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A Comment on “Party Autonomy and Access to Justice in the UNCITRAL Online...
As we are writing these lines, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law’s (UNCITRAL) working group III is meeting in Vienna to continue its work on online dispute resolution (ODR) or,...
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Will UNCITRAL Online Dispute Resolution Rules Work for Consumers?
The United Nations working group for online dispute resolution (ODR) of cross-border electronic commerce transactions (UNCITRAL Working Group III) met in Vienna early in November to continue its work...
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You Want Your Day in Court? Time for a Reality Check!
How many times have we heard a person exclaim, “I just want my day in court!”? Often, this is in response to what that person considers to be an insulting settlement proposal or as a result of...
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When “Your Day in Court” Does Not Include an Oral Hearing
When a party to a proceeding says that they "want their day in court", an oral hearing is usually what he or she is contemplating. Just ask Conrad Black: Conrad Black v. The Advisory Council for the...
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UNCITRAL’s Draft Procedural Rules for Online Dispute Resolution for...
Between November 5th and 9th, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law’s (UNCITRAL) Working Group III met for its 26th session, the fifth session dedicated to the drafting of procedural...
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Mediator Saves NHL & Players From Themselves
The pivotal role of Scot Beckenbaugh, Deputy Director of the United States Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, in resolving the 113-day National Hockey League lockout provides an excellent case...
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Med-Arb: From the Mediator Perspective
My Slaw colleague Ian Mackenzie suggested that we each explore the topic of med-arb – I would take the perspective of mediation and Ian the perspective of arbitration. I thought that would be a great...
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Med-Arb: The Adjudication Perspective
"The promise of arbitration is choice, and in order to fulfill that promise, choice must be deliberatively and effectively exercised," Thomas J. Stipanowich, in Arbitration: the New Litigation. "I am a...
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The 2013 International ODR Forum Is Coming to Montreal
Considering a recent announcement that the European Parliament voted, on March 12th, to go forward with the development of an EU-wide online dispute resolution (ODR) platform, and that said platform...
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“Project Umpire” — Alternative Approach to Governance of Complex Projects
As winter turns to spring and hockey gives way to baseball and soccer, I can’t help but think about the role of referees and umpires and wonder why we don’t use them more for commercial dispute...
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Literacy and Access to Administrative Justice
Last week the Canadian Bar Association held a summit on access to justice in Vancouver. I spoke on active adjudication as a tool to enhance access to justice. My co-presenter, Darin Thompson, spoke...
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Mediating at a Distance: Will We Embrace the Challenge of Technology?
In his new book “Tomorrow’s Lawyer”, Richard Susskind claims that there are at least 13 “disruptive technologies” in law. A “disruptive technology” is one that fundamentally challenges and changes the...
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Are UNCITRAL’s Draft Procedural Rules for ODR Doomed to Fail?
By the time this column is posted, UNCITRAL’s Working Group III, the group charged with the drafting of procedural rules for business-to-consumer online dispute resolution (ODR) services, will be...
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“What if They Get It Wrong?”
One of the fears we often hear from business people and lawyers who are reluctant to put “final and binding” arbitration clauses in contracts is: “What if the arbitrator gets it wrong?” The recent...
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Requests to Postpone and Adjourn: Balancing Fairness and Efficiency
Like excuses for not doing homework every adjudicator has seen a variety of requests for a postponement or adjournment of a hearing. In a recent case in the U.S., the lawyer for the accused in a...
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Triage – a Vital Tool to Increase Access to Justice
"Triage" is a very popular word these days in the context of civil justice reform. It was raised in: the CBA's Envisioning Equal Justice Summit in April as one of the possible solutions to ensuring...
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The European Regulation on Consumer Online Dispute Resolution – Where Are We...
As mentioned in a previous post, the Cyberjustice Laboratory was proud to host the 2013 ODR Forum, which took place on June 17th and 18th in Montreal, Quebec. Among the issues addressed by our...
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“Effective Practices” for Resolution of Intellectual Property Disputes
There is a perceived reluctance to use private dispute resolution (either mediation or arbitration) to resolve intellectual property (IP) disputes. One reason is that IP rights (patents, trademarks and...
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Privacy and an Open Administrative Justice System
“What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” wrote Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet. But there is plenty in a name, as J.K. Rowling discovered when her...
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Expanding Access to Justice and the Lawyer's Role Through Mediation Coaching
There is considerable discussion these days about how the legal community can help to increase access to justice for Canadian citizens. We know that mediation is a valuable tool to that end but I...
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