On April 1, the Documentation Center of ADR Resources (ARyME) topped over 1,000 ADR-specific documents after thirteen years of activity, making it one of the largest collections of ADR documentation anywhere in the world.

The Documentation Center of ADR Resources (ARyME) is divided into six main sections: documentation on arbitration and mediation in countries of the five continents, and a section on international bilateral, regional, and inter-continental organizations and institutions. Additionally, each section is sub-divided in sections providing specific ADR legislation, related documentation (draft bills, press releases, surveys, etc.), as well as international treaties ratified by specific countries within the data base. Lastly, a powerful search engine allows visitors to search documentation by country, by ADR method, by specialty (civil, commercial, etc.), and by document language.

“Reaching and exceeding 1,000 documents has not been easy, and it has not been premeditated”, explains José Antonio García Álvaro, President of ADR Resources (ARyME), who adds, “the size of our Documentation Center has been the natural result of thirteen years of activity and research to offer quality information for our visitors and subscribers. Each piece of news we publish requires of us that we gather and review relevant documentation, or our website would be nothing more than a collection of press-releases providing little or no added value.”

In a context where civil arbitration in Spain may seem to be on the rise, the country is seeing an increase in efforts designed to impose arbitration, not as a legitimate ADR alternative, but as an inferior forum from which to prevail to the advantage of its proponents and the enrichment of quasi-rogue arbitration institutions.

Faced with a level of unprecedented abuse in consumer arbitration schemes for well over a decade, Legislators amended the consumer protection law to ban pre-dispute arbitration clauses. “Legislators made a historic, momentous decision”, explains José Antonio García, Director of ADR Resources (ARyME), “because they dug out the seed of abuse hidden in the form of unconscionable pre-dispute arbitration agreements designed solely to shamelessly favor corporations over consumers. Paraphrasing the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on franchise agreements, ‘unequal bargaining power […] carries within itself the seeds of abuse’. On this count, Spain reached an intolerable threshold, and Legislators ended it; they had to”.

In an effort to promote the region’s export activity and competitiveness, the Official Chamber of Commerce, Navigation and Industry of Cartagena (Spain) has organized a seminar on dispute resolution in the import/export sector to be held at its headquarters on March 22, 2007. Key aspects of international contract law will be examined, together with an in-depth look at international arbitration clauses and processes.

Modesto Bescós Torres, Esq., a renowned specialist in international private law, and Mr. José Antonio García Álvaro, Director of Arbitration & Mediation (ARyME), will share the dais to analyze current trends in international commerce and dispute resolution.

Regarding dispute resolution, Mr. García Álvaro will explain key aspects of all available dispute resolution mechanisms and their suitability to help exporters resolve their disputes. Commenting on the nature of the Seminar, Mr. García Álvaro said, “it is extraordinary to see exporters wanting to take a long and hard look not just at contract law, but at dispute resolution as a valid, attractive and desirable means to both prevent and resolve disputes.”

Attendance is free of charge for all exporters in the region.

Established in 1996, Arbitration & Mediation (ARyME) is a private institution dedicated solely to providing specialized information on international ADR, and to promoting a better understanding and use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to resolve civil and business disputes. ARyME is not a case administrator. We provide the most comprehensive source of information and documentation on international ADR available on the internet. ARyME is also a meeting point where the international business and legal communities, and the general public, can offer and find specialized ADR-related services throughout the world.

throughout the world.

Two years after announcing a moratorium on case administration, Arbitration & Mediation (ARyME) offers the international business and legal communities an observatory from which they can keep abreast of major international ADR trends worldwide.

José Antonio García Álvaro, Director of ARyME, explains, “we detected a lack of institutions dedicated solely to explain and to document the latest international ADR trends around the world. Many institutions offer information on ADR in general, but mainly within an overall strategy of promoting their administrative services, as they should. ARyME is a bit different. We focus exclusively on ADR-related information and documentation, no matter where it comes from.”

“Dispute Settlement Resources”, ARyME’s registered service mark, is an interactive, comprehensive resource center offering information on three key areas. Our observatory offers premium news, essays, surveys and the latest ADR documentation and legislation; our Directory offers detailed information on ad hoc and institutional ADR professionals; and our Education & Training section offers updated information on key international events worldwide.

Mr. García Álvaro observes, “we have built an international, bilingual observatory useful to ADR institutions and professionals alike, and to the general public as well. Busy professionals can turn to us to learn about new ADR trends and initiatives in the Balkans, in Sub-Saharan Africa, in Polynesia, through the Americas or Asia… Wherever there is ADR activity, we look into it.”

Established in 1996, Arbitration & Mediation (ARyME) is a private institution dedicated solely to providing specialized information on international ADR, and to promoting a better understanding and use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to resolve civil and business disputes. ARyME is not a case administrator. We provide the most comprehensive source of information and documentation on international ADR on the internet. ARyME is also a meeting point where the international business and legal communities, and the general public, can offer and find specialized ADR-related services throughout the world.

Within an increasingly favorable climate towards alternative dispute resolution, mediation appears to be gaining social favor over binding arbitration. According to the results of a recent poll conducted by ADR Resources (ARyME), 70% of all respondents would favor mandatory pre-trial mediation as a pre-condition to engage in traditional litigation.

Mediation is a voluntary dispute resolution method where the parties themselves negotiate a solution to their controversy with the aid of a professional neutral mediator. Mediation is not in and of itself a binding process except when the parties freely choose to be mutually bound by the terms of their own agreement. José Antonio García, Director of ADR Resources (ARyME) said "we are not surprised by the results of this particular poll. It is not a cliché: everyone wins in mediation; the parties, because they are given a unique and useful opportunity to resolve their dispute; society, because its tax money does not have to be necessarily spent to resolve in the court system disputes which can be resolved privately through mediation."

The Madrid Assembly will soon debate a draft bill to regulate family mediation as an alternative to traditional litigation. This law will be the fifth mediation law in Spain ((Cataluña, 2001; Galicia, 2001; Valencia, 2001; Canarias, 2003). Arbitraje y Mediación (ARyME) welcomes the initiative and invites Legislators to lead alternative family dispute resolution and draft a truly outstanding law.

Within a legislative climate favoring ADR in Spain, highlighted by the recent entry into force of Spain's new arbitration law, "Madrid finds itself before a momentous opportunity  to reflect on the essence of what it means to resolve disputes out of court and not stop short at a law focusing solely on mediation procedure and, thus, integrate into this new law the gamut of ADR methods that can be employed to resolve all kinds of family-related disputes", said José Antonio García, Director of ARyME.