top of page

MWMC RULES
2024

30th September – 6th October 2024

 

Hosted By:

AIAC – Malaysia

Partnered by

The University of Law – Moorgate campus

 

Organised by:

MEDIATE WISE

 

Introduction

 

1. The Mediate Wise International Mediation Competition (“The MWMC” or “the Competition”) is an annual competition of teams representing law schools throughout the world.  Up to twenty-four teams may compete in the MWMC.

 

2. The language of The MWMC is English.

 

3. The MWMC is intended to create and foster an environment for students to learn and develop their skills in mediation and to appreciate how to use them both as counsel and as mediator.

 

4. The MWMC is a multi-faceted educational programme including both instruction and a competition through which students can demonstrate their mastery of the various skills used in mediation.

 

Organization of The MWMC

 

5. The MWMC is organized by Mediate Wise. It will be held at the AIAC in Malaysia. The 2024 edition is partnered with The University of Law - Moorgate Campus. 

 

Eligibility to Participate in The MWMC

 

6. Each participating organisation shall send a team consisting of three student participants and one coach to the competition.  One additional student participant may accompany the team as a substitute in case a team member must drop out or is for any reason unable to participate in the competition.  All Participants must meet the criteria set out in Rule 7.

 

7. Teams may be made up of student participants from universities, law schools, law firms, Inns of Court or barristers’ chambers.  Each participating organisation may enter only one team.  All members of a team must be registered at the same school, law firm or chambers.  No participant who is or has been licensed to practice law is eligible to participate except with the express permission of a Director of MWMC.  Participants who are students at bar preparation institutions who are simultaneously working in a law office must request an individual determination as to their eligibility to participate in the competition.  No participant who has accreditation as a mediator may compete.  If there is any doubt as to what might constitute “accreditation as a mediator” then the participant must request a determination as to their eligibility to participate in the competition.  Eligibility in all cases is determined as of 9th August 2024.

 

Structure of The MWMC

 

8. The Competition consists of two parts. First, a training course, which, including the competition sessions, amounts to the equivalent of a forty hours mediation training; second, the competition whereby students act as mediator, client and counsel.  Each team must participate in all parts and compete in all their allocated rounds to be eligible for any awards.  The students take turns being evaluated when playing the role of the disputing parties as client and counsel or as the mediator.

 

Venues

 

9. The first part of The MWMC is the theoretical part of the training course which will take place from 30th September – 2nd October 2024 at the AIAC Malaysia.  The General rounds of the competition, which also encompass the practical part of the training, will take place on 3rd, 4th, 5th October 2024.  The semi-final will be held at 9:00am on 6th October 2024 and the Final will be held at 2:00pm on 6th October 2024, also at the AIAC. The awards will be announced on the evening of Sunday, 6th October 2024 at the closing ceremony in Malaysia, with the exact venue to be confirmed with participants.

 

RULES

 

Registration

 

10. Registration for The MWMC is open until Friday 9th August 2024.  A school wishing to participate registers via email, and pays a non-refundable HK$1,000 application fee.  The MWMC organisers will allocate places in their sole discretion, but selection is based on a first come first served basis.  Teams who do not receive a place may join the Wait List, and will receive a place if a confirmed team refuses its place, or having accepted its place, drops out.

 

11. Payment of the full Registration fee guarantees that school’s place. Upon receiving notification from the organisers that it has received a place, a team shall arrange for payment of the Registration fee.  Payment details of the registration fee will be sent to teams upon acceptance.

 

12. Registration fee.  The basic registration fee for The MWMC is HK$8,500 for a team of three students. If a team wishes to send extra students over to be part of the team as reserves or researchers, each extra team member is charged HK$2,500.  In remitting payment, teams must specify that ALL charges are for the sender.  Any bank charges deducted from the payment received by the organisers will be collected at the beginning of the competition when the team arrives in Malaysia.  The transfer must also indicate the name of the organization for which the registration fee has been paid in order for the account of the participating organization to be credited.

 

13. A school which does not pay the fee within fifteen days of receiving confirmation of its place may be deemed to have refused its place, which will then be offered to a team from the Wait List.

 

14. The registration fee includes the training course plus entry to the competition.

 

15. The registration fee of a team whose registration is withdrawn prior to 9th August 2024 will be refunded in full except for deduction of an administration fee of HK$500 and any applicable bank charges.  After 9th August 2024 no refund is possible.

 

Communications

 

16. The Registration Form includes space for the name and address of one Contact Person.  All communications concerning The MWMC will automatically be sent by e-mail to that person.  It is the responsibility of the Contact Person to distribute timely all relevant material to the team.  The names of additional recipients of messages concerning The MWMC may be submitted for inclusion on the e-mail mailing list. Any changes in the data on the registration form should be sent by e-mail to The MWMC Administration at alix@mediatewise.com. Communications between the team and The MWMC administration through anyone other than the designated Contact Person are at the risk of the team.

 

17. All communications in connection with The MWMC should be addressed to Alix Povey, at: alix@mediatewise.com.

 

The Problem

 

18. Subject Matter.  The Problems in The MWMC involve disputes arising out of a commercial dispute.  The Parties have agreed to mediation, to be held under the AIAC Mediation Rules 2023.

 

19. The Problems consists of three parts:  the General Facts, available to all participants, plus the Confidential Facts for the Applicant and the Confidential Facts for the Respondent.  The General Facts of the Problem will be sent to the teams in August 2024.  The Confidential Facts will be available to the participants just prior to the start of each Mediation Session.

