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                   *                       *
                   *       EUROPEAN        *
              &nbp;        *      ARBITRATION      *
                   *                       *
                   *       issue  7.       *
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                                                        July 31st, 1996.
:CONTENTS

1.  Introduction

2.  Diary of Arbitral; Diary of Arbitral Events.

3.  News items.

4.  Feature Article:
 

                      +++++++++++++++++++++

1. INTRODUCTION:

        Our calendar of events has firmly moved forward into 1997.

        This journal itself makes it into the second half of its first year,
with issue '7'. Very many thanks for all the feedback. Please keep it coming
in! Distribution is already becoming somewhat problematic for our limited
technology ... I hope to see that developed over the remainder of this year
and providing a somewhat smoother service.

:        This month's feature article is another approach to the resolution
of disputes on the Internet. I am grateful to Professor Ethan Katsh of the
Department of Legal Studies at the University of Massachusetts for these
details. You will notice that the service attracts a negative charge.
(Disputants get paid for bringing their dispute to the ombudsman!) I did
hear of a 'disputes week', organised I think in Australia, where
professionals offered their servicsionals offered their services for a week free-of-charge. This was
aimed at clearing-up old disputes as well as promoting the advantages of
dispute resolution services. The Massachusetts approach must though be a
first(?).

                                         Michael Chapman
                                         Publisher.
mchapman@zen.dedal.fr.net
 

                      +++++++++++++++++++++

2. DIARY OF EVENTS:

        All contributions to this DIARY are welcome. It is intended both to
be of use to the individual arbitrator in Europe and also to those that have
to plan or schedule meetings.
:        Generally, listed meetings will be of at least half-a-day's and more
likely a full day's duration. Evening meetings, etc., are only likely to be
of local interest.
        Also -subject to reader feedback- the emphasis is European. However
as the Diary is intended to help in scheduling meetings, it will include
major world events.

                PLEASE see important note below,
                 before using any of this info.

1996:
-----

Sept. 3-12   CIArb, Diploma in Int'l Comm. Arb., Summer School.
             Keble College, Oxford, England.

Sept. 9-13   International Commercial Arbitration. PIDA of the IIBLP (ICC)

Sept. 17-18  'Telecommunications for Arbitrators and Mediators', Geneva.
             Contact: Maggie Frances, InterConnect Communications, Merlin
             House, Station Road, GB-Chepstow-NP6 5PB.
             Tel: +44 1291-620 425, FAX:  -627 119

:Sept. 26-28  CIArb, Conference.  Boston, U.S.A.

Oct. 10      'La Mediation', at: CETEL, Faculte de Droit, UNI-MAIL,
              CH-1211 Geneva 4.  Fax: 0041-22-705 8414.
             A one-day conference in French.

Oct. 10-13   ICCA 1996 Conference: 'Towards an International Arbitration
             Culture', Korea. Contact: Korean Commercial Arbitration Board
             (fax: 00822-551-2020)

Oct. 18-20   LCIA European Council Symposium, Potsdam, Germany.
             Besides the general discussion sessions there will also be a
             session (on Saturday afternoon) to discuss draft amendments
             to the LCIA Rules.

Oct. 18-20   CIArb/DIS. Special Fellowship Course, Berlin.

November     Mediation Training Course. European Network for Dispute
             Resolution. ?southern France. Contact Burt Campbell.
             0033-90.62.43.08    fax: -90.62.38.82.

Nov. 8-10    European Branch of the CIArb. Biannual Meeting.
             Hotel Ambasciatori, Rome.
:             Contact: Dr.Ing. Renato Casalotti  (t/f: 0039-2.55700500)

Nov. 14-16   CIArb. Special Fellowship Course. Paphos, Cyprus.

Nov. 15      ICC/AAA/ICSID Thirteenth Joint Colloquium, New York.
             'The Role of Party Autonomy in International Arbitration.'

