Workshop
Program

A number of familiar issues need to be re-visited when adapting domestic mediation to the needs of an international private dispute. These issues can be easily explored in an introductory course on dispute resolution processes or an international dispute resolution course, once students have gained an understanding of the basic mediation process. You might pose the following questions:

1. Selecting a Mediator: How do you select a mediator that is viewed as neutral by all the parties? What additional questions should you ask about a mediator's approaches to the mediation in order to avoid any cross-cultural misunderstandings?

2. Logistics: What special logistical problems arise when convening a mediation session for parties from different countries?

3. Confidentiality: What additional legal research should you do to determine whether the mediation sessions will be confidential?

4. Enforceability of Agreements: What can you do to ensure that the settlement agreement would be enforceable in all the relevant jurisdictions?

5. Back-up Adjudicatory Process: What adjudicatory process would be a meaningful back-up in case the dispute is not fully resolved in the mediation? Would the predicted outcome provide parties a meaningful reference point when deciding whether to settle or adjudicate? What substantive law would apply?