ICSID, International Conciliation, International Law, International Mediation, Investor-state mediation, Singapore, Singapore Convention on Mediation, Uncategorized, United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation

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Singapore is widely known as a leading centre on the map of international mediation. On 7 August 2019, a signing ceremony for the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, nowadays commonly known as the Singapore Convention, was held there. On 23 February 2024, Singapore will host the 25th International Bar Association…

Bias, Causes of Conflict, Cognitive Bias, Communication, Cooperation, Cross-cultural, Dialogue, Game Theory, Mediation and Society, Trust

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Tribalism is often referenced as a significant factor in much of the conflict we see around us at the moment. Perhaps this isn’t so surprising when we look back at the story of human evolution as described by biological anthropologist David Samsom in a recent book “Our Tribal Future: How to channel our human instinct…

Book Review, Conflict, Dispute Resolution, Economics, Future of mediation, Game Theory, History of mediation, International Mediation, Leadership, Mediation and Society, Mediation Practice, mediation traditions, peace negotiations, Role of Mediator, Uncategorized, Understanding mediation

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The Magic in Mediation This is a longer blog post than is normal but I will not be alone in describing Ken Cloke as one of the most influential figures in my life, both professionally and personally. Ken’s wisdom and humanity, expressed so well in his many books and seminars, have been hugely important to…

ADR, Conflict, Creativity, Framing, Mediation, Negotiation, peace negotiations, Stories

(University of New South Wales)/ /4 Comments

This is Part 1 of a two-part blogpost. Part 2 will be published in February 2024. This blog explores what narrative means for us in the field of conflict resolution as we navigate an increasingly complex global context. We humans love stories. Wherever we are in the world, whatever our culture, our beliefs and our…

Brazil, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Mediation, Uncategorized

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As I mentioned before in some posts here at Kluwer, according to the Brazilian National Council of Justice, there are close to 90 million lawsuits currently in course in the country. Moreover, on average, it takes around 10 years for a lawsuit to reach closure if all appeals have been exhausted. Interestingly enough , one…

ADR, Australia, Civil rights, Commercial Mediation, Conflict, Court Procedure and Litigation, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Domestic Courts, Due Process, Experience, Future of mediation, History of mediation, Legal Issues, Legal Practice, Legislation, Litigation, Mandatory mediation, Mediation Lawyering, Mediation Outcomes, Mediation Reforms (Legislation, etc.), Mediation Schemes (In Courts, etc.), Negotiation, Promoting Mediation, Regulation, Understanding mediation

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Mediation has long been used as a method of resolving disputes. Indeed, the practice of combining mediation and arbitration by the same neutral has been traced back to ancient Greece and Ptolemaic Egypt[1]. In his paper “Varieties of Dispute Processing”, presented to the 1976 Pound Conference, Harvard Professor Frank E.A. Sander proposed that, instead of…

Business, Cooperation, Economics, Framing, Public Policy, Scotland

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Reframing is an important part of the mediator’s toolkit. It can help parties look at things from a different perspective to broaden their understanding and it can help put offers and options in a different light to aid resolution. The importance of reframing was highlighted at a recent workshop led by academics from the Universities…

ADR, Commercial Mediation, Communication, Conciliation, Creativity, Dispute Resolution, General, Mediation Practice

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Do you like this pair of cufflinks? This blog post is my sharing on how I had managed to purchase this pair of cufflinks in Melbourne.   I had taken a break in late October to travel to Melbourne to see my son who is doing a master’s degree there. On 26 October 2023, we…

Conflict, Developing the Field, Gender, mediation as a career, Mediation Practice, Mediation Training, Personal Development, Uncategorized, Values and attributes of a mediator

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Research
Three people negotiating at a table

Soon after I started mediating, a client said “This must be a really satisfying job, when it’s successful.” I remember thinking it’s really satisfying even when it isn’t. This was my first glimpse of a question that has fascinated me ever since: what makes mediators tick? Why would anyone place themselves in midst of other…

Australia, Cognitive Bias, Communication, Cross-cultural, Experience, Gender, Mediation Skills, Mediation wisdom, Mindset

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It is no secret that the time I spent studying and working with the Harvard Program on Negotiation (PON) was the start of a love affair that has endured.The material from Fisher and Ury’s ‘Getting to Yes’, which evolved into the Seven Elements, is constantly useful as a strategic thinking tool. Addressing my group of…