Practitioners\u27 Perception of Court-Connected Mediation in Five Regions: An Empirical Study

Courts throughout the world face the challenge of designing court mediation programs to provide opportunities for party-directed reconciliation on the one hand, while ensuring access to formal legal channels on the other. In some jurisdictions, mandated programs require initial attempts at mediation, while in others, voluntary programs encourage party-selected participation. This Article explores the attitudes and perceptions of eighty-three practitioners implementing court mediation programs in five regions in order to understand the dynamics, challenges, and lessons learned from the perspectives of those directly engaged in the work of administering, representing, and mediating civil claims. Given the highly contextual nature of court mediation programs, this Article highlights achievements, challenges, and lessons learned in the implementation of mediation programs for general civil claims. The principal findings indicate that overall, from the perspective of the court mediation practitioners surveyed, practitioners report slightly higher levels of confidence in mandatory mediation programs, higher perceptions of efficiency with respect to voluntary programs, and regard voluntary and mandatory mediation programs with relatively equal perceptions of fairness. Program achievements largely depend on the functioning of the civil litigation system, the qualities and skill of the mediators, safeguards against bias, participant education, and cultural and institutional support

Facilitating Settlement at the Arbitration Table: Comparing Views on Settlement Practice Among Arbitration Practitioners in East Asia and the West

This article presents a cross cultural examination of how international arbitrators in East Asian and Western countries view the goal of settlement in international arbitration. The result of a 115 person survey and 64 follow up interviews shed light on the underlying cultural attitudes and approaches to settlement in international arbitration as practiced in diverse regions. The findings indicate that arbitration practitioner’s perceptions of the frequency of compromise decision in international arbitration demonstrate a high degree of convergence across regions. At the same time, cultural and socio-economic distinctions are reflected in varying arbitrator perceptions regarding the arbitrators’ role in settlement, whether settlement is regarded as a goal in arbitration and the types of efforts made pre-arbitration to settle disputes. In particular, arbitrators working in the East Asian region regard the goal of facilitating voluntary settlement in the context of international arbitration with greater importance and generally make greater efforts pre-arbitration to settle disputes as compared with counterparts in the West

Facilitating Settlement at the Arbitration Table: Comparing Views on Settlement Practice Among Arbitration Practitioners in East Asia and the West

This article presents a cross cultural examination of how international arbitrators in East Asian and Western countries view the goal of settlement in international arbitration. The result of a 115 person survey and 64 follow up interviews shed light on the underlying cultural attitudes and approaches to settlement in international arbitration as practiced in diverse regions. The findings indicate that arbitration practitioner’s perceptions of the frequency of compromise decision in international arbitration demonstrate a high degree of convergence across regions. At the same time, cultural and socio-economic distinctions are reflected in varying arbitrator perceptions regarding the arbitrators’ role in settlement, whether settlement is regarded as a goal in arbitration and the types of efforts made pre-arbitration to settle disputes. In particular, arbitrators working in the East Asian region regard the goal of facilitating voluntary settlement in the context of international arbitration with greater importance and generally make greater efforts pre-arbitration to settle disputes as compared with counterparts in the West

Governing Financial Disputes in China: What Have We Learned From the Global Financial Crisis of 2008?

In light of the recent global financial crisis of 2008, this article critically compares how China\u27s national arbitration commissions and local courts are responding to new challenges brought about by an increase in the number of banking related disputes. Drawing on comparative case analysis, the article examines the operation of the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) and the Shanghai Courts\u27 financial dispute resolution mechanisms in resolving financial disputes. Drawing on insights from selected case findings, it provides insight into which institution is best positioned to handle financial-related cases, discusses prospects for coordination between the two, and sets out proposals for further reform. Initial findings suggest that given CIETAC\u27s limited exposure to banking and financial-sector disputes, in the immediate term, parties should seek resolution through local financial division dispute resolution mechanisms, such as the financial division of the Shanghai Courts. In the long term, prospects for greater strengthening of national mechanisms such as CIETAC and the Securities Dispute Resolution scheme will provide additional avenues of recourse

Alternative Dispute Resolution Design in Financial Markets—Some More Equal Than Others: Hong Kong\u27s Proposed Financial Dispute Resolution Center in the Context of the Experience in the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, and Singapore

Systems of financial dispute resolution currently operate in most major financial centers throughout the world. As such systems expand and develop to address a growing number of finance-related disputes, they must inevitably address the question of their role and function in financial market regulation. Such questions are rooted in the larger socio-legal dispute processing debate examining how institutional dispute resolution mechanisms effectively regulate the repeat player knowledge/power gap through appropriate policies and procedures. Using the example of Hong Kong in comparison with financial dispute resolution models currently in existence in the United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, and the United States, this article finds that the appropriateness of a dispute resolution method is arguably informed by whether it takes on a regulatory or non-regulatory role. Regulatory dispute resolution modes taking on inquisitorial elements may be preferred when displacing the judicial function as they incorporate safeguards for disputants against the discretion of the third party intervener. But even for non-regulatory schemes, inquisitorial elements aimed at addressing the power/knowledge gap including suggesting the provision of information regarding relevant standards and rules, at least as touchstones, may still be incorporated into consensual models of dispute resolution, which aim to ensure a de minimis level of equity and fairness in the process

Effects of forest management practices on the diversity of ground-occurring beetles in mixed northern hardwood forests of the Great Lakes Region

Abstract Ground-occurring Coleoptera were sampled over 2 years using pitfall traps in 23 northern hardwood or eastern hemlockdominated sites representing even-aged, uneven-aged, or old growth forests. Overall, 65,586 individuals were obtained, representing 33 families and 192 species. Carabids comprised 54% of the total catch in 1996, when all the families were tallied. There was little variation in the number and relative abundance of carabid species caught between seasons. No differences in overall species richness or abundance were observed among forest management regimes or habitat types. However, there were substantial differences in species composition. Thirteen species showed signi®cant habitat associations among the ®ve forest management regimes, and 21 species were associated with speci®c habitat features of the sites, such as dominant tree species or canopy structure. More species (16) were affected by the presence of forest management than by tree species dominance (6) or canopy structure (5). Harpalus fulvilabris, Pterostichus coracinus, Carabus nemoralis, Glischrochilus siepmanni, Nicrophorus orbicollis, and Nicrophorus sayi were more commonly caught in managed than in old growth forest sites, while Carabus sylvosus, Platynus decentis and Oiceoptoma novaboracensis were more commonly associated with old growth sites. Calosoma frigidum and Necrophila americana were associated with northern hardwood sites, while Platynus decentis was signi®cantly associated with sites dominated by eastern hemlock. Calosoma frigidum, Necrophila americana, and Nicrophorus vespilloides were more common in even-aged sites, while a lampyrid and a leiodid morphospecies were more common in sites with an uneven-aged canopy structure. The importance of microsite features was re¯ected in the high variability observed among sites and among traps within sites. Results indicate that conservation of a range of forest types is required in order to maintain the diversity of ground-occurring beetles on a regional scale. This will be quite challenging, since forest types such as old growth hemlock-hardwood are rare across the landscape due to habitat fragmentation and logging.