Delivering a clear and precise statement of the law and comprehensive practical guidance this book addresses the formation, administration, and financial management of unincorporated associations and the commonly occurring problems that arise. As well as content on practical matters such as rules, committees, and registration of names, the book gives clear guidance on the classification of unincorporated associations and on distinguishing them from other forms of clubs. It also addresses disciplinary action against members, as well as both tortious and contractual liability and civil court procedure, providing a complete source of reference for those involved in advising all types of unincorporated associations.
The appendices provide specimen sets of rules and procedure for disciplinary action giving practical guidance and equipping the reader with invaluable time saving tools.
Outside of England and Wales, European Union policy has had a significant impact on the law relating to unincorporated associations, limiting the freedom to contract which originally governed the formation of interlinked contracts within these groups. The implementation of European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, along with related statues, has affected the right of membership to an unincorporated association and the manner in which a member may be disciplined for breach of rules. The book provides unique guidance on these changes as well as the impact of those affected by the Woolf reforms on disputes concerning unincorporated associations.

International Arbitration in Latin America features:
- a comprehensive and thorough overview of commercial arbitration in Latin America;
- a detailed analysis of the law and insight from local practitioners from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela;
- a brief look at the rules and peculiarities of the proposed Mercosur International Commercial Arbitration Agreements entered into by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia and Chile, whose eventual ratification and coming into force is contemplated;
- an examination of the adoption of arbitration as a method of dispute resolution for investors against states under bilateral investment treaties, over 300 of which have now been signed in the region;
- the text of the key sections of the international conventions to which reference is made (Panama Convention, NAFTA, Mercosur); and,
- a description of the increasing use of alternative dispute resolution in Latin America and how it might be bes used as a complement for arbitration proceedings, with an emphasis on complex projects where staged dispute resolution might be appropriate.

This book examines how the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, commonly known as The New York Convention, has been understood and applied in [insert number] jurisdictions, including virtually all that are leading international arbitration centers. It begins with a general report surveying and synthesizing national responses to a large number of critical issues in the Convention's interpretation and application. It is followed by national reports, all of which are organized in accordance with a common questionnaire raising these critical issues. Following introductory remarks, each report addresses the following aspects of the Convention which include its basic implementation within the national legal system; enforcement by local courts of agreements to arbitrate (including grounds for withholding enforcement), recognition and enforcement of foreign awards by local courts under the Convention (including grounds for denying recognition and enforcement), and essential procedural issues in the courts' conduct of recognition and enforcement. Each report concludes with an overall assessment of the Convention's interpretation and application on national territory and recommendations, if any, for reform. The New York Convention was intended to enhance the workings of the international arbitral system, primarily by ensuring that arbitral awards are readily recognizable and enforceable in States other than the State in which they are rendered, subject of course to certain safeguards reflected by the Convention's limited grounds for denying recognition or enforcement. It secondarily binds signatory states to enforce the arbitration agreements on the basis of which awards under the Convention will be rendered. Despite its exceptionally wide adoption and its broad coverage, the New York Convention depends for its efficacy on the conduct of national actors, and national courts in particular. Depending on the view of international law prevailing in a given State, the Convention may require statutory implementation at the national level. Beyond that, the Convention requires of national courts an apt understanding of the principles and policies that underlie the Convention's various provisions. Through its in-depth coverage of the understandings of the Convention that prevail across national legal systems, the book gives practitioners and scholars a much-improved appreciation of the New York Convention "on the ground."

This book focuses on the decision of the Tribunal in the South China Sea Arbitration that China had operated its law enforcement vessels in ways that created risks of collision with Philippine official vessels at Scarborough Shoal in April and May 2012. The book explains the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS) and the incidents in layperson's terms. It analyzes China's violations of the COLREGS on the basis of confidential Philippine documents declassified for the Arbitration, technical works by professional mariners, and the reports submitted by the navigational safety experts to the Tribunal. It pays attention to Chinese post-arbitration critiques of the Tribunal 's decision, which it characterizes as rationalizations of collisions as instruments of Chinese foreign policy. It contrasts China's conduct with the practice of the US and Western European States, which mandate compliance with collision regulations even during law enforcement operations. The book draws on sources in five languages (English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish), and helps the reader understand the pattern of China's harassment of vessels from littoral and non-littoral States in the South China Sea as well as the absence of legal foundations for China's rationalizations of its behavior.

