Being a mediator brings surprises along the way. For me, I was presented with what turned out to be the biggest challenge of my professional career last November when the Cabinet Secretary for Health in Scotland appointed me to conduct a review of allegations made by staff (through whistle-blowers) of bullying and harassment in Scotland’s…

National Mediation Conferences are important events. Apart from the great opportunities to network with fellow professionals there is the really important opportunity to see the intersection of research and practice at work. Last month’s Australia’s National Mediation Conference did not disappoint. For me the highlight was becoming acquainted with a bold Australian initiative sponsored by…

While the Brexit saga continues to make headlines around the world, the international mediation community should not forget to keep an eye on recent major developments in the field of ADR. The Civil Justice Council’s ADR working group has released its much anticipated final report on the use of ADR within the civil justice system…

It was only on the 31st of May when I published a blog on the new Greek mediation law. Just a few months later a part II, or rather a sequel, seems necessary. As discussed in my first blog on the matter, compulsory mediation was recently enacted in Greece by the new mediation law in…

On 12 October 2017, the law numbered 7036 on labour courts was adopted making mediation mandatory in certain types of labour disputes in Turkey. Accordingly, a claim for the collection of receivables or compensation either by the employer or employee or for the reinstatement of an employee, must first be filed before a mediation bureau….

Mediation existed in the Middle East hundreds of years ago. In fact, the notion of deferring to a neutral and objective third-party for a decision towards the resolution of a dispute is well steeped in Arabic/Islamic traditions. For example, one of the most famous stories of Prophet Muhammad’s early life is that of him being…

During the last twenty years, mediation has spread around the world with an amazing speed, resulting in what was called a ‘global ADR revolution’. Furthermore, mediation has become a conventional part of the court reform projects supported by international donor organizations within democracy aid programmes in developing and transitional countries all over the world. However,…

So much to blog about this month. We had a really great time in Edinburgh with Ken Cloke recently. Ken kindly agreed to be our first Patron for Collaborative Scotland.  We held an event in the Scottish Parliament for leaders of civic Scotland and a number of members of the Scottish Parliament, many of whom,…

The European Commission has recently published a consultation document on the ‘Prevention and amicable resolution of disputes between investors and public authorities within the single market’. Industry associations, practitioners (e.g. lawyers, arbitrators, and mediators), civil society organizations, as well other citizens and organizations are invited to submit their contributions through an online questionnaire by November…

In the past few years Singapore has been busy revising, refining and extending its dispute resolution offerings in cross-border litigation, arbitration and mediation. In 2017 Singapore offers international parties a full suite of dispute resolution services for commercial cross-border disputes. The Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) is well-established, having been founded in 1991, and Singapore…