Julian Roskill and I attended the recent Mediation and Negotiation Competition in Vienna under the auspices of the IBA/VIAC. More than 3o highly motivated and skilled teams from all over the world participated in this educational and entertaining event. Both Julian and I were assessors in the preliminary rounds and Julian also assessed one of the quarter finals. I was lucky enough to be chosen to be on the panel in one of the semis and the photo shows the panel of judges and a team from Singapore on the left and the ultimate winners from India on the right. It was an extremely professionally run event and credit and thanks are due to Claudia Winker and her team who ensured we were all always on time! It is a bonus to be able to share one’s experiences with the next generation and on this occasion both Julian and I gave a talk on negotiation skills as well as discharging our “judicial” duties. It was particularly satisfying to see and hear the teams putting into practice in the later rounds what they had clearly taken on board in the earlier rounds. I very much hope to be involved again next year.

Consensum will be represented at an international mediation competition in Vienna from 17th to 20th July. Julian Roskill and Charles Holloway have been selected as expert assessors at the event which has attracted more than 30 entries from universities around the world. In addition, they will be conducting a Negotiation Skills workshop at which it is hoped that up to 60 of the students will be able to attend. It promises to be a fascinating week and an opportunity to meet not only aspiring lawyers and mediators but also a varied group of international mediators, negotiators and coaches.