The book explores the WIPO journey so far and looks at how relevant the treaties are in contemporary world after 25 years of their existence. It revisits the WIPO Diplomatic Conference, narrates briefly how the Internet Treaties came into being, describes all the developments germane to the Internet Treaties over the last twenty-five years and examines at length how well these treaties withstood the creative gales of destruction having a bearing on the production, distribution and consumption of digital content. The retrospective consists of two parts. The first part looks back at the conference, its course of events, its negotiation dynamics, the doctrinal differences and sharply conflicting economic interests underlying the stands taken by the main parties to negotiations and the national and transnational interest groups that sought to influence the negotiation process and outcomes. The second part reflects on the outcomes and assesses with the wisdom of hindsight, how appropriate the outcomes were and how well they withstood the passage of time. This second aspect is the main focus of this book. The retrospective is limited to the digital agenda of DipCon; but for the digital agenda, the DipCon is convened so soon and the Internet Treaties concluded so fast. The book provides rich material for researchers studying the WIPO journey and also the practitioners by throwing light on discussions that led to a treaty that has in general withstood the trials of time.

This book is a unique compilation of comprehensive works covering the potentials, challenges, and realities of geographical indications from an Indian perspective. The book encompasses critical studies on legal, regulatory, and institutional frameworks and debates surrounding geographical indications. The concept of geographical indication has not received paramount importance in India compared to the other forms of intellectual property rights like patents and trademarks, while GI is becoming critical in national and international discourses. It aims at presenting both national and international situations and discussions, which will appeal to readers worldwide. This book in its first part elaborately deals with the genesis of the GI Act, and then it goes on to analyze both substantive as well as procedural aspects of the registration under the Indian GI Act and tries to identify the discrepancy and gaps in the laws. Also, a comparative perspective has been built by analyzing the GI laws and regulations of some developed countries with that of India. The challenges in existing regulation for quality control and enforcement of GI products in the Indian GI Act have been dealt comprehensively by the authors which are critical in achieving the stated objectives of the Act. The book also focuses on the role of geographical indication in the socio-economic development of rural India. The authors have illustrated how the GI can act as an effective mechanism for employment generation and sustainable growth opportunities in different sectors like agriculture, food, and handicraft. The interaction of GI with traditional knowledge and biodiversity and their impact on society is also extensively covered. The book contains real-life case studies by the authors from different states of India highlighting the success stories and missed opportunities of different GIs and the way forward where the GI can function as an effective tool for the overall development of a country and promote international trade. The book will provide law students, scholars from legal and IP disciplines, legal practitioners, producers, and policymakers a factual and multidimensional insight into the GI system in India. This will further promote research in this area, particularly from an Asian perspective and enhance the real-life application of GI to varied products.

The burgeoning of court litigation and the resulting logjams in the judicial system have spawned new ways for attorneys and their clients to resolve disputes quickly and at a lower cost. Alternative dispute resolution is one important way of doing this. Editors Nagel and Mills, along with their contributors, explore the theory and practice of this technique. They demonstrate how to clarify, understand and develop the various options available under alternative dispute resolution, and how to evaluate the probable outcomes. Among the tools available to facilitate dispute resolution are microcomputer-based, rule-based expert systems and, for specific fields of dispute, decision-aiding software.

The editors delineate several ways in which participants in a dispute win or lose. The most desirable are the super-optimum solutions in which all sides come out ahead of their best expectations. They point out that win-win solutions are not as desirable as would seem at first glance since parties only come out ahead relative to their worst expectations. Subject matter for resolution methods include disputes involving family members, neighborhoods, merchants-consumer, management-labor, legislation and foreign countries. Scholars, lawyers and policy-makers will find this book a valuable resource.

