Mediation

Arbitration, CETA, Energy Charter Treaty, Enforcement, Mediation

(Australian National University)/ /Leave a comment

Recent developments indicate there may be increasing interest in the creation of alternative forms of dispute resolution for investor-State disputes. One potential alternative is mediation. This post outlines how 2016 has been an important year for investor-State mediation, considers how mediation interacts with investment treaty arbitration, and the benefits and risks associated with such a…

India, Mediation, Uncategorized

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Increasingly overburdened Courts have constrained access to judicial remedies for civil disputes in India. To enable expeditious settlement of commercial disputes, the Government of India issued the Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Act, 2015 (“Act”). It envisages the establishment of separate commercial Courts to hear arbitral disputes, amongst other…

Arbitration, Dispute, Dispute Resolution Boards, Latin America, Mediation

(Dispute Resolution Board Foundation)/ /Leave a comment

In May 2016, DRBF gathered in Santiago, Chile, for its annual international conference. The location is testimony to the rising demand and dispute boards practice in the region. Having served for some years in the management of our organization, it is observable that the purpose of the concept proves to be successfully established. Indeed, the…

ADR, Mediation

(Pepperdine University School of Law)/ /Leave a comment
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

The mounting global preoccupation with mediation, reflected in a growing array of institutions, programs, laws and regulations; an international “evangelical” movement; and mounting impetus for an international convention promoting the recognition and enforcement of mediated settlement agreements; should be accompanied by collective reflection, dialogue and discernment regarding present trends. These were the themes of my…

Mediation, Uncategorized

(MDisputes)/ /12 Comments

The New York Times has just published a three-part series of investigative articles about arbitration practice in the United States, casting it as machine of repeat-players used by large companies to deprive ordinary citizens of access to justice. It is a pity the writers did not look deeper under the hood of that machine. Had…

ADR, Arbitration, European Union, Mediation, Singapore, Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

(Herbert Smith Freehills LLP)/ /Leave a comment
Herbert Smith Freehills

At the CIARB’s London centenary conference earlier this month, the Honourable Chief Justice of Singapore, Sundaresh Menon, cautioned that: “we should remain mindful that there is no place for complacency or reason to assume that [the] international system of dispute resolution which so many have invested so much in, will continue on its recent trajectory…

International arbitration, Mediation, New York Convention, Uncategorized, UNCITRAL

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Vienna can be a confounding place for an outsider. In one moment, the city projects itself confidently into an innovative, international future and yet in the next moment can appear irrevocably bound to traditions. Being forward-minded in dispute resolution, Vienna is host this week to the IBA-VIAC International Mediation and Negotiation Competition, a four-day event…

Croatia, Enforcement of an arbitration clause, Mediation, Multi-tiered clauses, Pre-arbitral procedure

(Central European University)/ /Leave a comment

Mediation has gained much popularity in Croatia in the last several years, and the Croatian legislator regulated enforceability of mediation in Article 18 of the Croatian Mediation Act (Official Gazette No. 18/2011, “the MA”). The solutions provided in the MA are to a large extent resembling the solutions in the UNCITRAL Model Law on International…

Arbitration, Mediation, Uncategorized

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In April 1976, an event now known as the Pound Conference ignited modern ADR in the USA, launching discussion of what may have become the “greatest reform in the history of the country’s judicial system”.1 Forty years later, all stakeholders in the dispute prevention and resolution fields around the world are being invited to participate…

Arbitration, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Investor, Mediation

(Washington and Lee University School of Law)/ /Leave a comment
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

The University of Virginia’s Spring 2014 symposium focused on the topic of international development. One panel focused on the role of international politics in the context of international dispute settlement. With the mandate to examine elements related to both politics and development, I was asked to explore outcomes in investment treaty arbitration (ITA) as a…

Conciliation, Mediation, Surveys, UNCITRAL

(University of Missouri School of Law)/ /1 Comment

Two months ago, readers of the Kluwer Arbitration blog were asked to participate in some ongoing surveys relating international commercial mediation and conciliation. The studies were being conducted to assist UNCITRAL and UNCITRAL Working Group II (Arbitration and Conciliation) as they consider a proposal from the Government of the United States regarding a possible convention…

Mediation, Settlement, Uncategorized

(MDisputes)/ /Leave a comment

Time Sensitive Over the next two weeks, two surveys will be gathering input from dispute resolution professionals on the challenge of enforcing settlement agreements across borders. The surveys are intended to provide empirical data to aid the decision making process for the proposed UNCITRAL convention on the international enforcement of settlements reached in mediation. IMI…

Arbitration, Conference, Dispute Resolution, Mediation

(International Mediation Institute)/ /Leave a comment

and Michael Leathes Among the early words of wisdom expressed by Sherlock Holmes in the first of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s 56 novels, A Scandal in Bohemia in 1891, was this classic line: I never guess. It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit…

