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ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION CENTER | |
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About the Center Resources and Materials: Research Guide for International Commercial and Investment Arbitration Contact: Markham Ball |
The work of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Center is based on the premise that effective systems of dispute resolution outside the courts make important contributions to a nation’s commercial and economic development, and to adherence in that nation to the rule of law. The emphasis is on the resolution of commercial disputes, including investment disputes, through arbitration or mediation.The Center is chiefly a teaching institution. For many years it has offered annual seminars in mediation and arbitration law and practice at ILI's Washington headquarters. Since 1998 these seminars have been attended by more than 100 participants - lawyers, judges, government officials, business people and others - from over 20 countries. The seminars offer a sound grounding in the legal structures that underlie arbitration and mediation, as well as an opportunity for participants to take part in mock arbitrations and mediations. The Center has developed special programs for judges, to assist them in their critical tasks of overseeing and supporting ADR regimes in their countries.The Center also offers its programs outside the United States, at ILI's overseas centers and elsewhere. For nearly ten years it has offered a program in international commercial arbitration at ILI's Centre of Legal Excellence in Uganda. Within recent years it has presented programs in Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Chile and Turkey. Depending on the needs of the countries where it works, ILI’s programs may involve intensive training of mediators and arbitrators.A second area of emphasis for the ADR Center is advising lawyers and government officials on the drafting of mediation and arbitration laws and the implementation of ADR regimes. Recent projects have included a new mediation law for Bulgaria and a new arbitration law for the Republic of Georgia, and a possible new arbitration law in Armenia. Projects of this nature involve educational seminars for potential ADR users in the countries involved, to insure that the new laws are put into practice. Typically, these projects are funded by international development agencies.Finally, under a grant from the Global Center for Dispute Resolution Research, ILI's ADR Center has commenced a program of research in numerous countries to determine what legal, social and political conditions in a country are important or necessary to support the development of a viable national system of arbitration.The work of the Center is led by the Center's Director, Markham Ball, with the assistance of ILI staff and with the active and substantial participation of members of the Center's Advisory Committee, all of whom are experienced practitioners in the fields of domestic and international arbitration or mediation. |
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