Nov. 15-16   WIPO Workshop for Arbitrators, Geneva. Instructors: Serge
             Lazareff, Arthur Marriott. Jan Paulsson, David Plant, Albert
             Van de Berg, and David Wagoner.

Nov. 16-18   CIArb. Entry Course.  Paphos, Cyprus.

Nov. 22-24   CIArb. S.F.C. and an Entry Course.  Edinburgh region.
 

1997:
-----

Mar. 6-7     ICC/ICSID/LCIA and Assoc.of Arb's(Southern Africa)
             Resolution of Int'l Trade and Investment Disputes in Africa.

April 10     Session on commercial disputes as part of ICC world congress
:             (Shanghai).

May 16-18    European Branch of the CIArb. Biannual Meeting.
             Strasbourg, France.  Details to be finalised,
             and contact details to be notified.

Please CONFIRM all details directly with organisers, the above material is
drawn from various sources and should not be relied on by itself(!).

NO apologies are made for meetings omitted. If this Diary is to be
efficacious it needs your contributions, please. (In the same format as
above to: mchapman@zen.dedal.fr.net)
 

contact details for frequently  cited organisations:
---------------
CIArb  Chap;

contact details for frequently  cited organisations:
---------------
CIArb  Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London.
        71411.2735@compuserve.com
       BUT NOTE CIArb Branch meetings: make direct contact with
       --------                        local organiser, as above.
IIBLP  Institute of International Business Law and Practice,
        address to Louise Barrington via 101643.1223@compuserve.com
LCIA   London Court of International Arbitration .
:        t: 00441-714-178.228, f: 00441-714-178.404
WIPO   World Intellectual Property Organisation, Geneva.
        t:0041-22-730.9111, f: 0041-22-733.5428

                      +++++++++++++++++++++
 

3. NEWS ITEMS:

Arbitration on the 'Net:
------------------------
        In issue 04 I promised to give details of the CIArb on the 'Net.
With apologies for the delay hologies for the delay here they are. In the meantime the ICC has also
joined the 'Net.

CIArb:   E-mail:    71411.2735@compuserve.com
         Homepage:  http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/arbitrators

ICC:     E-mail:    101643.1223@compuserve.com
         Homepage:  http://www1.usa1.com/~ibnet/icchp.html

Other entries for this column welcome!

:
'European Arbitration' and the 'Net:
------------------------------------
I am discussing the possibility of issues of EA (current and some/all past
numbers) being available at a WWW site. I am excited by the possibility of
an electronic archive of the material produced. The Diary of Events is
rather ephemeral, but I am a great believer in the availability of the back
issues of all publications.
On the specific matter of current material (say the last issue, and each new
issue as published) I would welcome readers comments as to whether they
prefer distribution by E-mail, or if they enjoy browsing the 'Net
themselves(?).

Arbitral Groups:
------------------
I requested detaitt>
I requested details of persons or bodies who organise groups for like minded
persons to exchange experiences, etc. on matters arbitral in relation to a
particular technical field. The list thus far is:
        Accountancy            CIArb Special Interest Group
        Agriculture            Peter Brown, fax 0044-1206-391919
        Insurance              CIArb SIG
        Intellectual Property  CIArb SIG
        Medicine               CIArb SIG
:        Pharmaceuticals        mchapman@zen.dedal.fr.net
        Telecommunications     rhill@batnet.com
Again anyone else's hobby horses are welcome for the listing.

Rome Meeting:
-------------
The European Branch of the CIArb is holding the next of its biannual
meetings
meetings at the Hotel Ambasciatori in Rome from the evening of Friday,
November 8th. Participants will meet over Friday dinner. The meeting proper
will take place on the Saturday and Sunday (ending with lunch on Sunday
November 10th). The main dinner is on Saturday evening, and Dr.Ing Renato
Casalotti, the European Branch Treasurer and this meeting's organiser, has
arranged a prestigious outside venue. He is also arranging transport to and
from it by coach.
Any member (or intending member) of the Chartered Institute who would like
further details should contact Dr Casalotti. telephone/fax:
00392-55-700-500.
 

