It gives us great pleasure to introduce this book, which is published on the occasion of the 10th ICC International Commercial Mediation Competition.

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is well known for the dispute resolution services it provides worldwide through its International Centre for ADR and International Court of Arbitration. Over the years, it has administered countless commercial mediations involving parties from all regions of the world, making it the most experienced mediation institution for cross-border disputes.

Yet ICC does more than provide dispute resolution services for private companies and sovereign states. Ever since its creation in 1919, it has played a central role in the development of alternative dispute resolution. Through its vision and leadership, guidance, training, attentiveness to users’ needs, collaboration with other important stakeholders, and the crafting of effective rules and procedures, ICC has indelibly marked international dispute resolution as we know it today.

The present book celebrates the success of the ICC International Commercial Mediation Competition and reaffirms ICC’s commitment to its educational mission and to supporting the worldwide development of mediation.

The competition was founded for the purpose of providing students with an opportunity to acquire hands-on experience in mediation. Today it has grown well beyond that initial objective, becoming not only ICC’s biggest educational event, but also one of the most important annual international mediation events in the world. In addition to being a unique learning experience for students, the competition plays an important role in capacity building by bringing together mediators and mediation specialists from all parts of the globe to engage in exchange on diverse approaches to mediation, lessons learned, latest know-how and predictions for the future.

ICC’s commitment to providing the platform on which the competition can grow has exceeded our expectations with the extraordinary input of all those who have contributed to the event. Thanks are due to the many generous supporters of the competition, including the sponsors, the mediation experts, the universities, the professional mediators who participate on a pro-bono basis, the many volunteers and, of course, those who devise the role-plays for the competition. This book includes some of the role-plays created for the competition over the last 10 years.

Our thanks also go to the co-editors of the present publication, Greg Bond and Colin J Wall, without whom the book would not have been possible. We are especially grateful for their careful selection of the published role-plays and excellent preparation of the commentaries. It has been a privilege to work with them and we pay tribute to their professionalism, enthusiasm, passion for mediation and desire to provide a lasting and useful legacy for the future. Their interest and investment are typical of so many of the mediators who participate in the competition on a voluntary basis, to all of whom we extend our warmest thanks.

Last but certainly not least, we would like to thank the many students who have participated in the competition. Their enthusiasm to learn how to settle complex disputes amicably and efficiently has been the principal force driving the event.

It is our hope that this book will prove to be a useful resource for mediation training worldwide. The role-plays illustrate the complexities and competing interests often encountered when analyzing cross-border disputes. They are intended for use when teaching interests-based conflict resolution skills. We hope that lawyers and business people around the world will take advantage of this unique resource and that it will help them to acquire a better understanding of the role mediation can play in the effective and efficient resolution of disputes.

Here’s to many more ICC International Commercial Mediation Competitions, and to many successful mediations worldwide!

Andrea Carlevaris — Hannah Tümpel — Sara Debendetti

Paris, January 2015