Mediation is already here, and it came to stay. Each day there are more and more supporters of mediation – from legislators to public institutions, and professionals who are gaining more awareness about the potential of mediation. However, it also has a long way to go. Those who decided to start working in the field…

It’s a no brainer, right? Of course mediation should be free, then many more people would use it, it would solve the problem of court waiting lists and huge legal aid bills right? Shouldn’t it? Or should it. What does free really mean? Free for whom? These questions arise out of the current debate here…

The European Company Law Special Issue on mediation and corporate disputes focuses on the law and practice of mediation for corporate disputes in different European countries (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain and the UK). Contributors are both academics and experienced practitioners active in the field of mediation. They are: • for Austria:…

I am at my desk, an hour after the conclusion of a really fascinating event here in Edinburgh, in which my colleague, Charlie Woods, and I acted as mediators in a simulation of a mediated process involving 10 delegations representing different interests in the current Brexit negotiations. With over 50 participants, allocated randomly to one…

In the past few years Singapore has been busy revising, refining and extending its dispute resolution offerings in cross-border litigation, arbitration and mediation. In 2017 Singapore offers international parties a full suite of dispute resolution services for commercial cross-border disputes. The Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) is well-established, having been founded in 1991, and Singapore…

In November 2013, the Ministry of Law Working Group on International Commercial Mediation delivered its report on developing international commercial mediation in Singapore. Amongst the key recommendations in this report were the creation of a mediation service provider for international matters (the Singapore International Mediation Centre), the creation of a mediation accreditation body (the Singapore…

* The views expressed here are entirely my own! Nine years after its conception by the Law Reform Commission, a draft Mediation Law, the Mediation Bill 2017, was officially presented to the Irish parliament by the Minister for Justice this week and the debate on its provisions was thereby initiated. Rafal Morek has outlined what…

When building the Brazilian capital, Brasilia, in the fifties, Juscelino Kubitschek’s expression “50 years in 5” became famous. He was referring to the country’s expected development. Maybe a sort of analogy – ten years in one – could be used to describe the recent developments in alternative dispute resolution in Brazil. If compared to other…

“Doubt is not a pleasant condition but certainty is an absurd one.” These words of Voltaire are as apt today as they were when he wrote them in the 18th century. I don’t know about you but this year seems to be a curious mixture where some people purport to deal in apparent certainties, which…