In a world governed by speed, where the Internet plays a growing role in many of today's innovations, the resolution of disputes using electronic means of communication may soon be part of everyday legal practice. This book offers solutions to the salient issues of this new field of practice, and even spells out proposed legislative and conventional amendments as well as specific provisions in arbitration rules. Among the topics covered are the following:
- the different methods of ODR;
- fields of use;
- ways to bring parties to online dispute resolution;
- validity and effects of clauses entered into online and providing for online mediation or arbitration;
- issues surrounding electronic communications and evidence in arbitration; and,
- enforcement of online dispute resolution outcomes, both through court proceedings and built-in enforcement mechanisms.

How do ordinary people access justice? This book offers a novel socio-legal approach to access to justice, alternative dispute resolution, vulnerability and energy poverty. It poses an access to justice challenge and rethinks it through a lens that accommodates all affected people, especially those who are currently falling through the system. It raises broader questions about alternative dispute resolution, the need for reform to include more collective approaches, a stronger recognition of the needs of vulnerable people, and a stronger emphasis on delivering social justice. The authors use energy poverty as a site of vulnerability and examine the barriers to justice facing this excluded group. The book assembles the findings of an interdisciplinary research project studying access to justice and its barriers in the UK, Italy, France, Bulgaria and Spain (Catalonia). In-depth interviews with regulators, ombuds, energy companies, third-sector organisations and vulnerable people provide a rich dataset through which to understand the phenomenon. The book provides theoretical and empirical insights which shed new light on these issues and sets out new directions of inquiry for research, policy and practice. It will be of interest to researchers, students and policymakers working on access to justice, consumer vulnerability, energy poverty, and the complex intersection between these fields. The book includes contributions by Cosmo Graham (UK), Sarah Supino and Benedetta Voltaggio (Italy), Marine Cornelis (France), Anais Varo and Enric Bartlett (Catalonia) and Teodora Peneva (Bulgaria).

This revised text provides a practical guide to the law relating to all aspects of costs in arbitration proceedings. The Arbitration Act 1996, has made significant changes to the law on arbitration costs. These have, among other things, made arbitrators responsible for the cost-effective management of cases, and given them new powers to help them achieve this. In its second edition, "Costs in Arbitration Proceedings" has been updated to include sections on: agreements as to costs; the arbitrator's power to limit costs; and forms and precedents. It sets out the law of costs for the parties and of the parties, the arbitrators' fees, taxation of costs, and security for costs, costs implications of offers of settlement and application to the court in repect of costs. It is suitable for professional arbitration lawyers and also for the new or lay arbitrator.

When a dispute arises between a European or American firm and a Chinese business partner, this matchless source of expert guidance is exactly what a practitioner needs. It provides a lucid understanding of what kinds of disputes are likely to arise, why they arise, and exactly how to proceed with confidence toward a satisfactory resolution in post-WTO China. "Resolving Business Disputes in China" explores and discusses such issues and topics as the following: pertinent legislation and the commentary it has elicited; relevant jurisdictional rules covering arbitration, mediation, and other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods; drafting arbitration agreements; arbitration/mediation procedure; labour/employment arbitration; intellectual property infringement protection measures; anti-dumping measures, anti-subsidy and countervailing measures, and safeguard measures; structure of the court system; and judicial procedural standards and evidentiary rules. The book summarises cases that tend to establish points of law, linking them to corresponding legislation and presenting them according to the matter of the dispute (contractual, intellectual property, technology transfer, employment, and so on). Arbitration fee schedules and a list of arbitrators are also included. Western practitioners who deal with China, whatever the size of the enterprise they represent, need look no further than this incomparable book for the expert guidance they require. This title forms part of the "Asia Business Law Series". "The Asia Business Law Series" is published in cooperation with CCH Asia and provides updated and reliable practical guidelines, legislation and case law, in order to help practitioners, policy makers and scholars understand how business is conducted in the rapidly growing Asian market.

