Over recent years I have been fortunate to be able to travel widely for work, and everywhere I go I find time to visit places of worship and sit quietly or attend services – in mosques, churches, synagogues and temples. I listen, either to the silence, to my thoughts, or to the ritual. Recently I…
Picture: Derek Gavey / Creative Commons A man walks into a bar …… I have to work quickly now because I can visualise readers reaching for the delete button. That’s because my six words have quickly taken you to an already constructed narrative. Before hitting delete there was probably a sigh; an eye roll and…
In the house of a poor man, a lizard was accustomed to come to the table and thereby kept himself alive on crumbs. During this time, everything went well with both the animal and the host whose fortune grew. When the farmer became rich, he became angry at the beast. One morning, he wounded it…
There are many well-known arguments for and against mandatory mediation. Neither of the two camps of its proponents and opponents appear willing to surrender. However, some recent developments signal that the proponents are now gaining the upper hand. While in the past mandatory mediation schemes were typical for some (but not all) of the common-law…
In October, we reported on a recent case from the Singapore High Court: Chan Gek Yong v Violet Netto. In that post, we examined the High Court’s attitude towards parties who have had a change of heart after agreeing to conclude a Mediated Settlement Agreement (‘MSA’) and wish to challenge its validity. Last month we…
At present, the project called “Mediation-Effective Public Policy in the Civil Dialogue” aims to explore options for a public policy in Romania in the field of mediation. The project is funded by the European Union under the Operational Program Administrative Capacity 2014-2020, Priority Axis 1 – Public Administration and Efficient Judicial System, Component 1 –…
Online negotiators are often faced with the challenge of how to overcome barriers on communication. When in real life (or better, when in non digital life) body language, voice tone and appearance enrich the communication process giving more tools for both communicators to express and understand the message, therefore making any negotiation more fluid and…
Let me climb off my usual soap box this month and focus on more mundane matters primarily of interest to mediators (and lawyers) in my jurisdiction. A recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court illuminates the approach a judge will take when a party calls into question the enforceability of their settlement agreement. Generally, the…
Many of us are mourning the recent death of David Richbell, a UK-based mediator and mediation trainer widely known and loved around the world. I was lucky enough to count David as a close friend and colleague. We mediated together, delivered training together, cheered England at rugby together. And so I have had good cause…
Pollyanna/pɒlɪˈanə/ noun/an excessively cheerful or optimistic person. “what I am saying makes me sound like some ageing Pollyanna who just wants to pretend that all is sweetness and light” Every mediator has been called a Pollyanna at some time or other, usually when encouraging those in conflict that resolution is just around the corner – and often in that…
