Mediator / Arbitrator

What a Mediator / Arbitrator does daily

• Community mediation (Mediation Board) — serving as a trained community mediator on a Mediation Board; facilitating the structured mediation process for neighbourhood; family; and minor civil disputes referred to the Board; the community mediation process involves joint sessions and separate caucuses; the mediator facilitates negotiation without deciding the outcome; the settlement agreement reached is enforceable as a contract; this is the most accessible and widely used ADR service in Sri Lanka
• Commercial mediation — facilitating the resolution of commercial disputes through mediation: the opening session (introducing the process; the parties; ground rules); separate caucuses (private meetings with each party to explore interests and settlement options); joint sessions (where progress allows); the drafting of a settlement agreement; commercial mediation is used for contract disputes; partnership disputes; joint venture disputes; shareholder disputes; property disputes; and financial disputes
• Commercial arbitration (domestic) — serving as a sole arbitrator or member of an arbitral tribunal in domestic commercial arbitration under the ICLP Rules or ad hoc arbitration under the Arbitration Act No. 11 of 1995; the arbitration process involves: the appointment of arbitrators; the preliminary meeting; the exchange of pleadings (Statement of Claim; Statement of Defence; Reply); directions for disclosure; the evidentiary hearing (oral evidence; documentary evidence; expert evidence; closing submissions); the deliberation; the drafting and issuing of the award
• International commercial arbitration — serving as arbitrator or counsel in international commercial arbitration under SIAC; ICC; LCIA; or UNCITRAL rules; the international arbitration practice is the most prestigious and well-compensated ADR specialism; reserved for those with the highest levels of commercial law and arbitration knowledge
• Labour arbitration — serving as an arbitrator in labour disputes under the Industrial Disputes Act (disputes referred to arbitration by the Ministry of Labour; as an alternative to the Labour Tribunal); the labour arbitration function resolves employment relationship disputes (wrongful termination; collective bargaining disputes; wage disputes) through a private adjudicative process
• Arbitration counsel — appearing as counsel (advocate) for a party in a commercial arbitration proceeding; drafting pleadings (Statement of Claim; Defence); preparing witness statements; preparing expert evidence; conducting the oral hearing; making submissions; the arbitration counsel role is the commercial litigation equivalent for the arbitration context
• Mediation Board administration and training — managing a Mediation Board; training new mediators; quality assurance of the mediation process; administrative management of the Board's caseload; the administrative and training functions that sustain the Mediation Board system
• Investor-state arbitration (ICSID / UNCITRAL) — advising the Sri Lanka government (through the AG's Department and BOI) on defending investor-state arbitration claims under Bilateral Investment Treaties; or advising investors on bringing claims against the Sri Lanka government; the investor-state arbitration practice is the highest-value and most complex ADR specialism in Sri Lanka
• Expert determination — in some commercial disputes; the parties appoint an expert (typically a technical expert rather than a lawyer) to determine a specific factual or technical question (the valuation of a business; the measurement of a construction defect) whose determination is binding; the mediator or arbitrator may advise on the expert determination process
• ADR system design and institutional development — designing ADR programmes for companies; government institutions; and courts; developing court-connected mediation programmes; advising on ADR policy; the system design function that builds the institutional infrastructure for ADR