Mediation

Jagiellonian University of Poland wins International Mediation Competition 2013

  • 13 February 2013
ICC Events

Jagiellonian University of Poland has won the 8th ICC International Mediation Competition, beating the University of Auckland in the Competition final which took place today in Paris.

The Jagiellonian mediation team celebrates their victory.
The Jagiellonian mediation team celebrates their victory.

Featuring over 140 mock mediation sessions, based on real cross-border commercial disputes, the Competition tested the problem solving skills of 66 teams from 31 countries.

The Jagiellonian team comprised law students Jakub Bielamowicz, Karolina Jackowicz, Tomasz Marek and Marta Warchol who win internships at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Centre for ADR and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, as part of the Competition prize.

The team was selected to represent their university after preliminary rounds were held in Krakow, Poland by team coach Malgorzata Kozuch.

“We did our homework and everything we could do to win,” Ms Kozuch said. “Throughout the Competition each performance was better than the one before and we really appreciated the feedback of the judges and mediators. I think the most important learning outcome of the event for my team is the
soft skills; that is the ability to acknowledge the interests not only of the side they are representing but also of the other side.”

Alan Roy, a French professional mediator said: “The Competition is a wonderful experience. Each year it becomes more mediation and less negotiation. We are seeing emotions appearing more whereas before it tended to be purely technical and financial. This is a global trend reflected not just in the students but also in the coaches, mediators and problem writers.”

The Auckland University team comprised third, fourth and fifth year students Adam McDonald, Nupur Upadhyay, Kimberley Eccles and Alice Wang.

“Our university has never competed in the Competition before and we certainly never expected to make it to the final,” said Ms Upadhyay.

“We didn’t know what to expect coming in but have learned a lot not just from the other teams and other mediation styles but also from the feedback we’ve received from the judges and mediators who all have their different styles. It has been a really valuable experience to learn how mediation is done and what is valued in mediation as a form of dispute resolution. We expect that our university will enter the Competition again next year and envisage that we would have a role telling the team what our experience was like and helping them to practice.”

Auckland team coach Nina Khouri – a strong advocate of mediation and alternative dispute resolution who recently joined the university faculty – selected her team following interviews and a practice session to narrow down the large number of applicants who had applied to represent the university.

Nkoyo Igunbor, Ngozi Emuraishe and Clara Emenike are all members of the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators (ICMC) in Nigeria and are attending the Competition as observers to learn more about the way others conduct mediations.

“The students have been wonderful and have really put in their best,” said Ms Igunbor. “We would like to see mediation become part of the academic curriculum in Nigeria and intend to take our learning experiences back home and hopefully get our schools to compete next year.

If we can get the average law student to understand mediation to the level that has been displayed here and get them to think like mediators before they even come out of law school that would be a great achievement.”

Secretary General of the ICC International Court of Arbitration Andrea Carlevaris said: “We hope that the students all return home with increased knowledge and skills to further support the development of mediation in all parts of the world. My congratulations go to everyone who took part in this unique educational event.”

For more information about other amicable dispute resolution
services visit ICC Arbitration and ADR