Mediation is a reality that has come to stay in the dispute resolution sector. Its advantages have been mouthed by all and its relevance continues to expand in scope and depth. Mediation training courses have become best sellers in most jurisdictions as the lawyers and other professionals scramble for knowledge of the process. However, one…
My work as a commercial mediator in Ontario Canada generally involves the resolution of money disputes. The process, most days, starts with a brief joint session during which the lawyers, and sometimes the clients, advocate for their perspective on the dispute. We then break to a caucus format and I become the shuttle diplomat usually…
In this post I want to talk about an important thread that is emerging in the science of the twenty-first century. It is the finding that we are all interconnected, that we are porous beings with the ability to influence not only ourselves but one another in ways not previously contemplated. What we previously knew…
The Problem You have become accustomed to communicating settlement offers through email; Your email efforts have been misunderstood by the other side; In the fast-paced world in which we live, it is easy to get caught up in communicating through electronic channels such as the BlackBerry or the iPhone so that your message is…
Part of my misspent youth was spent on immersing myself in reading about, taking trainings in and practicing Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). Over the years, NLP has affected my thinking about and approach to my training and practice of mediation. Some readers may not be familiar with NLP. I will provide a, necessarily, brief background here…
This week the 5th World Summit on Elder Mediation is taking place in Glasgow: see http://www.eldermediation.ca/styled-2/index.html. It is an inspiring gathering, bringing together mediators from Canada, Ireland, Spain, Switzerland, England and Scotland, all committed to helping older people deal with conflict in a way that is humane and just. The range of issues is daunting…
The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship kicked off yesterday. The final round of the 14th European Championship for national football teams (‘Euro 2012’) is being hosted by Poland and Ukraine between 8 June and 1 July 2012. As the world’s third largest sporting event, the UEFA Championship is equipped with an efficient ADR platform for…
On June 1, 2012, the revised version of the Swiss Rules on International Arbitration entered into force (see the recent following posts on the Kluwer Arbitration Blog: http://wolterskluwerblogs.com/blog/2012/05/31/revised-swiss-rules-of-international-arbitration-enter-into-force/ and http://wolterskluwerblogs.com/blog/2012/06/01/entry-into-force-of-the-revised-swiss-rules-of-international-arbitration-%E2%80%93-1-june-2012/). These new Rules (see text of the Swiss Rules at https://www.swissarbitration.org/sa/en/rules.php), based on the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, were initially enacted in 2004 in order to…
This month I want to share with you a little gem of a mediation book, published late last year by the Irish state-funded Family Mediation Service (FMS). I wanted to review this book for two reasons – first of all, because it is an excellent publication which, though written in the context of the 25th…
As you would expect, judges are appointed for their ability to adjudicate, often untested at the time of elevation to the Bench. Once appointed, many jurisdictions around the world then ask their judges to suspend their adjudication skills in favour of mediating controversies coming before the court, often in an effort to reduce backlogs. And it seems…
