THE PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW OF COMMERCIAL MEDIATION

In a commercial contract that contains a mediation clause, a dispute arises. Mediation starts and the related questions begin:

• Must the parties sign an agreement with the mediator and under which law?
• Should the parties enter into detailed agreement to mediate and under which law?
• Could parties be obliged, or directed to mediation?
• What law (and rules) shall apply to the process of mediation?
• How will the mediator’s obligations be defined?
• Should mediation result to an agreement, would this be in writing and signed by whom?
• If a party does not abide by such agreement, what can the other party do?
• Can the non-abiding party defend its position in a court of law?
• Would the answers to the above questions differ, depending on the place of residence of the parties or on the place of the mediation?

The answers to these questions (and more) can be found in this book, which is the first of its kind internationally and introduces novel theories and notions such as:

• the ‘hybrid legal nature’ of the mediated settlement agreement,
• the related theory of the inherent binding effect and enforceability such agreement may have,
• the notion of the ‘legal shell’ of mediation,
• the idea of the non-existence of forum in mediation
• the notion of ‘lex mediationis’.

This book is a must read for academics, for research and teaching, and for practitioners, to find assistance in their international mediation practice.