Commercial Mediation Symposium 2023 tomorrow

IARDC General Secretary and Director Dhara Wijayatilake - Pic by Lasantha Kumara 

By Divya Thotawatte

Highlighting opportunities of commercial mediation, a symposium on the topic will be held on 26 September in an effort to promote the alternative dispute resolution mechanism while enhancing Sri Lanka’s position as an attractive trade, business and investment location.

The symposium titled, ‘Mediation - The Smart Option for Commercial Dispute Resolution’ is organised by the International Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre (IADRC) in Sri Lanka. 

IARDC General Secretary and Director Dhara Wijayatilake said the symposium aims to educate the public on the practicality and the ease in resorting to mediation as a meaningful alternative dispute resolution mechanism and thereby, promoting Sri Lanka’s name as a destination of effective business and investment in the global arena.

She explained that many parties prefer alternative dispute resolution mechanisms because of their effectiveness compared to litigation processes. However, mediation has still not received adequate attention compared to arbitration in Sri Lanka despite its potential to resolve disputes efficiently and the competency and skills of local mediators. Therefore, the opportunities and possibilities it presents to the country are largely unrecognised. 

“Unlike arbitration, mediation does not tell the disputing parties what to do. Using certain skills and techniques, the mediators will allow the parties to discuss their problems, unpack their stories, and question them in a manner that will help them solve their problems,” Wijayatilaka explained. 

Mediation offers a non-adversarial process that empowers disputing parties to reach a solution that is to their satisfaction with the assistance of a mediator who plays a non-coercive role. Today, mediation is increasingly recognised and used globally to resolve different disputes ranging from neighbourhood and community disputes to family disputes to commercial disputes. 

The symposium was organised to discuss several aspects of mediation that will educate the participants on maximising the services of this alternative dispute resolution mechanism. The technical sessions will cover areas such as the sustainability of mediation for the resolution of commercial disputes, its potential to contribute to business decisions and attract foreign direct investment to Sri Lanka, features that distinguishes mediation from litigation and arbitration, the Singaporean Convention and its value in cross border enforcement of mediated settlement agreements, and investor-state dispute resolution. 

These topics are highly useful and relevant since Sri Lanka is currently formulating legislation to define practice standards for the use of mediation and to also recognise the framework for enforcement of international settlement agreements resulting from mediation in line with the Singapore Convention, which Sri Lanka signed in 2019. 

According to the IADRC, with the enactment of these laws and the availability of ADR services of international standards to enhance commercial dispute resolution, Sri Lanka will emerge as an attractive destination for investment, trade and business.