2011 ARBITRATION AND MEDIATION

 

DATES: MAY  2 - 13, 2011    
TUITION: $3950    
     

 

 

 

Overview

This course familiarizes participants with alternative methods of dispute resolution (ADR). The first part of the course examines the legal issues involved in international commercial arbitration; the second half introduces participants to the goals and techniques of mediation. The emphasis throughout is on the development of practical skills.

This progam is dsigned for judges, lawyers, non-lawyer professionals, executive branch government officials, judicial officers, officials of judicial and legal training units, and court administrators.

 

Course Outline

 

Pros and Cons of International Arbitration

  • Conciliation, arbitration and mediation versus litigation in the country of one party or in a third country Arbitration between private parties and governments or government agencies

 

Legal Issues in International Arbitration

  • National Arbitration Laws Treaties, including the New York Convention and ICSID Convention Choice of governing law
  • Validity and scope arbitration agreements
  • Role of the courts: judicial review and enforcement of awards; judicial assistance in the arbitration process
  • Investment disputes
  • Sovereign immunity

 

The Arbitral Process

  • Designing the process: drafting the arbitration clause
  • Choice of rules of arbitration
  • Conduct of proceedings: initiating arbitration, constituting the tribunal, establishing terms of reference, discovery of documentary evidence, interim relief, submitting testimony, hearings, and awards Arbitrator ethics and challenges to arbitrators (participants will play role of counsel or arbitrator in a simulated international arbitration)

 

The Negotiation Process

  • Different approaches to negotiation (creating value vs. claiming value; structuring a deal vs. resolving a dispute)
  • Assessing the interests of both parties
  • Opening offers
  • Strategic concessions
  • Why negotiations fail
  • Breaking deadlock
  • Negotiating a dispute resolution clause (participants will engage in negotiation exercises)

 

How Mediation Works

  • Mediation defined
  • Why parties should mediate
  • The many roles and attributes of a mediator

 

Mediation Tools and Principles

  • Changing patterns of communication
  • Intervention principles
  • Listening and questioning skills
  • Stages in mediation
  • Problem identification
  • Agreement writing

 

The Role of Advocate and Litigant

  • How to prepare for the mediation
  • How to devise a settlement strategy
  • How to advocate for yourself and your client
  • How to manage your client during mediation

 

 

Course Advisors

David Branson is Director of ILI's Alternative Dispute Resolution Center. He specializes in arbitration work and now serves as an arbitrator. He has served as an arbitrator and participated in proceedings as counsel in arbitrations conducted under the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce, the London Court of International Arbitration, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, UNCITRAL and the American Arbitration Association. Mr. Branson has been engaged in litigation practice for 33 years, appearing before the Supreme Court of the United States, several Courts of Appeal and District Courts. He received his LL.M. from St. Johns College, Cambridge University and his J.D. from Georgetown University.

Jane Willems As a lawyer in private practice and an arbitrator, Jane Willems has regularly lectured on International Commercial Arbitration in International Law Institute courses in Washington DC. She has developed, and since 2009 she has co-conducted with David J. Branson the new annual program of International Commercial Arbitration at the International Law Institute. Ms. Willems has participated in international arbitrations and other forms of ADR and in international contractual and international development projects. She served as counsel, arbitrator, and secretary to arbitral tribunals in numerous arbitration proceedings (ICC, LCIA and ad-hoc) and as counsel before French courts in arbitration related matters. She has been admitted to practice to both the Paris Bar and the Bar of the State of California (USA). Jane Willems has been teaching International Contracts and Arbitration at the University of Angers, France; she holds a Master's degree in International Business Law and a Master's degree in Business Law from the University of Paris I Sorbonne.