This book provides a deeper understanding of electronic evidence and its use in civil and commercial dispute resolution. The explosive growth of information technology has had major impacts on the development of the economy, society and also on the improvement of legal proceedings with the use of modern technology in all areas of criminal and civil procedures. This book focuses on the current provisions of UNCITRAL, the European Union, Germany and Vietnam concerning electronic evidence in civil and commercial dispute resolution. It analyses the notion and the basic aspects of evidence and electronic evidence and explores the process of finding electronic evidence. Further, it discusses how the effectiveness of finding electronic evidence can be reconciled with a respect for fundamental rights, in particular with personal privacy and personal data protection. The book subsequently addresses the authentication and admissibility of electronic evidence; the evaluation of electronic evidence and the burden of proof; and the challenges of using electronic evidence in civil and commercial dispute resolution. Finally, it puts forward proposals for promoting the use of electronic evidence in these contexts. As the book focuses on the current texts of UNCITRAL and the civil procedure legislation of the European Union, Germany and Vietnam, it relies on a comparative method which deals with the most significant provisions of the above legislation.

This book centres on the ways in which the concept of imperativeness has found expression in private international law (PIL) and discusses "imperative norms", and "imperativeness" as their intrinsic quality, examining the rules or principles that protect fundamental interests and/or the values of a state so as to require their application at any cost and without exceptions. Discussing imperative norms in PIL means referring to international public policy and overriding mandatory rules: in this book the origins, content, scope and effects of both these forms of imperativeness are analyzed in depth. This is a subject deserving further study, considering that very divergent opinions are still emerging within academia and case law regarding the differences between international public policy and overriding mandatory rules as well as with regard to their way of functioning. By using an approach mainly based on an analysis of the case law of the CJEU and of the courts of the various European countries, the book delves into the origin of imperativeness since Roman law, explains how imperative norms have evolved in the different conceptions of private international law, and clarifies the foundation of the differences between international public policy and overriding mandatory rules and how these concepts are used in EU Regulations on PIL (and in the practice related to these sources of law). Finally, the work discusses the influence of EU and public international law sources on the concept of imperativeness within the legal systems of European countries and whether a minimum content of imperativeness - mainly aimed at ensuring the protection of fundamental human rights in transnational relationships - between these countries has emerged. The book will prove an essential tool for academics with an interest in the analysis of these general concepts and practitioners having to deal with the functioning of imperative norms in litigation cases and in the drafting of international contracts. Giovanni Zarra is Assistant professor of international law and private international law and transnational litigation in the Department of Law of the Federico II University of Naples.

For some years there has been growing dissatisfaction with litigation and arbitration as a means of settling construction disputes, and increasingly parties have been turning to adjudication and alternative dispute resolution (ADR).

This trend was given a major impetus by the introduction of the 1996 Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act and the Scheme for Construction Contracts, which resulted in statutory adjudication being introduced in most of the main building and engineering standard forms.

This book surveys the growth of ADR and looks in detail at the various methods:

* adjudication and expert determination
* mediation and conciliation
* dispute review boards and disputes advisers
* other forms, such as mini-trial and mediation-arbitration

It discusses the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act and the Scheme for Construction Contracts, and their effect on adjudication and construction contracts considering both procedural and legal issues. It looks in detail at the adjudication clauses of all the main building and engineering contracts.

This work represents a broad-based perspective of the conflict resolution process. While related books have tended to specialize on specific settings, this volume gives in-depth treatment of four various settings--environmental risk resolution, rule-making in the public sector, consumer disputes, and contracts and the courts. It also examines future models for resolving disputes. With its contributions from both practitioners and theorists in the art/science of conflict resolution, this volume properly emphasizes the important role that public policy plays in the settlement of societal conflict.

