), which has been set up to support and provide neutral and independent alternative dispute resolution services of international standards. Prior to holding the present position as THAC’s Acting Managing Director, MA was initially appointed as THAC’s Registrar and subsequently became the…

    For the past 2 weeks I have been teaching an intensive postgraduate class on interest-based negotiation. Most of the group were international students who, until now, had been undertaking their studies online and in their own countries. Despite this country’s reputation as a safe place many were finding Australia and Australian ways difficult…

Ongoing debates about the introduction of mandatory mediation (UK and Bulgaria) or widening the scope of mandatory mediation (Italy, Turkey, and India) prove the relevance of this topic across the EU and beyond. Mandatory mediation is no longer solely a categorical statutory referral to mediation but is rather evolving into an increasingly diverse range of…

This article was prepared by Mahmoud Arif and Constantin-Adi Gavrilă. Picture any school in any community in the world, and you are sure to imagine a group of children learning and playing. Whenever there is interaction, there will always be room for conflict. How do children manage conflict? This question is difficult to answer, as…

In 2017, I wrote one of my most read articles on Kluwer: Elementary my dear Watson! At that time, artificial intelligence (AI) had already invaded our lives and much was being discussed about its potential to replace human beings. In my article, I wondered about the possibility of AI replacing the mediator. And the answer,…