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May 15, 2009
Witness demeanor in international disputes.
Here's a February 24 piece about--and the links to--our favorite and most eye-opening Mike McIlwrath IDN interview. It occurred about the time we thought we had finally become experts in international ADR:
"The panel will kindly note she's had several seconds to answer. Nothing further. And I will sit down." In international arbitration and mediation, first-language barriers can be the least of your client's difficulties. How do you arrive at a true and fair consensus on the meaning of ordinary verbal and non-verbal conduct by a witness? How about the "delayed answer" to a question? In one culture, delay means hesitancy and evasiveness (e.g., to most Westerners). In another, delay may denote careful consideration of the question, and a sign of respect to the questioner.
In IDN No. 61, GE's in-house counsel Mike McIlwrath interviews Australian mediator Joanna Kalowski for the second time (see IDN No. 44). Kalowski, who works out of both Australia and Paris, shares how she became a mediator and lessons that come directly from her work. Kalowski has also trained mediators in Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, Italy, Thailand and Hong Kong. Their 25-minute discussion, "Public Consensus Across Cultures", taped on February 13, is part of McIlwrath's award-winning interview series on International Dispute Negotiation sponsored by the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution, or CPR.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at May 15, 2009 11:59 PM