The first section of the book deals with dispute resolution related to environmental issues. Articles in this section address negotiations in the area of hazardous waste, present a review of the timber, fish, and wildlife policy negotiations of Washington State, and examine environmental regulation in the Reagan era. The second section focuses on consumer disputes in two areas--utilities and those exposed unwittingly to asbestos. The third section discusses contracts and the limitations of courts as a higher authority. The fourth section reviews negotiated rule-making in administrative settings. The final portion presents a modern approach to dispute resolution using decision-aiding software. This book serves as valuable reading for anyone interested in the interconnected fields of dispute resolution and public policy.

The book explores the definition and nature of guerrilla tactics in international commercial arbitration. It analyses various such tactics deployed (pre-Covid and during Covid times) and portrays them in a way that enables one to visualise how, and possibly why, they might be deployed. Attempts to codify ethical standards and rules regulating the behaviour of legal representatives in international arbitration are examined. The book covers a range of culture clashes, addresses several elephants in the room, and looks at factors inherent in the arbitral process that create opportunities and increase temptations to misbehave. It considers the remedies and sanctions available in international arbitration and compares them to those available to the courts in civil litigation. In addition to recommendations for future research, the book offers solutions to curb the problem in line with party autonomy and with a critical analysis. "This manuscript is an essential solutions-based text that not only addresses a comprehensive range of modern-day guerrilla tactics in international commercial arbitration but also offers thoughtful methods to deal with the shenanigans that parties may bring to the arbitral process." - Chiann Bao, Independent Arbitrator, Arbitration Chambers and Vice President of the International Chamber of Commerce, Court of Arbitration "Dr. Ahuja's book is a thoughtful and highly practical contribution to the study of procedures in international commercial arbitration. It is replete with scholarly analysis, careful treatment of authority, pragmatic insights and policy discussions. Any practitioner or student of international arbitration would benefit from this volume." - Gary Born, Author, International Commercial Arbitration (3d ed. 2021) "A highly readable and informative book which identifies and analyses the numerous guerrilla tactics parties may attempt to deploy in international commercial arbitration, the factors which may encourage such behaviour, and practical mechanisms to keep the proceedings on track. Both erudite and practical, this book is a must-read for parties, counsel and arbitrators alike." - Prof. Benjamin Hughes, Independent Arbitrator, The Arbitration Chambers "Guerrilla tactics are a pertinent problem in arbitration. Dr. Ahuja's well written book not only describes the various tactics in a succinct way but provides extremely useful guidance on how to tackle them. It will be a primary source of reference for every practitioner faced with such tactics." - Prof. Dr. Stefan Kroell, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the German Arbitration Institute (DIS) "Taming the Guerrilla in International Commercial Arbitration offers a refreshingly candid and balanced discussion of 'sharp practices' in international arbitration. The book collects a wealth of information on guerrilla tactics previously only available in separate survey reports, articles, and guidelines on the topic. It additionally includes a chapter addressing tactics deployed in virtual or remote arbitrations due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The comprehensive research and analysis presented in this book make it a valuable resource to counsel, parties, arbitrators, academics, and those who deliver practical arbitration training. A must-read for those who want to better understand the practices that may lead some to disfavor arbitration and ways the arbitration community can respond to guerrilla tactics to improve the arbitration process for all participants." - Dana MacGrath, Independent Arbitrator, MacGrath Arbitration "From an unreasoned fiat of a wise man who left both sides equally unhappy but resolved the disputes effectively, arbitration has evolved into a full-scale trial before a party chosen tribunal. Its informality and expedition puts in peril the fundamental right of the recalcitrant to delay proceedings. Dr. Ahuja has assiduously articulated the measures, aptly christened Guerrilla Tactics, used to disrupt and derail arbitrations. An indispensable read for the practitioner and an insightful treatise for the policy maker." - Harish Salve SA QC, Blackstone Chambers "This book shines a spotlight on arbitration's dark arts - guerrilla tactics. Dr Ahuja illuminates this shadowy world with excellent (and much needed) scholarship that is practice-based and useful for all stakeholders in arbitration. His examination of the root causes of this problem, recommendations on how to control it, comparisons with litigation practice and suggestions for future research marvellously combine to make this a work that is required to be consulted by all serious counsel, arbitrators, institutions and academics in the field of arbitration." - Romesh Weeramantry, Head, International Dispute Resolution, Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore

