EU Directive on Mediation, EU Mediation Directive, harmonisation of mediation law, Judges as mediators, Legislation, Mediation Act, National Mediation Laws

(CMS)/ /Leave a comment

Finally, after a long parliamentary struggle, the German Mediation Act (Gesetz zur Förderung der Mediation und anderer Verfahren der außergerichtlichen Konfliktbeilegung) was signed into law by the President of the Federal Republic (Bundespräsident) on July 21, 2012. Four days later it was published in the Federal Gazette (Bundesgesetzblatt) BGBl. I, 2012, S. 1577, and came…

Clients, Commercial Mediation, Lawyers, Switzerland

(Esprit d’entente)/ /1 Comment

What is the possible role of the lawyer in a commercial mediation? How the lawyer should interact with his client in the mediation process? Here are some thoughts for using the lawyer as a positive element in the mediation involving a commercial dispute. Before mediation The lawyer should, as far as possible, facilitate transactional solutions…

General, Humorous Pieces, mediation as a career, Mediation Practice, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Skills

(Sabine Walsh Mediation)/ /Leave a comment

This time of year in Ireland (August) is referred to by many as “the silly season”. Courts, legal offices and many other public services close for holidays, children get bored having been on holidays for 6 weeks already, people flock to last minute sun holiday destinations as they realise that, yet again, it is going…

Uncategorized

(ADR Center Romania)/ /Leave a comment

According to the latest development in the mediation legislation in Romania approved by the Romanian Parliament and published in the Romanian Official Journal in July 2012 under Law no. 115, in litigations that can form, pursuant to the law, the object of mediation or of another alternative form of conflicts settlement, parties and/or the concerned…

ADR, Business, Court Procedure and Litigation, Efficiency, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.)

(Mediar360 - Dispute Resolution )/ /Leave a comment

Lack of flexibility is probably one of the most difficult obstacles to resolve any dispute. The absence of flexibility, limits the ability to reach agreements and ultimately makes the courts the only place where the dispute can find any kind of resolution. It is weird, therefore, that countries like Brazil have, in their legal systems,…

Commercial Mediation, Conflict, Impasse, Mediation Outcomes, Playbook, Skills, Success in mediation

(Weiler ADR Inc.)/ /3 Comments

Often when I’m mediating a difficult case; the parties, running hot, miles apart and showing no sign of movement, an inner voice whispers softly to me, “it’s just not ripe for settlement.” It’s an attractive concept because it lets me off the hook. Nothing to be done here until the case ripens. I might as…

Decision making, Litigation, Mediation Practice, Negotiation, Neuroscience, Social intelligence

(First Mediation Corporation)/ /Leave a comment

How many times have you confronted the mediator before the session begins with this question: “You’re not going to do a joint session are you? I don’t l think it will be productive.” The conventional wisdom in such a request is to avoid a moot court debate in which counsel are forced to advocate strong…

ADR, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, General, Mentoring, Training, Transformation

(National University of Singapore, Faculty of Law)/ /2 Comments

Part of my June was spent preparing for and being involved in a peer mediation initiative in Singapore called Peacemakers. This project was first run in 2010 and had as its purpose the goal of bringing the ideas of mediation and collaborative problem solving to young people. This initiative saw students (aged between 13 to…

Apologies, Causes of Conflict, Clients, Conflict, Cross-cultural, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Mediation Practice, Memory and Illusions, peace negotiations, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Survivor, Transformation, Uncategorized, War Stories

(University of Strathclyde)/ /1 Comment

I find myself writing this blog from South Africa, at the annual conference of the International Association of Conflict Management – http://www.iacm-conflict.org/. It is a fantastic melting pot of ideas, bringing together a range of cultures and identities. Cultures, at first sight, seem to describe national and group identities: South African, American, French, Dutch, Tanzanian,…

ADR, Legislation, National Mediation Laws, Regulation, UNCITRAL Model Law

(CMS)/ /Leave a comment

On Friday 22 June 2012, the National Council of Bhutan unanimously enacted the Alternative Dispute Resolution Bill. As a result, the Kingdom of Bhutan joined the group of jurisdictions with a mediation/ADR-friendly regulatory framework. Bhutan is a small country, located on the southern slopes of the eastern Himalayas, populated by only approx. 700,000 people. Bhutanese…