Comparative Dispute Resolution

Comparative Dispute Resolution offers an original, wide-ranging, and invaluable corpus of chapters on dispute resolution. Enriched by a broad, comparative vision and a focus on the processes used to handle disputes, this study adds significantly to the discourse around comparative legal studies. Chapters present new understandings of theoretical, comparative and transnational dimensions of the manner in which societies and their legal systems respond to difficulties in social relations.

"In a world where the borders of the global community are fluid, and where disputants manifest increasingly diverse attributes and needs, mediation ? for decades hovering at the edge of dispute resolution practice ? is now emerging as the preferred approach, both in its own right and as an adjunct to arbitration. Mediation processes are sufficiently flexible to accommodate a range of stakeholders (not all of whom might have legal standing) in ways the formality of arbitration and litigation would not normally allow. Among mediation?s many advantages are time and cost efficiencies, sensitivity to cultural differences, and assured privacy and confidentiality. This book meets the practice needs of lawyers confronted with cross-border disputes now arising far beyond the traditional areas of international commerce, such as consumer disputes, inter-family conflicts, and disagreements over Internet-based transactions. The author takes full account of mediation?s risks and limitations, primarily its lack of finality and uncertainty in relation to enforceability issues which will persist until the advent of appropriate international regulation."--Publisher's website.

Mediation provides an attractive alternative to resolving disputes through court proceedings. Mediation promises just results in the interest of all parties concerned, a reduction of the court caseload, and cost savings for the parties involved as well as for the treasury. The European Directive on Mediation has given mediation in Europe new momentum by establishing a common framework for cross-border mediation. Beyond Europe, many states have tried in recent years to answer the question whether, and if so, how mediation should be regulated at a national and international level. The aim of this book is to promote the understanding and discussion of regulatory issues by presenting comparative research on mediation. It describes and analyses the law and practice of mediation in twenty-two countries. Europe is represented by chapters on mediation in Austria, Bulgaria, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Spain. The world beyond Europe is analysed in chapters on mediation in Australia, Canada, China, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, Switzerland and the USA. Against this background, further chapters on fundamental issues identify possible regulatory models and discuss central principles of mediation law and practice. In particular, the work considers harmonisation and diversity in the law of mediation as well as the economic and constitutional problems associated with privatising civil justice. To the extent available, empirical research is used as a point of reference in the critical analysis.

Provides a comprehensive global survey on multi-tier dispute resolution, examining its trends, its strengths and weaknesses, and the way forward.

This volume examines the important area of dispute resolution. Its main focus is upon those methods of resolving disputes which provide alternatives to the existing judicial system. Under discussion are the most prominent of these methods -- arbitration, mediation and conciliation -- as well as others, such as mini-trials, valuations and dispute review boards. The authors are eminent legal practitioners and scholars from countries spanning the five continents. Consequently, the volume consists of accounts relating to the use of alternative dispute resolution methods in these countries. The pros and cons of each method are examined, together with the procedures involved, their applicability to certain types of cases and their future development. This work also includes a chapter devoted entirely to International Fast-Trac Commercial Arbitration, which describes how fast-track clauses may be utilized in international commercial contracts to ensure that disputes are resolved rapidly and efficiently. The future for such clauses in individual countries is discussed and a comparative analysis given.

The Comparative Law Yearbook of International Business, published under the auspices of the Center for International Legal Studies, in this 43rd volume spans an arc of timely and challenging concerns for business law practitioners and academics alike. It discusses: how arbitrability of intellectual property rights disputes might improve worldwide IPR enforcement; how the “disregard of legal entity” may be used to establish implied consent by a person or entity that is not a signatory to an arbitration agreement; how an effective cross-border insolvency framework under the Indian insolvency and bankruptcy code can borrow from the UNCITRAL Model Law’s and other jurisdictions’ approaches to the tension between “universality” and “territoriality”; how a promising new mediation act for Pakistan may help resolve a backlog of millions of cases in a jurisdiction with a patchwork of traditional and modern alternative dispute resolution mechanisms; how the European Union seeks to balance the taxation of digital services; how Brazil is addressing the taxation of offshore indirect transfers; how private equity capital structures in the unique market of professional sports create opportunities as well as risks; how Securities Market Regulation theory plays a role in the organization and development of active securities markets, particularly in emerging markets; and how non-signatories can be bound by arbitration agreements in Brazil through “disregard of legal entity” to ascertain implied consent. The authors are practitioners and academics from Brazil, England, France, India, Pakistan, Singapore, the United States and Uzbekistan. They offer a broad and diverse perspective on some of today’s pressing business law issues in a shrinking world.

This edited volume presents research and policy insights into the theory and practice of dispute systems reform in diverse jurisdictions. It highlights how important extra-judicial mechanisms are for resolving cross-border disputes, as evidenced both by the breadth of scholarship dedicated to the issue and the proliferation of parties resorting to non-litigious dispute resolution mechanisms in recent years. Drawing on selected case studies, the book examines the impact of comparative research and policy analysis in advancing reform of dispute resolution institutions at both the regional and global levels. It explores the challenges and opportunities of understanding and assessing developments in systems of dispute resolution in diverse social and political contexts through comparative research. With a growing number of disputes which have come to involve cross-border issues, anyone interested in transnational and comparative dispute resolution will find this book a useful reference.