This book examines interactions and discusses intersectionality between public international law and private international law. With contributions from scholars from USA, Canada, Australia, India and EU, this book brings out truly international perspectives on the topic. The contributions are arranged in four themes-Public international law and private international law: historical and theoretical considerations of the boundary; Harmonisation of private international law by public international law instruments: evaluation of process, problems, and effectiveness; Case studies of intersectionality between public international law and private international law; Future trends in the relationship between public international law and private international law. The ultimate aim of this book is to analyse whether these two legal disciplines become convergent or they are still divergent as usual. With wide coverage spanning across these four themes, the book has takeaways for a wide readership. For scholars and researchers in the fields of public international law and private international law, this book sparks further thoughts and debates in both disciplines and highlight areas for continuing research. For practitioners, this book offers fresh insights and perspectives on contemporaneous issues of significance. This book is also be a great resource for students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels taking subjects such as public international law or private international law or some related disciplines such as international sale of goods, international trade law or international investment law to advance their knowledge and understanding of the disciplines.

This book examines how local cultures affect the interpretation of international human rights law. This book explores the Islamic legal system in its approach to the concept of guardianship and, more specifically, the approach of the Libyan legal system through a study of existing legislation and Libyan High Court (LHC) interpretation as revealed in its decisions. This book aims to show how the cultural background affects the interpretation of international human rights in domestic legal systems. This book makes a worthy contribution to promoting greater understanding of the cultural dimensions in operation in both the formulation and particularly the application of international law in Libya as elsewhere. This is an area of research which is, as a whole, one worthy of further development and examination. The book includes case analysis of important Libyan High Court rulings which have been gathered by the author and officially translated, analysed, and discussed from the three lenses namely; Libyan Law, Islamic Law, and International Law. In turn, this book is the first of its kind and unique in the field of Islamic and International Law. This book also includes detailed analysis of the correspondence between the Libyan High Court and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. Further, this book provides solutions and comprehensive and practical recommendations that satisfy both International standards and local Islamic and Libyan culture. This is an ever evolving and a current area of interest internationally, this unique book enriches the field and continues the conversation and provides practical sustainable solutions.

Addressing the link between commercial arbitration and other fields of law, this study examines this interaction through the applicable laws and provisions in England, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States. As a component in the identification and scrutiny of the relationship between insolvency proceedings and commercial arbitration, the nature and character of both types of proceedings are assessed, and the applicable terminology is explained. The questions probed include whether the commencement of insolvency proceedings may influence other legal proceedings; what importance the provisions of insolvency may have for commercial arbitration, as seen from the point of view of national courts exercising their support and supervisory roles in arbitration; and to what extent the solutions in the legal systems covered converge or differ, and why. The author examines a wide range of specific aspects in the contexts of both domestic and international arbitration, including arbitration-agreement validity, arbitrability, public policy, the presentation of parties, and due process. Throughout the work, introductions and conclusions serve as overviews of particular components of the study, and set out the observations drawn. An overall summary and conclusion section crystallizes the points made.

This open access book introduces adaptive mediation as an alternative approach that enables mediators to go beyond liberal peace mediation, or other determined-design models of mediation, in the context of contemporary conflict resolution and peace-making initiatives. Adaptive mediation is grounded in complexity theory, and is specifically designed to cope with highly dynamic conflict situations characterized by uncertainty and a lack of predictability. It is also a facilitated mediation process whereby the content of agreements emerges from the parties to the conflict themselves, informed by the context within which the conflict is situated. This book presents the core principles and practices of adaptive mediation in conjunction with empirical evidence from four diverse case studies - Colombia, Mozambique, The Philippines, and Syria - with a view to generate recommendations for how mediators can apply adaptive mediation approaches to resolve and transform contemporary and future armed conflicts.

