Mediation
Expert mediator offers legal training to ICC staff
On Friday 19 September, the International Chamber of Commerce welcomed Jonathan Marks, one of the world’s leading mediators, as a speaker to one of the legal trainings organized by the ICC International Centre for ADR.
Co-founder of Endispute, the first full-service ADR firm in the United States, Mr Marks has been a full-time mediator and arbitrator for over 30 years.
Speaking to a full house of ICC staff members at the Hearing Centre, Mr Marks emphasized the necessity and value of mediation for commercial disputes, and how it can increase the likelihood of reaching a cost-effective negotiated settlement for disputing parties.
He said: “Over the course of my career, I have noticed a considerable sea change in the use of mediation. In the United States, almost every corporate or commercial dispute at one point or another will go through mediation – either to get it settled or right before it goes to trial. We are also seeing an increasing percentage of disputes that have not been settled through direct negotiation turning to mediation.”
Mr Marks also participated in the 5th ICC International Commercial Mediation Conference on 18 September which brought together leading mediators, arbitrators, corporate managers and in-house counsel from across the globe. Speaking at the session “Mediation 2014: The Real Added Value of Commercial Mediation”, he provided participants with a concise, practice-oriented and experience-based overview of how mediation can be used as a practical tool to resolve complex commercial disputes.
Chiara Formenti-Ujlaki, Trainee at the ICC International Court of Arbitration, shared her experience about attending both the session and the training. She said: “These past two days, first the Mediation Conference and today the training with Mr Marks, have proven to be extremely valuable. Besides the fact that engaging in the workshop provided a great chance to gain some practical experience in negotiation, it was an incredible opportunity to learn firsthand from pioneering mediation practitioners.
“Kindly sharing with us his own professional experience, Mr Marks’ remarks about the different entry options into the realm of dispute resolution were very insightful,” she added.
The ICC International Centre of ADR works closely with parties to establish a holistic dispute resolution solution. The Centre administers commercial mediations under the ICC Mediation Rules, which entered into force in January 2014, with parties from all continents.
Mr Marks said: “ICC is doing a significant amount of work in promoting mediation. It is impressive that it has created an environment where a dialogue is taking place between mediation and arbitration opportunities.”
“With the revised Mediation Rules, ICC assumes a leading role in dispute resolution by considerably helping parties overcome common obstacles that can put a break to the use of mediation in international disputes,” he added.