Throughout the 20th century the arbitration house has dominated the landscape of international commercial dispute resolution. In the 21st century foundations are being laid for construction of a free-standing mediation house in international dispute resolution practice. Meanwhile a closer inspection of arbitration house reveals the ongoing construction of mediation and other ADR windows in its…

With the Rio 2016 Olympics still on some of our minds, mediation in Brazil may seem like a star shining far, far away. However this distance may be closer than we think as Brazil is a country where new approaches and modalities are starting to be used to deal with disputes because, among other things,…

It’s that time of year again! Mediation Awareness Week is about to kick off in Ireland, the UK and many other countries around the world. An enormous range of activities are being held to draw the attention of members of the public to mediation and its potential for resolving disputes. In Ireland alone these include…

This blog synthesises some remarks I have made recently to policy-makers in Scotland. As I reflect on things, there are a lot of issues in the civil justice system in my country which remain of interest and concern. Not least, the number of ordinary folk caught up in the court system, paying a lot of…

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), Government of India, notified the “Companies (Mediation and Conciliation) Rules, 2016” on September 9, 2016. With the publication of these Rules, Central Government introduces a structure of setting up of a panel of mediators or conciliators who will have the role to communicate the view of each party in…

Change, transformation, and peace. These are some of the words that the participants of the project “Mediation: a new tool for dealing with conflicts In Youth Work” stated when we asked them to define their experience during that week. “Mediation: a new tool for dealing with conflicts In Youth Work” was a combined Training Course…

If you have been following this four-part series, you will be aware that Nadja Alexander, Anna Howard and I have been reflecting on a very current subject for the dispute resolution community: the enforceability of international commercial settlement agreements resulting from mediation. This week, the UNCITRAL Working Group II on arbitration and conciliation has been…

The 65th session of the UNCITRAL Working Group II on arbitration and conciliation in Vienna has commenced. Many mediators have been keenly monitoring the Working Group’s deliberations and discussions concerning the enforcement of international commercial settlement agreements resulting from conciliations (iMSAs). An unresolved but crucial question is the exact form that the final instrument should take….