The program is a 100-hour course designed to take place on an 11 day intensive training taught in English and one assessment day at the end of the program. The course’s maximum number of attendees is limited to 30 people. At all times, at least 2 trainers/lecturers will be present for the training sessions/lectures. (If only one lecturer is appointed for a specific course, there will be at least one co-lecturer appointed to provide assistance where necessary).

Full attendance is required from each participant. If a participant cannot attend 100% of the course, this will be recorded and these records can be requested by the recognizing mediation centers. Only in case of a valid reason (a sudden illness or urgent unforeseen circumstances), participants will be given the possibility to retrieve missed courses in a next training session. The overall responsible trainer for the mediation program is Johan Billiet.

The course is divided in two parts. One part focuses mainly on theoretical trainings which aim to introduce participants to the second part of the course, which provides practical training (eg: by means of role plays).

The theoretical training will elaborate on :

Theories of mediation and other forms of ADR; theory of communications; communications between parties in a conflict; methods of negotiations; conditions for mediation; the mediation process/ phases; drafting a mediation report; procedure of drafting an establishment agreement; creativity for conflict management; power and influencing; legality and reciprocity; impartiality and neutrality; indications and contra-indications for mediation; rules and codes of conduct of the recognizing mediation centers; ethical dilemmas for mediation; legal skills (place of mediation, status and importance of mediation agreements, the status of interim and final reports in mediations, knowledge regarding confidentiality and secrecy, professional liabilities of mediators, the status of a determination agreement); general mediation principles (ethics and philosophies); analytical forms of conflict resolutions; national mediation acts in Europe (e.g. differences between voluntary and judicial mediation, recognized and non-recognized mediators, confidentiality, legal aid, ethics, etc.); sociological aspects of mediation; psychological aspects of mediation (communication and negotiation methods); the mediation procedure; functions of mediators; differences between informing and advising; external advisors; interventions (e.g. caucus); theory of conflicts; theory and practice of reasoned negotiations; theory and practice of European national contract laws; function of party-advisors; function of party experts; and development of a basis behavior (respect, trust, servitude, reliability, interest for people and their problems, passion for process support, tolerance, ambiguity, and neutrality). This knowledge will be assessed on the last day of the course by means of a written exam.

The theoretical training is designed to ensure that the overall course meets all the additional criteria imposed by the mediation centers that recognize the program. There is a list of mediation centers that recognize this course and where course participants (in cases of successful assessment) can apply for accreditation. It is taught both by academics and accredited mediators. Further, the course will also put an emphasis on particularities of contract laws, civil and commercial aspects and European cross-border mediation in civil and commercial matters.

The practical training will elaborate on:

Agreements to mediate; case summaries; arrangements before, during and after the mediation; what makes a good settlement, drafting the settlement agreement; why mediation works; giving and receiving feedback; review of assessment competencies; working with emotion; building empathy; creative solutions – “expanding the pie”; use of flip chart; working with an assistant; breaking “deadlock” and dealing with your own “deadlock”; the mediator’s introduction in the opening joint meeting; managing nerves; energy and developing a reflective practice; role of lawyers, experts, parties; discussion on the issues around practicing mediation in other jurisdictions; regular review of learning points, difficulties, questions, clarifications; decision making – the psychology of decision making, managing fear; managing resistance from parties; the steps in the mediation process; interventions in specific situations; negotiation skills; communication skills; mediation skills; recognition of contra-indications; recognizing abuses of mediation; building a trust relationship; separating contents and relations; identifying interests of parties; identifying and explaining differences in perspectives; creative search for solutions; offering structures; guardian of power balances between parties; explaining and dealing with “impasses/deadlocks”; respecting procedural aspects of mediation; conducting sessions with parties individually; communication skills; skills of listening and posing questions; summarizing and defining; insights in intervisions, supervision and consultation. These skills will be assessed in practice (e.g. through conducting and analyzing moot mediation sessions).

The main objectives of the course are to provide a theoretical and practical understanding of civil and commercial mediation in Europe, by offering a full basic course. The organizers and attendees acknowledge and strive to respect the general criteria established by the different countries and the collaborating mediation centers. The course content has been tailored with a strong awareness of civil and commercial cross border disputes. Attendees will be able to conduct mediation among parties of different nationalities and for several mediation centers in the EU.

