Use and Perception of International Commercial Mediation and Conciliation

Professor S.I. Strong, Associate Professor at the University of Missouri School of Law has published “Use and Perception of International Commercial Mediation and Conciliation: A Preliminary Report on Issues Relating to the Proposed UNCITRAL Convention on International Commercial Mediation and Conciliation,” University of Missouri School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2014-28.  In her publication, Professor Strong discusses the results of a unique survey designed to assess the role of commercial mediation and conciliation in the international business realm.

Here is the abstract:

This report provides preliminary findings from the first-ever large-scale international survey regarding the use and perception of international commercial mediation and conciliation in the international legal and business communities. This information was gathered to assist the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and UNCITRAL Working Group II (Arbitration and Conciliation) as they consider a proposal from the Government of the United States regarding a possible convention in this area of law. The U.S. proposal will be considered in depth at the Working Group II meeting in February 2015, with a report from the Working Group due to the Commission in September 2015.

The project was constructed with two goals in mind. First, the study attempted to discover and describe current behaviors and attitudes relating to international commercial mediation and conciliation so as to set a benchmark for further analysis in this field. Second, the research attempted to determine whether the legal and business communities thought an international instrument in this area of law would be useful and if so, what shape they believed that document should take.

The study collected detailed data on 34 different questions from 221 respondents from all over the world. Survey participants included private practitioners, neutrals, in-house counsel, government lawyers, academics and judges with expertise in both domestic and international proceedings. The results described in this preliminary report will eventually be published in an article that will not only present an expanded final analysis of the underlying data but will also feature several normative proposals regarding the shape of any future international action in this area of law. However, this preliminary report is being offered early so as to provide participants in the UNCITRAL discussion with empirical data concerning the current state of international commercial mediation and conciliation as well as the international business and legal communities’ views about the future of the procedure.

The full text of this and other scholarly articles authored by Professor Strong may be downloaded without charge from the Social Science Research Network.

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