July 25, 2011

Conference to emphasise new directions for conflict resolution

The restoration of Canterbury, a potentially far-ranging review of the Family Court and the role of dispute resolution in New Zealand’s civil justice system are some of the topics that will be explored next month at the annual conference of the Arbitrators’ and Mediators’ Institute of New Zealand (AMINZ).

AMINZ, the country’s largest professional institute for people working in the area of dispute resolution, will also host a number of renowned international and local experts at its Auckland gathering.

AMINZ Executive Director Deborah Hart said that line-up of speakers at this year’s conference was notable both for the expertise on offer and the relevance of the topics in the spotlight.

“Dispute resolution is always a relevant and often highly charged subject whenever and wherever people hold genuine differences, but what’s striking right now is how much this area dovetails with issues very much in the public eye,” Ms Hart said.

In recent months, the Institute has addressed dispute-related issues that have arisen in the wake of the Canterbury earthquakes and in relation to the government’s promised shake-up of the nation’s courts, particularly the Family Court.

Plenary and breakout sessions at the three-day event, at which delegates will be officially welcomed by Auckland Mayor Len Brown, will feature an array of notable contributors.

Among the keynote international guests is the internationally renowned Robert Benjamin, an award-winning American legal commentator and scholar from the Strauss Institute for Conflict Resolution, a visiting professor at the Pepperdine University School of Law, and a past president of the Academy of Family Mediators. Also addressing the conference will be Michael Lee, the director of the International Centre for Dispute Resolution in Singapore, along with New Zealand’s Hon Justice Helen Winkelmann, Judge Joe Williams and the Insurance Ombudsman Karen Stevens.

Along with AMINZ’s own professional membership, which includes arbitrators, mediators, adjudicators, conciliators, facilitators, investigators and expert witnesses drawn from a variety of sectors, general members of the public may also attend the conference’s sessions.

ENDS

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