The Scope of theoretical Discussion and Analysis

A. Analysis of conflict theory and mediation

• Subtopics: Sociological aspects of mediation, theories of conflicts, theories of mediation and other forms of ADR, theory of communications, communications between parties in a conflict, place of mediation within ADR.
• Specified content of training/lecture: Because quite many mediators have a legal background, the lecturer analyses what effect mediation training might have on lawyers. Mediation training opens the way to a new approach of meaningful legal analysis as a reflection of human interaction. According to the lecturer, lawyers direct the interaction between conflicting parties by effectively analyzing the effects of dynamic conflict affecters as well as the effects of different interactions on these affecters and the related conflict positions. Hence, lawyers may be educated as paradigmatic negotiators and mediators, as they ideally combine knowledge of the law with a conflict-related attitude and experience. Mediation trainings may provide contemporary legal thinking with a necessary interactive format for legal education and practice, as a means to pursue and uphold legal effectiveness.
• Teaching method: PowerPoint presentation, lecture, short exercises
• Course materials and guidance for self-study: Syllabus will be provided outlining course materials and a guided self-study

B. Theory and practice of EU law and mediation Acts

• Subtopics: Mediation acts in Europe (e.g. differences between voluntary and judicial mediation, recognized and non-recognized mediators, confidentiality, legal aid, ethics, etc.); theory and practice of European national contract laws.
• Specified content of training/lecture: This course will explore global trends in mediation, regional perspectives and recent developments in mediation. It will focus particularly on the EU Commission directive 2008/52/EC, the Directive on consumer ADR, and the regulation on consumer ODR as well as on the jurisprudence in mediation and its effects on the culture of mediation in Europe.
• Teaching method: PowerPoint presentation, lecture, mini-exercises
• Course materials and guidance for self-study: Syllabus provided outlining course materials and a guided self-study

C. Analytical study of conflict resolution methods

• Subtopics: Methods of negotiations, conditions for mediation, creativity for conflict management
• Specified content of training/lecture: the lecturer argues against rationalized views of law as communication, by heralding an interactive, case driven and interdisciplinary (ICI) approach to surpass the decadence of contemporary legal thought. He focuses on the affective/effective aspects of law in order to update legal discourse for a changing world of difference, embracing a dynamic concept of legal certainty. At its core, legal theory is legal practice. And legal practice in all its forms is case driven, directed towards an effective coexistence of an increasingly multi-cultural, multi-moral and multi-individual society. Conclusively, the lecturer argues for a legal education that teaches students to master interactive processes and turn these into frames of social cohesion, thus upholding legal discourse through an underlying cogency from within: an interactive, case driven and interdisciplinary (ICI) legal attitude.
• Teaching method: PowerPoint presentation, lecture, exercises
• Course materials and guidance for self-study: Syllabus will be provided outlining course materials and a guided self-study

D. Theory and practice of contract law in Europe

• Subtopics: Place of mediation, status and importance of mediation agreements, status of interim and final reports in mediations, status of a determination agreement.
• Specified content of training/lecture: This course looks at contract law in the EU how to write proper mediation clauses that are enforceable. Students will learn which agreements have to be written, what kind of content has to be included in the mediation agreement, who writes the settlement agreement, and their respective consequences on the mediation.
• Teaching method: PowerPoint presentation, lecture, mini exercises
• Course materials and guidance for self-study: Syllabus will be provided outlining course materials and a guided self-study

E. EU ethics in mediation

• Subtopics: EU voluntary Code of Conduct for Mediators, neutrality and impartiality, rules and codes of conduct of the recognized mediation centers, general mediation principles (ethics and philosophies), development of a basis behavior (respect, trust, reliability, interest for people and their problems, passion for process support, tolerance, ambiguity, and neutrality).
• Specified content of training/lecture: This course will examine the European Code of Conduct for Mediators in detail and the ethical rules in European mediation.
• Teaching method: PowerPoint presentation, lecture
• Course materials and guidance for self-study: Syllabus provided outlining course materials and a guided self-study

F. Interventions in specific situations

• Subtopics: The mediation procedure, functions of the mediator
• Specified content of training/lecture: Students will learn the negotiation styles of different types of people, including themselves, such as those driven to fight, ignore, escape, and solve a problem. They will also look at distributional, oppositional, and hard negotiations and how to apply them. They will learn the eye-for-eye technique and explore the Harvard negotiation model. The four aspects of communication: content, expressive, relational, and appellative. Verbal, nonverbal, and meta-communications will be examined and their uses during different kinds of conflicts. Students will learn how to determine the causes and sources of conflict and identify the psychological escalation mechanism.
• Teaching method: PowerPoint presentation, lecture, exercises
• Course materials and guidance for self-study: Syllabus will be provided outlining course materials and a guided self-study

