Rising stars go head to head in International Mediation Competition

The sharpest young legal minds from Australia, New Zealand, India and Singapore will be put to test in the second Asia-Pacific Commercial Mediation Competition in Melbourne from the 27th to the 29th July 2018.

Hosted by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which represents the International Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICC) in Australia, the competition brings together tomorrow’s business leaders and legal minds from across the Asia-Pacific region to better meet the dispute resolution needs for international business.

“In an increasingly diverse and competitive global market, assisted negotiation and dispute resolution are critical components of international trade and investment,” Bryan Clark, the Director of ICC Australia and head of the Australian Chamber’s Trade & International Affairs division, said today.

Over three days, thirteen teams from universities across the Asia-Pacific region will compete to resolve international commercial disputes.

Participants will apply the ICC’s Amicable Dispute Resolution (ADR) rules to settle commercial dispute scenarios drafted by a group of international mediation experts.

This year some of the world’s top mediation experts will be returning to judge the competition.

“The fact that we have some of the world’s top legal experts returning to the judging panel this year reinforces the significance of the competition,” Mr Clark says.

“Globalisation has made the world much smaller and Australian businesses are increasingly engaging in the international marketplace.

“This is why it is important that companies, and the professionals that support them, can resolve their cross-border disputes in a timely and cost-effective way.

“The competition serves to highlight the professional services export opportunities that Australia provides to the world in terms of educating young professionals in our universities in the field of legal support and dispute resolution.

“Australian professionals work in firms all around the world, providing highly regarded advice and dispute resolution services to companies globally.

“It’s important we continue to provide students with training and skills through competitions such as this, to ensure business can continue to compete.”

A series of international arbitration and mediation events for professionals and students will run alongside the student competition, which falls on ICC Mediation week.

Other events include:

• Careers in International Arbitration: Insights and Experiences, a discussion event hosted by the ICC Young Arbitrators Forum, on July 5.
• A United Nations Committee on International Trade Law discussion, focused on the creation of an international instrument for the enforcement of international settlement agreements under the UN Committee on International Trade Law, on July 8.
• A Resolution Institute discussion on commercial mediation and what we can learn from the New Zealand experience, featuring Dr Grant Morris, on July 10.

The winning team will go on to the ICC International Commercial Mediation Competition, held annually at the ICC Global Headquarters in Paris, France in February 2019.

The 2018 Asia-Pacific Commercial Mediation Competition will take place from Friday 27 July 2018 until Sunday, 29 July 2018 at the Melbourne Commercial Arbitration and Mediation Centre.

More information about the competition can be found on the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s website.