Free Online Course. Mediation.

Free online course on Mediation

This course has enabled me to get started as a mediator. Well, at least in my mind. I got to mediate my own case and reflect on how mediation, negotiation, talking out etc., have a major role to play in our lives.
Give it a try.

Spirituality Series. Mindfulness in Mediation.

In a mediation being mindful is the key. Being mindful to the needs of all the people in the room. That implies being in the present moment. How to use breath to bring your mind which is wandering all over or when mind is avoiding the current topic to the present? When flight or fear takes over and the people involved are not happy being judged to begin with.
Take a listen to this is a very interesting discussion.
Between Mark Kleiman, Esq., Executive Director, Community Mediation Services, Inc.

 and

Jeff Thompson, Mediator,
EnjoyMediation.com & ADRhub.com, 
as they discuss Mindfulness and Mediation at ADRhub.com’s June Web Panel Discussion.


http://www.enjoymediation.com/2010/06/mindfulness-mediation.html

I totally believe that mediation is like "MediTation", it is about being spiritual. To go to the root of the conflict which so often is within the individual himself/herself.
Also the mediators too need this..."smart breathing" as it is so well explained in the discussion.
Personally, breathing right has helped me come out of some awful situations a lot of times.
I believe that if people before sitting down to resolve a conflict, in a mediation room are made to relax through a certain process, like the discussion here talks of a particular type of breathing then 'that collective peace' is of supreme importance. Because a single agitated mind is enough to make the whole process so much more difficult.

Spirituality is the essence of coming together. Look out for more writings, talks, VDO's from all over the world on the "Spirituality Series" in the blog.

Benjamin Zander/Conflict Resolution and classical Music.

I am sharing a brilliant talk I heard from the famous "TED talks". Before I heard this I never related music with mediation or Conflict Resolution leave alone classical Music.
I would highly recommend that you see this talk.

 Benjamin says "I was in Ireland during the Troubles, 10 years ago, and I was working with some Catholic and Protestant kids on conflict resolution. And I did this with them -- a risky thing to do, because they were street kids. And one of them came to me the next morning and he said,"You know, I've never listened to classical music in my life, but when you played that shopping piece ... " (Laughter) He said, "My brother was shot last year and I didn't cry for him. But last night, when you played that piece, he was the one I was thinking about. And I felt the tears streaming down my face. And you know, it felt really good to cry for my brother." So I made up my mind at that moment that classical music is for everybody. Everybody."

He goes on to say later in the talk " They say three percent of the population likes classical music. If only we could move it to four percent, our problems would be over. "

http://www.ted.com/talks/benjamin_zander_on_music_and_passion.html

About MCPC.

Mediation is now looked upon as the best Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanism in India, providing easy, quick, cheap and effective justice to litigants. To give momentum to this divine alternative to litigation, Hon. Mr. Justice R.C. Lahoti, the then Chief Justice of the India constituted a committee known as ‘Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee’ (MCPC) on 9th May 2005, under the chairmanship of Hon. Mr. Justice N. Santhosh Hegde. After the retirement of Hon. Mr. Justice Hegde, the MCPC was reconstituted with Hon. Mr. Justice S.B. Sinha as its Chairman.
Presently, Hon'ble Mr. Justice Surinder Singh Nijjar is the chairman of MCPC. The members of the committee are Hon'ble Mr. Justice Swatanter Kumar (Judge, Supreme Court), Hon. Mr. Justice Madan B. Lokur (Judge, Supreme Court of India), Justice A.M. Ahmadi Mr. P.P. Rao (Senior Advocate, Supreme Court), Mr. U. SaratChandran (District judge & Member Secretary NALSA), and Mr. Sunil Thomas(Member Secretary) (Registrar (Admn.), Supreme Court of India)

The MCPC has prepared a training Manual and a uniform training curriculum to standardize and regulate the Mediation training methodology throughout India. Apart from the 40 hours training programs on “Techniques on Mediation”, MCPC conduct Awareness programs, Training programs for referral judges, Training for Trainers, and Orientation courses in Mediation. Successful Mediators are awarded the Certificate of Accreditation. 
MCPC is in the process of implementing uniform Mediation Rules applicable throughout India. 
 

Chairman

Hon. Mr. Justice Surinder Singh Nijjar

Members:

........................ ............

.......

.. ....Hon. Mr. Swatanter Kumar................. Hon. Mr. Js A.M. Ahmadi....