G. The stages in the mediation process (Part 1)

• Subtopics: The mediation procedure, functions of the mediator
• Specified content of training/lecture: This course will distinguish the several steps employed in mediation. It will also discuss caucusing and the use of shuttle diplomacy. Dilemmas in the first and second mediation phases, ethics in mediation. The attitude and "language" of the mediator.
• Teaching method: PowerPoint presentation, lecture, interactive, role play, film
• Course materials and guidance for self-study: Syllabus will be provided outlining course materials and a guided self-study

H. The stages in the mediation process (Part 2)

• Subtopics: The mediation procedure, functions of the mediator, writing of the report
• Specified content of training/lecture: specific interventions for the 2^nd phase, turning, negotiation and closing phases.
• Teaching method: PowerPoint presentation, lecture, interactive, role play, film
• Course materials and guidance for self-study: Syllabus will be provided outlining course materials and a guided self-study

I. The function of party-experts and party counsels in civil and commercial mediation

• Subtopics: Power and influencing, external advisors
• Specified content of training/lecture: This course examines ethical and strategic issues involving the role of counsel and experts in mediation. The subjects considered include the duty of counsel to advise clients regarding their mediation options, reconciling the roles of advocate and negotiator, the extent to which lawyers as opposed to their clients should take the lead role, how much of one’s case to reveal in mediation (including whether to bring experts and other witnesses), experts’ duties to the court versus their duties to the parties, ensuring that negotiators have sufficient authority, representing clients who do not wish to settle on principle, lying in negotiations, and maintaining confidentiality.
• Teaching method: PowerPoint presentation, lecture, role play
• Course materials and guidance for self-study: Syllabus will be provided outlining course materials and a guided self-study

J. International Mediation

• Subtopics: Cultural impasses, empathy, different styles of conducting business, Western vs. Communitarian views of mediation
• Specified content of training/lecture: This course will look at the specificities of intercultural mediation, from cultural impasse to the visible and invisible aspects of culture and prejudice.
• Teaching method: PowerPoint presentation, lecture
• Course materials and guidance for self-study: Syllabus will be provided outlining course materials and a guided self-study

The Scope of the Practical Training

1. Day 1 of Practical Training

• Subtopics: Introduction to the course; role and attitude of mediator, required skills; my own conflict management style; theory; what is a conflict?; the place of mediation in resolving business disputes and organizational disputes; stages of the mediation process; introduction of mediation circle; the 1^st phase: intake and commitment; theory collaborative communication; meta-communication exercise; dilemma’s of the first phase; demonstration with class involvement; developing learning skills; learning team skills; managing the mediation process.

2. Day 2 of Practical Training

• Subtopics: Stages of the mediation process 2^nd or exploration phase; attitude of the mediator trust and rapport; skills of the mediator; the effects of questions; theory on reframing, futurize, partialize; exercises on skills development ; asking non-partial, neutral questions, normalize, commonize, relation creating questions; skills development: integration.

3. Day 3 of Practical Training

• Subtopics: Skills for getting to needs and interests: reframing and peeling the onion; reason and emotions and the role in decision making; skills for getting the needs and interest- the 4 main emotions; theory: content-emotion-intention; skills for exploring; feedback theory and exercise; skills development; managing self- managing others; exercises on dealing with emotions; private meeting/practice; communication patterns (TA patterns), case exercise 2^nd phase; skills for exploring- review and integration; private sessions: process, rules and dilemma’s.

4. Day 4 of Practical Training

• Subtopics: Functions of the mediator; writing of report; mediation process: from the 2^nd phase to the turning point; mediator’s role in negotiation; negotiation skills- practice; the third party dynamic; 3^rd phase: turning point; theory and exercise; mediation circle: negotiation phase, drawing exercise; brainstorm and other option generating techniques; skills for pace and momentum.

5. Day 5 of Practical Training

• Subtopics: Negotiation phase; managing offers- skills development: circular questions; mediating cases; skills for managing offers; skills for pace and momentum – skills development.

6. Day 6 of Practical Training

• Subtopics: Negotiation phase: the use of the flip over; mediating a case; skills for managing offers.
• Subtopics: Mediation circle: closing phase; theory: final questions; theory rituals; mediating cases (recording); elevator pitch; closing rituals.

Cocktail Reception

AIA welcomes all recognizing mediation centers for a cocktail reception held at the end of the assessment day ( Sunday the 30^th of August 2015) at the HuBrussel, Campus Brussel - T'Serclaes/Hermes/Erasmus, Stormstraat 2 Rue de l'assaut 1000 in Brussels at 18.00. The attending guests will have the opportunity to meet new and previous EMTPJ participants and are welcome to make any suggestion with regards to future EMTPJ sessions.