MOCK MEDIATION

Rome, 24th November 2006

“Baggage Blues” Multi Party International Mediation

Zurich – Grindelwald Light Rail Hotel Baggage Handling System

Please mark your diaries now for this not to be missed, mock mediation featuring some of Europe’s leading mediation specialists. The event is organised jointly by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, the ICC Dispute Resolution Services and l’Associazione Italiana per l’Arbitrato (AIA). It will be held in Rome at the Palazzo Boncompagni Corcos, property of the Consiglio Nazionale Forense (CNF) in Via del Governo Vecchio, 3 Rome and is hosted by the CNF.

The morning session will consist of a multi-party mediation relating to an important infrastructure project, which is in severe difficulties. There are five international parties to this dispute. They are, a consortium of 16 of Grindelwald’s leading luxury hotels, the hotels are financing the majority of this project and are represented at the mediation by the leader of the consortium; the Zurich – Grindelwald Light Rail Transit Authority, which operates the light rail system and in particular operates, the Grindelwald Olympic Station, (the transit authority also provides some of the finance for this project); a large internationally recognised baggage-handling manufacturer; a specialist firm that manufactures optical character readers and a specialist software company.

The parties to this dispute have entered into a variety of different contractual arrangements with each other and some of these contracts have provisions whereby an attempt must first be made to resolve disputes by mediation before embarking on arbitration. As the mediation unfolds, a moderator will provide explanations of the situation and give commentary on various procedures and points of interest.

Participants at the mock mediation will be provided with detailed general background information on the dispute and details of some confidential facts for one of the five parties to the dispute. After lunch, commentators from various European jurisdictions will explain how the mediation would have been conducted in their own particular countries and highlight some of the cultural and process differences, including the role of the legal advisors.

This will be followed by ageneral panel discussion and open question and answer session. Once the formal proceedings have concluded there will be a cocktail reception for the participants, commentators and roleplayers.

The documentation and the event will be held in English but simultaneous translation will be provided in Italian.

Please send an e-mail to aia@aia-arbitratocomm.org and further details and a registration form will be sent to you shortly.