By means of the analysis of more than 20 national jurisdictions of different legal and geographical origin this book provides a general understanding of the developments that civil and commercial mediation is currently undertaking across the world. The book combines 25 national reports with a General Report analyzing the major trends in civil and commercial mediation worldwide. A number of the key variables that make mediation so effective are studied in depth in the book. The concept of mediation, that varies from country to country. Its legal framework and the branches of public and private law in which it is used. The legal condition of the mediation agreement and its relevant conditions of form and content, the responsibilities of the parties in the event that they violate this agreement and the effects of this agreement on potential recourse to the courts or to arbitration, as well as with regard to pending cases. As well as the role played by the mediator, his or her appointment or designation, legal and ethical responsibilities, and the role of institutions in mediation. As well as the mediation process, its applicable rules and principles and its costs are analyzed on comparative basis. The book also pays special attention to the outcome of mediation. The enforceability of the settlement reached both in domestic and cross-border mediations constitutes a basic element for the success of the institution and is thoroughly studied. This volume constitutes a unique instrument for those interested on mediation, either practitioners, judges or academics.

In its first edition, Global Trends in Mediation was the first book to concentrate on mediation from a comparative perspective - reaching beyond the all-too-familiar Anglo-American view - and as such has enjoyed wide practical use among alternative dispute resolution (ADR) practitioners worldwide. This new edition has not only been updated throughout; it has also added two new jurisdictions (France and Quebec) and a very useful comparative table summarising the salient points from each of the fourteen jurisdictional chapters. Each jurisdictional chapter addresses critical structural and process issues in alternative dispute resolution such as the institutionalisation of mediation, mediation case law and legislation, the range and nature of disputes where mediation is utilised, court-related mediation, mediation practice standards, education, training and accreditation of mediators, the role of lawyers in mediation, online dispute resolution and future trends. All the contributors are senior dispute resolution academics or practitioners with vast knowledge and experience of dispute resolution developments in their countries and abroad.

“Incontrovertibly the most important book on mediation published in English in recent years (possibly EVER?)” Hew Dundas, Former President of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators “Great attention to detail, bringing together a life time experience! I will certainly be recommending it to people in Ireland who come on my training courses.” Geoffrey Corry, Mediator and Trainer “Put simply, it is a masterpiece.” John Sturrock, Core Solutions Group David Richbell is ranked fifth, internationally, in the top ten “Most Highly Regarded Commercial Mediators" by Who's Who Legal 2014 How to Master Commercial Mediation guides commercial mediators through every stage of their development, from novice to the aspirational standards of the master mediator. Moulding, maturing and mastering Split into three sections, this new title covers the essential skills and processes of effective commercial mediation for three levels of competence: Moulding for novices; Maturing for practising mediators and; Mastering for those who are at the top and wish to maintain their excellence. Section one covers basic skills and process. It includes a case study that covers each phase of a typical mediation, and also covers typical challenges that may be encountered. Section two builds on these basic skills and covers psychology in mediation, specialist sectors, ethics and intercultural mediation. Section three looks at the personal and external development needed for mediators to become experts in their field. It includes contributions from mediators in every European jurisdiction describing the state of mediation in a particular jurisdiction and its place within that respective legal system as well as discussing further intercultural skills. It also looks at skills beyond mediation that can be used to help in dispute resolution. Written by an experienced commercial mediator with specialist contributions from other renowned mediators How to Master Commercial Mediation is filled with expert, practical advice and tips. It also includes bullet point summaries, checklists, scripts of actual commercial mediations together with questions and answers.

The value of mediation has been widely acknowledged worldwide, as shown by the number of jurisdictions in which the courts enforce obligations on parties to negotiate and adopt mediation to settle construction disputes. This book examines the expansion and development of court-connected construction mediation provisions across a number of jurisdictions, including the England and Wales, the USA, South Africa and Hong Kong. It includes contributions from academics and professionals in six different countries to produce a truly international comparative study, which is of high importance to construction managers as well as legal professionals.

This book is written for users of mediation, whether they be a party, an advisor or an expert. It should also be of help to commercial mediators who have no specialism in construction. Its aim is to encourage confidence in the mediation process and to ensure that those who do use mediation to resolve their disputes do so effectively and so are able to maximise the opportunities that mediation offers.

EU Cross-Border Commercial Mediation' is a book which focuses on the European Union?s (EU?s) continued efforts to encourage the use of cross-border mediation and examines why such efforts have had a limited impact. It does so by drawing on rare, and at times surprising, detailed insights from the in-house counsel of multinational companies regarding their use of EU cross-border commercial mediation. By viewing mediation through the disputants? perspective, new and important findings regarding why disputants do, and do not, use cross-border mediation have emerged. While these findings are of primary relevance to EU policy and practice, they have implications far beyond the EU context at a time of increasing international interest in cross-border mediation.

