Programme list

Roberta Regazzoni project manager of RisolviOnline.com – the first Italian online dispute resolution platform and Michael McIlwrath, two unique profiles, well acquainted with both mediation and arbitration techniques, and prominently respected as Project Manager and the other as in-house Corporate Counsel, respectively will share their experiences of and expectations with respect to both mediators and lawyer’s assisting as mediation advocates, with a particular focus on managing information and exchanging document. All stages of the mediation process will be covered, from pre, in, up to post-mediation issues: preparing for mediation or for making an offer to mediate, drafting papers for maximizing impact; handling and sharing information. The following issues will be discussed: how much is too much or too little; what are the required, expected or desired levels of information sharing; how should confidentiality be managed; are there avoidable from both mediator and mediator advocate perspectives? In addition to the two in-house speakers, Jil Ahdab will also bring his private practice input to compare arbitration and mediation as far as sharing documents are concerned, but will also tell us about what the recent French law on ADR’s has to offer in that field.

• To what extent may evidence gathered in one proceeding (arbitral or state proceedings before a court or a regulatory authority) be used in another one? • Use of international judicial assistance treaties, limitations arising therefrom, use of evidence gathered in criminal proceedings; contractual limitations to the use of evidence, remedies in the event of a breach.

An analysis of the current mainstream system of document production in international arbitration and suggestions as to the possibility of improving it. • Have Redfern schedules gone out of control? • Are there ways to limit excesses effectively? • Do arbitral tribunals actually make adverse inferences? • How can privilege work in international arbitration with so many different legal systems involved, each of them with its own approach of the issue?

How much weight should arbitral tribunals give to fact and expert witnesses’ evidence? This session analyses whether or not a party’s burden of proof can be effectively discharged through the use of such witnesses. • Do arbitral tribunals trust witnesses more than State courts? If so, why? • Do arbitral tribunals trust witnesses they have not heard at the hearing? • Can arbitral tribunals decide on the merits without expert reports? • Should we review the form in which witness evidence is presented?

• How proactive should an arbitral tribunal be in the search of the truth? • Is there a convergence of approaches in international arbitration? • Does the arbitral tribunal need to do the parties’ homework or should it simply apply rules of burden of proof?