 

20. Clarifications.  Requests for clarification of the Problem should be sent to: alix@mediatewise.com prior to midnight (2400) HK time a week after the first problem is released. The exact date will be communicated to the participating teams. Requests for clarification should include a short explanation of the expected significance of the clarification.  Any request that does not contain such an explanation may be ignored.

 

21. Clarifications issued by MWMC will be available to all registered teams a week after the clarifications have been received.

 

Structure of the Competition

 

22. General Rounds.  Teams will compete four times in the general rounds, as client and counsel.  The team's mediator will be evaluated twice as a Mediator and will have a prior practice session with a professional mediator. In each mediation session, two members of one team will act as Client-and Counsel team for the Applicant (initiator of the mediation process) and two members of another team will act as Client-and Counsel team for the Respondent.  In the semi-finals a professional mediator will co-mediate with the top two mediators from the general rounds. In the final round a professional mediator will mediate the client-counsel teams.

 

23. Duration of Each Mediation Session:  Each round will run for a total of two hundred and ten minutes, one hundred and eighty minutes for the mediation session itself, 10 minutes for scoring and 20 minutes for feedback.

 

24. Caucuses.  A Caucus is a brief private meeting between the Mediator and one of the Client-Counsel teams.  During each Mediation Session the Mediator or either of the Competing Teams have the right to call for one or more caucuses. Each caucus may last no longer than 10 minutes.  All members of the competing team not party to the Caucus must leave the room for the duration of the Caucus. 

 

25. Exhibits.  No exhibits may be used during the Sessions that do not come directly from the Problem.  Exhibits designed to clarify time sequences or other such matters may be used only if the Mediator and the opposing team agree.  For technical reasons the exhibits may not consist of overhead or Power Point projections or require the use of a stand.

 

26. Assistance.  Throughout each Mediation Session, no communication with their coach or other members of the team who may be present at the Session is permitted.  Teams may only discuss with their coaches during the preparation time, after having received their confidential information.

 

27. Recording of sessions.  Recording of both the training and Mediation Sessions, whether audio or video, is not permitted.

 

Mediation Sessions

 

28. General Rounds.

The Client Counsel pair of each team will compete twice as Applicant and twice as Respondent. While the Mediator of each team mediates for a total of two sessions following the practice session by professional mediators. In case logistical restraints bar this from happening, each team will argue equal number of times in the client counsel position.  The MWMC organisers will assign the Teams and Mediators to their Sessions and assign the roles as Applicant and Respondent.

 

29. Semi Final. 

After the General Rounds, the scores of each team’s oral presentations in the sessions will be totaled.  The four top scoring teams in the General Rounds will compete in the Semi-final Rounds on Sunday 6th October 2024, starting at 9:00am. The top two mediators from the general rounds will co-mediate with a professional.

 

30. Final.

The two winning teams as client and counsel of the Semi-final Round will meet in the Final Round on Sunday 6th October 2024 starting at 2:00pm. They will be mediated by a professional. 

​

Awards

 

31. The awards of The MWMC are:

 

  • The Colin J Wall Award for Best Mediator

  • The Best Counsel Award

  • The Best Client Award

  • The Best Team Award (the University team who works best overall in trying to resolve the dispute)

  • Toscar – Best Actor Award (the person who acts most realistically as a client)

 

​

Scoring

 

32. Mediators, clients and Counsel are scored separately.

 

The criteria for Mediators are based on, but not limited to:

 

  • Conduct of the joint sessions and caucus

  • Communication Skills and demeanor

  • Ability to identify and formulate issues

  • Techniques such as reframing, questioning, identifying interests and finding common ground

  • Effective Problem Solving Support

  • Control of Mediation Session.

 

The criteria for Counsel are based on, but not limited to:

 

  • Advocacy skills

  • Focus on Client’s Interests

  • Respect for the settlement goal of the process

  • Cooperative attitude

  • Client communication

  • Option generation.

 

The criteria for Client are based on, but not limited to:

  • Counsel communication

  • Option generation

  • Working with counsel and other team to create options

  • Realistic client behaviour

 

33. In each session, three Professional Mediators will observe and assess the conduct of the two counsel teams.  The Professional Mediators will then agree and report to the organisers a numerical score for each team in that session.  The Professional Mediators will then meet with both counsel teams, and WITHOUT disclosing the scores, will give constructive feedback to each team.

 

34. Also in each session, where applicable, a Professional Mediator will observe and assess the conduct of the student mediator.  The Professional Mediator will then establish and report to the organisers a numerical score for that mediator.  The Professional Mediator may then meet with the student mediator in private, and WITHOUT disclosing the score, will give constructive feedback to the student mediator.

 

35. All student participants and coaches receive a Certificate of Participation in The MWMC.  Certificates will also be prepared for all members of teams that win an award in one of the categories.  The certificates will bear the names of the recipients exactly as they are registered, so teams should take care in registering to spell all names properly, including any diacritical marks.

 

37. Teams requesting an interpretation of these rules should address them to the MWMC Directors by email at alix@mediatewise.com.  All interpretations, as well as any waivers, consents, or other decisions are at the discretion of the Directors.

 

General Provisions

 

38. MWMC reserves the right to refuse or cancel the registration of any team, in the absolute discretion of the Directors for breaching these rules or for otherwise acting in a manner which the Directors deems detrimental to The MWMC.

 

39. MWMC reserves the right to cancel the Competition and refund any registration fees already paid, if an insufficient number of teams register to compete.

 

40. In the event of any force majeure occurring prior to or during the competition, the organisers reserve the right to cancel all or any part of The MWMC without liability to any Participant or school.

bottom of page