Conference announcements and call for papers

Two upcoming conferences will be of interest to UKAJI:

10-11 September 2015

The Transformation of Consumer Dispute Resolution in the EU

University of Leicester

3-4 December 2015

The Power of Mediation

Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh

The Transformation of Consumer Dispute Resolution in the EU

College Court, University of Leicester, 10-11 September 2015

Sponsored by the Nuffield Foundation

Consumer out-of-court redress in the EU is undergoing the most important changes in its history. This is due to the recent adoption of two legislative instruments: the Directive on Alternative Dispute Resolution and the Regulation on Online Dispute Resolution. The ADR Directive, which must be implemented in all the Member States by July 2015, will ensure the availability of quality ADR schemes for resolving domestic and cross-border consumer disputes. Businesses and online market places operating in the EU will need to notify consumers about these ADR schemes. The ODR Regulation, which must be implemented six months later, will enable consumer disputes arising from e-commerce, whether domestic or cross-border, to be channelled through a European ODR platform.

Conference overview

The theme of this conference will be to examine critically how the new European rules have been transposed by the national legislators and the impact that the new law will have in the ADR/ODR landscape. In addition, the conference will analyse how traditional ADR schemes are implementing ODR technology and design processes that, inter alia, increase access to redress while discouraging unmeritorious claims, facilitate voluntary compliance of final outcomes, and encourage traders to tackle causes of complaints as well as consequences. The final aim of the conference will therefore be to promote discussion that can help to identify best practices in national models so that they can inform the evolving design of consumer redress.

Details of the conference programme are here: The Transformation of Consumer Dispute Resolution in the EU.

Who should attend?

The conference aims to bring together representative of consumer and business organisations, ADR practitioners, academics and policymakers.

Costs and booking

Support for this conference is provided by a grant from Nuffield Foundation as part of its Law and Society Program under the project of ‘Incentives for Effective Consumer Redress in the EU’.

There will be a charge of £150 per delegate to cover the conference materials, dinner, lunch and refreshments. Places are strictly limited and early booking is recommended to ensure you receive a place. To book a place, please register here.

Further information

For further information about this event, please email Teresa Rowe at teresa.rowe@leicester.ac.uk Pablo Cortés or pablo.cortes@le.ac.uk.

Call for Papers:

Mediate 2015: The Power of Mediation

Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, 3-4 December 2015

This event is an international conference, attracting academics and other professionals from universities, business, public and third sector organisations, and government. And of course, we will welcome practising mediators from across the globe.

Conference overview

The theme of the 2015 conference is The Power of Mediation. This will allow us to explore sub-themes, such as

• The resolving power to end disputes and conflicts;
• The transforming power to save or mend relationships;
• The power to improve communication;
• The power to enable organisations to work better;
• The power in the room: where does it lie and whose interests does it serve?
• Is mediation a tool for individuals, for the community, or for the powerful?

We are also interested in looking at mediation in context: where does it fit within current justice policy in the UK’s different legal systems and abroad? How are mediative skills used by public and private sector organisations to aid better communication and help resolve disputes? What are the implications of technology for mediation?

Who should attend?

Delegates will include academics, mediators, leaders of consumer organisations, dispute resolution professionals, business managers, civil servants, students, peer mediators, consultants, and policy makers.

Opportunities to contribute

The conference will provide a range of fora for invited presenters to contribute. These are:

• Plenary panel sessions: Built around a high profile keynote speaker, these themed sessions will combine individual papers with panel discussion and audience Q&A;

• Parallel presentations: Delivered to an audience of up to 50, these sessions will allow several presenters of papers to explore sub-themes of the conference;

• Workshops: More practice oriented, workshop sessions are designed to marry the theory with the practice in an interactive style!

• Poster presentations: Researchers are welcome to submit ideas for a poster presentation, which will be displayed in one of the communal spaces throughout the conference.

Initial offers of interest should be made by Monday 13 July 2015. Abstracts and proposals for workshops should be submitted by Wednesday 30 September.

Details and guidelines for submissions are available here: Mediate 2015 Call for papers

Further information

To express interest or raise any queries, please contact either:

Craig Cathcart, Queen Margaret University –ccathcart@qmu.ac.uk

Graham Boyack, Scottish Mediation Network –graham.boyack@scottishmediation.org.uk