Recently, I have become an owner of two hectares of land in protected natural area which I intend to plant with trees. I was inspired to this by a wonderful book that I read some ten years ago. Though, it is neither about dispute resolution, nor about mediation, it contains pearls of wisdom which make…
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…
The Olympics have come and gone with all of the emotion and inspiration they bring. In our recent, fully-subscribed, residential Summer School on mediation skills for leaders, we reflected on the learning from Rio. We watched a video replay of the men’s taekwondo -80kg final in which Team GB’s Lutalo Muhammad lost to his Ivory…
Despite some scepticism about the value of “roleplay” most mediation training involves asking people to run a pretend mediation session. I’ve tried various euphemisms to ease trainees’ anxiety – “skills practice”, “simulation”, “sitting with conflict” – but none seems to make it any less daunting. You can read about this activity, watch others do it,…
Perhaps we shouldn’t be too surprised by the whole Brexit affair. I’m not talking about the result of the vote itself, but about the referendum process, the behaviour it engendered, and its aftermath. All the classic features were present. Classic features of what? Well, of binary processes. Those that offer a win/lose, yes/no, remain/leave…
The next session of the UNCITRAL Working Group II that will continue to consider whether there should be a convention to enforce commercial cross-border mediation settlements will be in Vienna, Austria the week of September 19, 2016. On September 21, there will be a free evening program when 2 panels will answer questions relating to…
On 15 February 2016, the European platform for solving disputes arising out of online purchases (https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/odr)the ODR Platform, based on EU Regulation 524/2013 (the Regulation) was officially launched. The platform enables EU consumers and traders to settle their disputes by putting them in touch with the ADR providers selected by Member States. This platform is…
To the extent that a mediator’s job involves listening to people complain and engage in negative behaviour, mediators face a serious mental health hazard. Research shows that listening to ongoing negativity impairs the brain function of the listener. Yes! Listening can be bad for you if you have a whinging party in the room, and…
Mediation Awareness Week in Ireland! 19th -23rd October 2015 In most jurisdictions, when people find themselves dispute, they think “I’ll phone my lawyer”. This is certainly the case in Ireland. When faced with marriage breakdown, a breach of contract, an employment issue, the default port of call is still legal proceedings, and people make an…
Catching up on a few episodes of Game of Thrones recently, I was enjoying the string-pulling, manipulation and orchestration being engaged in by almost everyone in the fictional world of Westeros. None of the rulers really make their own decisions, all are influenced and steered by others who all have their own agendas. Some do…
