Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.)

ADR, Clients, Commercial Mediation, Costs in Mediation, Court Procedure and Litigation, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Domestic Courts, Efficiency, Enforcement, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Mediation Institutions and Rules, Mediation Practice, Mediation Schemes (In Courts, etc.), Mediation Users/Clients, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Standards

(University of Strathclyde)/ /1 Comment

One of the privileges and perils of working as a mediator in Scotland is that we get a close-up view of developments in England and Wales. In an ideal world this should allow us (pop. 5 million) to learn from them (pop. 55 million): to pick the best innovations and avoid the failures. As I…

ADR, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Practical Challenges for Mediators, Reform, Responsibility of States

(Mediare)/ /1 Comment

The importance of the multidisciplinary approach and the leading role of the parts. Modernity brought about the fragmentation of knowledge and the emergence of different disciplines as well as diversified specializations in several subject areas. This fragmentation enabled people to deepen their knowledge concerning specific issues and made them feel that they could master their…

ADR, Commercial Mediation, Court Procedure and Litigation, Dispute Resolution, Domestic Courts, Europe, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Lawyers, Mediation Reforms (Legislation, etc.), Public Policy, Reform

(University of Strathclyde)/ /5 Comments

Scotland sits on the north-west fringe of Europe, and is probably best known for whisky, rain and heroic failure on football and rugby pitches. While part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, many people don’t realise it has its own legal system. And why should they? Even English publications often talk…

ADR, Australia, Cross-cultural, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, General, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Hong Kong, Med-Arb Clauses, Mediation Practice, Mediators’ Conduct, Online Dispute Resolution (ODR), Practical Challenges for Mediators, Uncategorized

(Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy)/ /Leave a comment

They say that you can take the girl out of Australia but that you can’t take Australia out of the girl. So as an Australian living in Hong Kong, let me leave the east-meets-west stories for another time and begin with the very Australian concept of BYO. It’s a long established tradition in Australia to…

Accreditation, ADR, Availability of Mediators, Clients, Court Procedure and Litigation, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Ethics, EU Mediation Directive, Europe, General, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Lawyers, Legislation, Mediation Act, Mediation Practice, Mediation Reforms (Legislation, etc.), Mediation Schemes (In Courts, etc.), National Mediation Laws, Not-for-Profit Organizations (NGO), Practical Challenges for Mediators, Public Policy, Reform, Regulation, Responsibility of States, Standards, Training

(ADR Center Romania)/ /Leave a comment

As an effect of the Romanian Mediation Law and the EU Directive, for the past years, the mediation profession is growing exponentially in Romania. To date, seven or eight thousand mediators took the basic training and almost three thousand became authorized by the Romanian Mediation Council while the other five thousand were mainly interested in…

Developing the Field, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Hong Kong, Mediation Practice, Regulation

(Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy)/ /Leave a comment

The other day my friend and fellow mediator, Jill Howieson, was showing me pictures of gaps in buildings. Now, these are neither accidental gaps nor defects in buildings. Rather these gaps are very deliberate; they form an essential element of construction design. They are the famous architectural gaps of architect Carlo Scarpa. Scarpa was well-known…

ADR, Business, Commercial Mediation, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Particular Sectors (e.g. Construction, Banking, etc.), War Stories

(CMS)/ /Leave a comment

Patent wars are a perennial hot topic with not only IP experts being familiar with stories of well-known patent disputes. A classic example is perhaps the story of the Wright brothers, who received a patent for their method of flight control in 1906 and fiercely defended it for years afterward, by suing other aviators and…

ADR, Bias, Developing the Field, Ethics, General, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Lawyers, Lawyers and Psychologists, Mediation Practice

(University of Strathclyde)/ /7 Comments

Most mediators are pragmatists. This may not be our reputation, but in reality we wrestle daily with practical matters such as who will do what, when they will do it and how much it will cost. I once taught mediation to a group of therapists. Their ‘soft’ skills (this doesn’t mean easy) were fantastic, actively…

ADR Clauses, Arbitration, Combined Clauses, Conciliation, Dispute Resolution Clause, Enforcement of a Mediation Clause, Enforcement of an ADR Clause, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Legal Issues, Med-Arb Clauses, Mediation Agreement, Switzerland

(Esprit d’entente)/ /1 Comment

On May 16, 2011, the Swiss Supreme Court confirmed a previous ruling on the content and interpretation of a dispute resolution clause that provided for a conciliation attempt prior to resorting to arbitration (decision No. 4A_46/2011, X GmbH v. Y Sàrl, accessible here in French). The clause at stake was drafted as follows (free translation…

General, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.)

(Ministry of Justice, Government of the Republic of Slovenia)/ /Leave a comment

Disputes are like weddings or funerals: they require a serious resolution procedure. As such, mediation procedures have rapidly spread throughout the world. They travel without passport. The rapid evolution of mediation started as a court-annexed or connected procedure, and caused a revolution in the dispute system design of modern civil justice. A multi-door courthouse with…