                      +++++++++++++++++++++

4. FEATURE ARTICLE:

:The following press release was kindly forwarded by:
      Ethan Katsh (Katsh@Legal.umass.edu) Co-Director, Online Ombuds
      Office (http://www.ombuds.org/)
 
 

"      UMASS OPENS VIRTUAL COURTROOM TO SETTLE DISPUTES IN CYBERSPACE
       -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                   Parties may receive $100 for using the
                    services of the Online Ombuds Office

        AMHERST, Mass. -- If you are looking for a way to make some money
in cyberspace, two University of Massachusetts law professors have an
offer for you. Bring a dispute to their new online conflict resolution
service and you may walk away with $100.

        The Online Ombuds Office is the brainchild of Professors Ethan
Katsh and Janet Rifkin. They see disputes occurring in cyberspace just as
they might occur in any place where there is a lot of activity and where
there are many interactions and transactions occurring. They also see the
:need for cyberspace to have its own institutions and programs to deal with
these disputes and conflicts. So they set up the Online Ombuds Office on
:the World Wide Web at http://www.ombuds.org/

        But why pay disputants? Actually, Katsh and Rifkin will only pay
the parties in the
the parties in the first disputes that the project settles involving
copyright, the First Amendment, Internet domain names, harassment, and
Internet service providers. As Rifkin says, "We're still learning about
settling disputes in cyberspace. We are also not like a court that can
order both sides to appear. We have to create a track record and we need
the online world to take notice that cyberspace needs institutions that
can settle problems."

        Katsh and Rifkin received a grant of $50,000 from the National
Center for Automated Information Research to set up the Online Ombuds
Office. The same foundation has also funded the Virtual Magistrate
project, http://vmag.law.vill.edu:8080, a somewhat different online
dispute resolution service that has been in operation since March.

        The Virtual Magistrate project uses arbitrators who receive
information from both sides in a dispute and then issue a ruling. The
Ombuds model is more likely to involve investigation and mediation. "Our
hope," says Katsh, "is that we can find ways for the parties to agree on
:solutions that each finds attractive." The two projects work together and
refer car and
refer cases to each other when appropriate.
:
        In setting up the project, Katsh and Rifkin have learned that
cyberspace has its share of angry and difficult people. "Even before we
announced the site," reports Katsh, "we were contacted by someone who was
having an argument with a person who, a few months earlier, was elected
the Internet's Kook of the Month. This person would get into disagreements
with people in newsgroups and then contact their employers, suggesting
that company time was being misused.

        Katsh is the author of two books on law and computers -- most
recently "Law in a Digital World" (Oxford University Press) -- and sees
the Net as having many resources for settling disputes that arise on the
network. Rifkin writes and teaches about alternative dispute resolution,
has served as the University of Massachusetts ombudsperson for five years,
and is active in the national alternative dispute resolution movement.

        Katsh and Rifkin have recruited experienced ombudspersons from
U.C.L.A., MIT and Harvard to intervene in disputes. They note that the
ability to involve expertt>ability to involve experts located far away is one of the great assets of
cyberspace.

:        The Internet, for some people, has a reputation as being a
dangerous place where pornography is rampant and some unsavory characters
:hang out. Katsh argues that this perception is a terrible distortion.
"Our view isn't that cyberspace is a bad place. It's just not a harmonious
place. The number of people and the kind of activities occurring online
are rapidly expanding. And the more people engage in commercial
activities, and the more people interact with each other, the more
disputes are going to arise. Serious work is not necessarily free of
conflicts. If people think that their property is being stolen or their
rights interfered with, they should have some recourse to a project such
as ours."
 

                      +++++++++++++++++++++

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END OF THIS ISSUE.