As 2016 draws to a close, I can’t help but reflect upon the events over the last 11 months. 2016 has not been a good year, at least in my opinion. Way too many lights in the world have passed on, natural disasters abound and with the political upsets around the world (and some continue…
Motivated by the desire to ensure that the dialogue on standards for mediators is informed and underpinned by research, the Mediators’ Institute of Ireland, the professional body for mediators in Ireland commissioned a piece of research on skills and behaviours in workplace mediation in 2015. The success of this project and the value of the…
In the first of a two-part article, NZ/UK mediator Geoff Sharp looks at the development of third-party funding of litigation, arbitration and mediation in part 1 and later in part 2 Geoff and Bill Marsh will compare notes on how TPF impacts the mediation process Third party funding (TPF) of claims has been around for quite some…
I have just read Ian Macduff’s recent Kluwer blog (26 November: “Upheaval and resilience: a note from the Shaky Isles”). What a privilege it is, in this blog, to follow Ian’s erudite writing. He captures so well the spirit of the age, with all its uncertainty, tragedy, hope and opportunity. On that theme, my wife…
In the weeks since the Brexit vote and, more recently, the US Presidential elections, both of which caught pollsters, media and just about everybody you and I know by surprise, there’s a vocabulary that has become both familiar and, in New Zealand’s experience, prescient. Look over recent articles online on any major news or aggregator…
There was a prominent mediation case that hit the headlines in Germany in October and November this year. The mediator was none other than former head of government, ex-Chancellor and former Social Democratic Party leader Gerhard Schröder. The present leader of the Social Democratic Party, Sigmar Gabriel, is minister for the economy and had given…
Nothing is more fundamental to life than water. Water is also a potent fuel for conflict. Access to water has created many disputes through the ages. Conflicts over water are about scarcity, control, degradation, incompatible use, and quality. Their history goes back to much earlier than 2500 BC, when the city-states of Lagash and Umma…
On the 3rd of November 2016 Verkhovna Rada – the Parliament of Ukraine – voted for the draft law “On mediation” on the first reading. This is indeed an important event for Ukrainian mediators as they have been working hard towards it during the last eight years. All previous attempts to pass the law through…
This post should be about trust and credibility, moreover when it comes for reasons to choose mediation. We recently received a request for mediation from a family that encountered difficulties in engaging with their new neighbours that bought the house next door. That city centre area is packed with houses close together that are left…
Everywhere judicial policy makers are seeking new ways for the distribution of justice. In the Netherlands a project is underway to abolish all paperwork from the courts. Litigation will before long be conducted entirely digitally. In order to curtail government spending, experiments are being conducted to steer claimants away from the courts and become more…