...........

Kerala Mediation Centre.

http://keralamediation.gov.in/

Contact Details:
The Director
Kerala State Mediation and Conciliation Centre
Ram Mohan Palace (Kerala judicial Academy Building)
Kochi
E - mail:  kmckerala@gmail.com
Phone:  0484-2394554 





















Note : Please note that in India the mediation is mainly court annexed. The judges on an application filed by the advocates and with the consent of both the parties refer the case to the local mediation centre. If you have a case pending and have reason to believe that the case will be settled at the mediation you could ask your counsel to file an application under Sec.89 CPC.
However,  there are private mediators in each city.

Delhi Mediation Centre.

http://www.delhimediationcentre.gov.in/

Four Mediation Centres are functioning in Delhi District Courts at

1. Tis Hazari Courts Complex, Room No.325, 3rd Floor,
Telephone No.: 23961909
2. Karkardooma Courts Complex, Room No.42,
Ground Floor,
Telephone No.: 22309085
3. Rohini Courts Complex, Room No. 408
Fourth Floor,
Telephone No.: 27554459
4. Dwarka Courts Complex, Admn. Block,
Third Floor,
Telephone No.: 2804275

The Delhi mediation Centre has made its mark with the Lawyers in the forefront dispelling the notion that the lawyers are not for mediation.



Note : Please note that in India the mediation is mainly court annexed. The judges on an application filed by the advocates and with the consent of both the parties refer the case to the local mediation centre. If you have a case pending and have reason to believe that the case will be settled at the mediation you could ask your counsel to file an application under Sec.89 CPC.
However,  there are private mediators in each city.

A case for Young Mediators.

William Keller, a young Mediator, 23 years of age has a good case for young mediators.

"As young mediators, we are starting up our practices and we’re realizing that we have to do a superior job, each and every mediation, in order to continue to build a solid clientele. In addition to this, young mediators have the ability and creativity to think outside of the box and come up with original solutions, rather than the standard by the book solutions. "

http://www.mediate.com/articles/KellerW1.cfm#feedback

I personally agree with Keller where he says that 
"In order to be absolutely neutral in a case, a mediator should not bring to the table any preconceived ideas of how the case should turn out. "

Its all about having the right attitude.

Can Arbitration and Meditation be combined?

The latest issue of Business World (3 Sep 2012) has a cover story titled "The World of Arbitration" and provides an inside look on how the number of cases being settled through ADR is on the rise. What is very interesting for me is the side bar related to Mediation. BW writes:

When Standard Motors products of india (which made the standard brand of cars) was wound up, workers of the company and the banks fought a 12-year long legal battle in the courts over the rights to the proceeds. Finally, in 2006, came a commercial mediator who helped both parties reach a settlement in three months time.

Mediation, is a process whereby a mediator sits with both parties separately, goes through their arguments and defenses, and helps them reach a point at which both of them can agree. A mediation award is then ratified by a court and becomes binding on both parties. 

For example, in the ongoing border dispute between Assam and Nagaland, commercial mediator and Chennai-based advocate Sriram Panchu has been appointed to get parties to arrive at a consent..

Mediators say this is, perhaps, the most cost-effective way of resolving disputes, and leaves much less bad blood between the parties. Conciliation, another form of Alternate Dispute Resolution is slightly different — it involves positive suggestions by the conciliator on how each party can contribute to the consensus building.

Can the two processes, mediation and arbitration, be combined? Several developed economies are trying it out, with the mediator first trying to resolve issues that parties can agree on, and if there still remains any areas of disputes, that is arbitrated. 

Good to see that the main stream business media doing such a comprehensive cover story on ADR and also specifically talking about Mediation.

The article points out that prominent law firms such as J.Sagar, Advani & Co. etc have come together to form an arbitration bar, which they hope will take the lead in evolving best practices for the ecosystem around arbitration to follow. There seems to be some hope that the arbitration scene can be turned around without waiting for legislative reforms.

ADRs such as Arbitration and Mediation need to paid special attention by our legislators and Judiciary. It is imperative given the volume and backlog of cases and the heavy load on judiciary. A sustained push to move cases to judicial legislated mediation or even pre-emptive mediation is the need of the hour and I think that just as prominent law firms have come together to evolve best practices around arbitration, the case is fit for these firms to make a strong case for Mediation.