Mediation, New York Convention, UN and Int’l Organizations, Uncategorized

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UNCITRAL’s Working Group II (Arbitration and Conciliation) will begin its 47th session today, July 7 , in New York. Among the items to be discussed is a proposal for a multilateral convention on the enforceability of international commercial settlement agreements reached through mediation. (See also this link.) The proposal, which has been put forth by…

Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Japan Commercial Arbitration Association, Mediation, Uncategorized

(Herbert Smith Freehills LLP)/ /Leave a comment
Herbert Smith Freehills

By Peter Godwin, Elaine Wong and James Allsop, Hebert Smith Freehills The Japan Commercial Arbitration Association (“JCAA”) has introduced an amended version of its Commercial Arbitration Rules (the “New Rules”). The New Rules, which contain comprehensive amendments, came into force on 1 February 2014 and will apply to all arbitrations initiated on or after that…

Arbitration, Book Review, Dispute Resolution, International arbitration, Mediation

(Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP)/ /1 Comment
WilmerHale

For arbitration geeks, the beach is a challenge – How can you indulge your passion for international arbitration, without (further) outing yourself as a work-alcoholic without a life? I probably can’t help you much, in that category, but one possibility, with two sub-parts, comes to mind. Arbitration history lets you stay focussed on your one…

Confidentiality, Costs, Efficiency, Investment Arbitration, Mediation

(Independent Arbitrator)/ /1 Comment

Getting over the skepticism.  Since the International Bar Association adopted its Rules for Investor-State Mediation last October, there has been an uptick in discussions regarding the topic, including a mock mediation panel presented this spring during the American Society of International Law’s Annual Meeting.  Nonetheless, investor-State mediation still faces skepticism from many arbitration professionals, both…

Anti-arbitration, Appointment of arbitrators, Arbitrators, Mediation

(MDisputes)/ /3 Comments

Improving the search for information about arbitrators Last week I received an invite to a summer gathering organized by English mediator, David Richbell. One of the events is “Speed dating: Senior mediators including, amongst others, Michel Kallipetis, Liz Birch, Nicholas Pryor available for ten-minute personal interview.” Imagine how such an innovative method for choosing an…

Appointment of arbitrators, Arbitral Tribunal, Arbitration, Arbitration Agreements, Arbitration Awards, Arbitration clause, Arbitration Proceedings, Arbitrators, Commercial Arbitration, Consumer contracts, Costs in arbitral proceedings, Discovery, Dispute Resolution, Dispute resolution clause, Efficiency, International arbitration, Mediation, Pre-arbitration Dispute Settlement Procedures, Uncategorized

(Pepperdine University School of Law)/ /1 Comment
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

A new study of dispute resolution practices in Fortune 1,000 corporations shows that many large companies are using binding arbitration less often and relying more on mediated negotiation and other approaches aimed at resolving disputes informally, quickly and inexpensively. The 2011 survey of corporate counsel developed by researchers at Cornell University’s Scheinman Institute on Conflict…

Anti-arbitration, Arbitral seat, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Dispute Resolution, International arbitration, Mediation, Uncategorized

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Construction work at the Florence Chamber of Commerce has forced the city’s arbitration and mediation services to relocate to new offices the city was able to scrounge up. This is the view from the fourth-floor conference room assigned to a mediation I attended yesterday. Talk about coping well in the face of adversity… Throughout many…

Appointment of arbitrators, Arbitral seat, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitrators, Efficiency, International arbitration, Mediation, Seat of the arbitration

(Herbert Smith Freehills)/ /Leave a comment
Herbert Smith Freehills

The China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (“CIETAC“) has recently published its revised Arbitration Rules, which will come into force on 1 May 2012 (the “2012 Rules“). This is the seventh revision of the CIETAC Rules since they were first published in 1956. Whilst the majority of the changes in the 2012 Rules are…

Arbitral seat, Arbitration clause, China, Enforcement, Hong Kong, Mediation, Set aside an international arbitral award, Sovereign Immunity, UNCITRAL Model Law

(Herbert Smith Freehills)/ /Leave a comment
Herbert Smith Freehills

2011 has delivered some significant arbitration developments in Hong Kong, most of which (with some exceptions!) have been undoubtedly positive. So, what were the highlights of the Hong Kong arbitration year – and what challenges might lie ahead? First, Hong Kong’s new Arbitration Ordinance (cap. 609) came into effect on 1 June 2011 (blogged here)….

Applicable Law, Arbitration, Arbitration Proceedings, Arbitration Quiz, Arbitrators, Costs in arbitral proceedings, Expedited arbitration, Joinder, Jurisdiction, Mediation

(MDisputes)/ /Leave a comment

Last week’s summer quiz on international arbitration and mediation provoked a happy flurry of answers from around the world from a broad range of practitioners. Before we get to the answers, here are some interesting observations from the empirical data that we unintentionally gathered. Conclusive Empirical Data about International Arbitration and Mediation Practitioners (“Practitioners”) As…