Despite the growing national and international regulatory framework to support cross-border mediation, the use of such mediation appears to remain stubbornly low. This book focuses in particular on the European Union’s (EU’s) continued efforts to encourage the use of cross-border mediation and examines why such efforts have had a limited impact. It does so by drawing on rare, and at times surprising, detailed insights from in-house counsel of multinational companies regarding their use of EU cross-border commercial mediation. By viewing mediation through the lens of disputants, new and important findings regarding why disputants do, and do not, use cross-border mediation have emerged. While these findings are of primary relevance to EU policy and practice, they have implications far beyond the EU context at a time of increasing international interest in cross-border mediation. The analysis of the insights provided by the disputants reveals, for example: the prominent role played by negotiation as a cross-border dispute resolution process; that negotiation is a key comparator for disputants when considering whether to use mediation; how the EU’s continued focus on understanding and presenting mediation as an alternative to litigation has resulted in measures which are insufficient to address fully the barriers to the use of mediation; intriguing barriers to the use of mediation which arise from the association which disputants draw between mediation and negotiation; how the relationship which disputants draw between mediation and negotiation paradoxically raises both opportunities for, and obstacles to, the increased use of mediation; and what disputants need in order to increase their use of cross-border mediation. The qualitative nature (by way of interviews) of the research conducted for this book has enabled the identification of nuanced and novel findings regarding mediation’s position and potential in cross-border dispute resolution. These findings, together with a detailed examination of the EU Directive on Certain Aspects of Mediation in Civil and Commercial Matters and the EU’s continued initiatives to foster the use of mediation, form the foundation upon which this book’s recommendations are built. Changing the frame to view the use of mediation through the disputants’ perspective, as this book does, provides the opportunity for the EU to promote cross-border mediation in a way which resonates more deeply with disputants and responds more fully to their concerns and needs. This thought-provoking book will be of interest not only to European and national bodies seeking to promote the use of mediation but clearly also to dispute resolution academics, in-house counsel, and of course mediators and dispute resolution practitioners in general.

This book offers an analysis of the current trends and developments in Nordic civil litigation and is divided into four main parts. In the first part a picture of the current civil litigation landscape is provided by focusing on whether there is a truly Nordic form of civil litigation, the current state of Nordic civil litigation, the recent major reforms of civil procedure legislation and the effects of Europeanization. In the second part, the way rules on court-connected mediation have been implemented and practiced in the Nordic countries is discussed. The authors offer their insights on why court-connected mediation has not been fully embraced by Nordic lawyers and the Nordic approach to this type of mediation is contrasted with the Austrian and German approaches. In the third part, recent developments affecting access to justice in the Nordic countries are discussed. Among the topics are changes in legal aid schemes, the impact of recent civil procedure law reforms, hindrances for larger companies to use litigation as a method of dispute resolution and differences in costs and delays. Additionally, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Class or Group Actions are explored as methods to enhance access to justice. The potential adverse effects of Alternative Dispute Resolution and Group Actions are also examined, both in a Nordic and European context. In the final part, conclusions are drawn from both historical and future-oriented perspectives.

The application of construction dispute procedures has changed dramatically in the last decade. This has resulted in an increased use of Alternative Dispute Resolution in many countries, and mediation in particular. Construction is one of the major industries using mediation, in the UK and in many other countries such as the US, China, Australia and New Zealand. This expansion in mediation has been helped by encouragement from governments, although it takes diverse forms in different legal jurisdictions, for example: court rules to encourage this use (as in the US and UK); the courts’ own mediation schemes or programmes, or legislation-backed programmes; or the use of industry driven mediation clauses in standard form contracts. These developments have taken place extremely rapidly. They represent significant changes to the legal environment within which the international construction industry conducts its business but, to date, there has been little research on their impact. All these initiatives have inevitably led to a developing legal jurisprudence concerned with the validity of contract clauses or with providing statutory interpretation of the rules requiring or governing practice. This has important consequences for the construction industry because legal uncertainty increases the likelihood of dispute, which is not only costly for the disputants but can be damaging to national and global economies. This book identifies the emerging international practices within construction mediation, and seeks solutions to the many legal and commercial challenges which they pose. It presents an international collection of reviews by experts, and allows a comparative commentary on the practice of construction mediation and the legal challenges facing its development.