Ireland VIreland IIII On Friday, 14th of November, the annual conference of the Mediators’ Institute of Ireland took place in Dublin. The keynote was addressed by one of the world’s most prominent mediators, Ken Cloke.  Dr. Martin Svatos was invited to give a speech on legal issues of cross-borders mediation. The co-speaker during the more than one-hour seminar was one of the leading Irish mediators, Sabine Walsh.

The audience was especially interested in the impartiality and independence of mediators, as well as in the topic of mediators’ accreditation that varies in all the 28 EU Member States.

The speech also introduced the forthcoming EU Mediation Handbook (co-edited by prof. Nadja Alexander, Sabine Walsh and Martin Svatos) that will be issued next year by the Kluwer Law International.

Ireland IIreland IIIIreland VIWorkshop Annotation

Based on the presenters’ forthcoming work, Kluwer’s EU Mediation Handbook, this workshop will draw out the key regulatory trends that are emerging in mediation practice in Europe and are thus likely to influence our own mediation community. Controversial issues such as confidentiality, recognition and training of mediators and the relationship of the courts and mediation will be addressed.

This workshop will be essential for anyone whose mediation practice involves an international or cross border element, and those interested in the future of mediation and practice regulation in Ireland. The topics that will be addressed will give participants an insight into how other jurisdictions have implemented the EU Mediation Directive, and are regulating their own mediation communities, and where,  in particular , the areas of difficulty lie.

The focus of the workshop will be on mediation practice, and on what we can learn from  practitioners in other countries some of  which have mature , highly developed mediation  communities and some, like the newer members of the EU, have had the opportunity to design their systems from scratch. The question of the common EU Mediation community will be discussed too. Among other things, the participants will learn in which EU countries they may practice mediation without limitation and in which additional procedural steps must be taken.

The knowledge gained from this work shall then be applied to Ireland’s new mediation legislation which is likely to be enacted this year, and where its strengths and weaknesses and the pitfalls for practitioners might lie.

The workshop will be practically oriented, focusing on concrete examples and drawing on the research and experience of both presenters. Participants will be able to actively practice the newly gained experiences in several practical exercises.