New Jersey Mediation to Create a Hub for Mediation of International Disputes

David Weiss, founder and director of the Institute for Dispute Resolution (IDR) at NJCU, is establishing an International Mediation Center (IMC) in Jersey City to provide a resource to the business community for mediating disputes.

Founded by Weiss, the new IMC is being launched in the wake of Gov. Chris Christie’s signing of a new dispute resolution statute in New Jersey that Weiss had proposed and is known as the New Jersey International Arbitration, Mediation, and Conciliation Act. According to Weiss, in an interview with Mediate.com, the legislation specifically addresses a known problem in international law, which is mediated settlements of international disputes are not readily enforceable around the world. This problem needs to be addressed in light of the exponential growth of commerce-across-borders taking place among small and medium-sized U.S. businesses. In New Jersey alone, the state exported

$32.1 billion worth of merchandise in 2015, much of it going to Canada and Mexico.

The  IMC, which is expected to open this spring, will act to provide a range of services to the global business community, including physical space to conduct mediations; panels of IMI-certified mediators specifically experienced and trained to address cross-border disputes between businesses; mediation training for commercial and government entities, and continuing education promoting mediation advocacy regionally and internationally.

Weiss also expects the IMC to enter into strategic relationships with other, similar mediation centers worldwide, and to help establish new “sister mediation centers” to assist users and their advisers to address disputes through the mediation process more efficiently.

On Tuesday, March 21, the IDR will host Redefining Risk for Family Businesses: Global Growth in the 21st Century in the Skyline Room at the NJCU School of Business.  For more information on this showcase event, click here.