Mediators have long debated whether "evaluative mediation," the kind commonly practiced by retired judges and others who frequently mediate in the context of litigation, should be called mediation. The crux of that debate concerns whether evaluations by the mediator undermine party self-determination. Simon and West's book is intended to advance the conversation beyond the question of evaluation to include subtler ways in which mediators may undermine or support self-determination. Self-determination is a principle that distinguishes mediation from other forms of dispute resolution and is a topic taught in most introductory mediator training courses. Discussions generally focus on the experience of participants and the techniques employed to nurture and safe-guard self-determination. Much of the writings that touch on self-determination talk about the techniques and strategies mediators use in order to support party self-determination. Uniquely, Tara West and Dan Simon follow a different path. They too are interested in the methods used by mediators, but what distinguishes their book is their examination of the mediator's decision-making process. In a step-by-step exploration, they show first how mediators assess the situation, then generate a possible explanation for the parties' attitudes, behaviors and ways of communicating, and finally choose an approach intended to encourage party self-determination. As part of examining the mediators thought process, the authors also describe how, in generating an explanation, mediators purposefully examine their own reactions to the parties as well as their own beliefs and theories. In this, they show how beliefs influence action-a key aspect of reflective practice. In the practice examples they explore throughout the book, the authors also emphasize the importance of and methods for learning from and through experience.

Mediators have long debated whether "evaluative mediation," the kind commonly practiced by retired judges and others who frequently mediate in the context of litigation, should be called mediation. The crux of that debate concerns whether evaluations by the mediator undermine party self-determination. Simon and West's book is intended to advance the conversation beyond the question of evaluation to include subtler ways in which mediators may undermine or support self-determination. Self-determination is a principle that distinguishes mediation from other forms of dispute resolution and is a topic taught in most introductory mediator training courses. Discussions generally focus on the experience of participants and the techniques employed to nurture and safe-guard self-determination. Much of the writings that touch on self-determination talk about the techniques and strategies mediators use in order to support party self-determination. Uniquely, Tara West and Dan Simon follow a different path. They too are interested in the methods used by mediators, but what distinguishes their book is their examination of the mediator's decision-making process. In a step-by-step exploration, they show first how mediators assess the situation, then generate a possible explanation for the parties' attitudes, behaviors and ways of communicating, and finally choose an approach intended to encourage party self-determination. As part of examining the mediators thought process, the authors also describe how, in generating an explanation, mediators purposefully examine their own reactions to the parties as well as their own beliefs and theories. In this, they show how beliefs influence action-a key aspect of reflective practice. In the practice examples they explore throughout the book, the authors also emphasize the importance of and methods for learning from and through experience.

This book represents a comparative study of Third Party Funding (TPF) and its regulation in England, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Netherlands and the Mainland of China. It provides a general review of the background in which TPF grows and the platform where third party funders are allowed to operate. In each and every chosen jurisdiction, the book analyses the legal risks related to TPF, the regulatory measures and the questions surrounding the challenges that lay ahead. This book is featured by the empirical study of the Chinese TPF market. As of the time of this writing, TPF activities operating in China have not been expanded upon in English or Chinese literature. The language barrier may be one reason. The lack of empirical materials may also contribute to this situation. In order to obtain some first-hand evidence of the TPF market in China, the author conducted empirical research in Shenzhen, with the assistance of Chinese third party funders and some local organizations and authorities. The empirical study took the form of questionnaire surveys. The first survey saw in total 175 responses, and the second saw 18 responses. Due to the fact that many funding arrangements for commercial disputes are kept in the dark, it is hard, if not impossible, to measure the size of the Chinese TPF market. This study provides a dataset that serves a humble purpose; namely to offer an insight into the Chinese TPF market, rather than to grasp the full picture of the industry.