ICC Mediation Week: Finals, NY Law School vs. NALSAR University of Law

So good morning ladies and gentlemen here we are we have reached the final stage of the 18th edition of the ICC mediation competition I am delighted to see you all here for this final round and for the awards ceremony welcome everybody so this year's finalists are nasar University of law and New York law school they will join us in a moment They will be competing on problem number five the cultural exhibition prepared by Christopher Myers who will Who will be missed deeply and will always stay in our memories the final session will be mediated by

Alan limbery [Applause] and judged by five judges Rafaela pilleri [Applause] foreign [Applause] and Gary Weber the mediation session supervisor is Anna Maria zwinhoft [Applause] now let's get started good luck teams foreign good morning also on my behalf and extremely good morning for the competing teams it's great to hear and see so many faces in the audience early morning and I hope the teams have got some sleep as Well um so nasar University of law will be playing the role of requesting party uh and they are playing the role of National Tourist Board and uh New

York law school being the responding party will play the role of speed exhibits so the contractor today uh before going ahead with the mediation I just wanted to remind you of a few practicalities because it's a final there will be no scoring of the Mediation plans so we will directly proceed to the actual mediation and also I would like to ensure that all of you in the audience have switched off your phones because we like to ensure that the teams can enjoy the session without any any distractions so please make sure that you have switched

them off at least now thank you and I understand there may we will be receiving the confidential information distributed at uh in the audience also In a minute I will be showing the already familiar uh 10 and 5 minute signs uh when there is five and ten minutes left or remaining of the session and in case caucus or breaks are being called I will accompany the team members uh this way uh to to spend the time so so the time in my clock is now 17 past nine the mediation will run for 85 minutes and

I invite the teams and Mediator when you feel ready to initiate the session and wish you best of luck for the finals thank you thank you you try ours oh thank you foreign anytime and before we start I would like to acknowledge and pay tribute to Christopher Myers with whom I worked for many years as co-chair of the problem drafting Committee we're all going to miss him terribly welcome everybody my name is Alan limbre I'm the mediator today please call me Alan and perhaps we should introduce ourselves from the room hi I'm mahreen mandir and

I am the chairman of the National Tourist Board for iriguron good morning everyone my name is swathi reshmata but please feel free to call me swathi I will be the council for National Tourist Board of erigrant today nice to meet you all good morning my name is Natalie and I am the manager of speed exhibit good morning I'm Austin and I'm counsel for Natalie and speed exhibit thank you well now let me briefly explain the process my role as media sir unlike that of a judge or an arbitrator is to try to help you reach

your own voluntary agreement So I'm not here to impose a solution I'm not here to give legal or other advice you have your own lawyers to do that but rather to see whether the interests of both sides can be met by an agreement it's as confidential as the law will allow and what that means is that with very few exceptions evidence cannot be given in court of what happens here so it's designed to encourage you to put your cards on the table speak frankly And freely to see whether you can sort things out and there

are one or two exceptions for example in my jurisdiction a person who becomes aware of a serious crime and doesn't report it can themselves go to jail so I strongly recommend that nobody confesses to any crimes now what I suggest is that we hear first from the requesting party how you see things Then any questions you may have just to be sure you've understood what's being said that we then hear from you the responding party how you see things likewise any questions just to be sure you've understood and then because we have only 85 minutes

my recommendation would be that instead of spending time articulating and devising an agenda and then going through item by item we simply Fast forward to what the party's interests are that need to be met and then brainstorm some possible options for solution without evaluating our entirely at your disposition if you'd rather have an agenda but that's what I suggest for you to so unless you've got any questions about the process I think we can proceed there are no questions questions for us either there is one thing I forgot and that is to explain What this

is um this is a miniature Aboriginal speaking stick from the bundra community in Australia it's been beautifully decorated I'll pass it to you and the others so you can think admire it when that Community holds its meetings they have a rule that says you're allowed to speak only if you're holding the speaking stick And the full-size one is about a meter long so you can imagine it's a very useful tool to enforce that rule I'm not I'm not suggesting that you actually have to hold the stick before you speak but rather if there are interruptions

all I need to do is wiggle the stick and you know what I mean and then we can proceed so let's now hear first of all from the requesting party thank you so much Alan I feel so Confident in your presence here that we will be able to have a collaborative discussion first of all I am a public servant as I told you I am the chairman of the National Tourist Board which is of course a part of the tourism and culture Ministry at irigaron that must explain my position to you because I am answerable

to my government but more importantly I'm answerable to the public I work with public money I Work to pursue their interests and their aspirations and for me everything I do today and in life comes from that concern mainly moving on to why we're here today I want to remind you of the intention and the purpose of the contract that we entered with you for us the ice exhibition was a chance to showcase the culture the aspirations and what a rigoron stands For for me and for the people of eriguron there are a few things and

there are a few things we're really known for around the world and that is a Green Building methods and our environmentally friendly architecture so when we appointed you and we entered into that contract with you our aim was to make sure that this image of ours is portrayed so that we can get in Investments and trade and we can build Relationships around the world and have the best opportunities come in for the people of Eric which is why when we entered into the contract we mentioned the iconic standard which really signifies the standard to which

Eric Ron commits itself with every little thing we do and which is why we incorporated it in the contract as well now within the contract itself we did give you a significant amount of Autonomy to come up with your design subject to of course approvals were required because at the end of the day you are a part of cavera you you're based out of cavera and we are based out of rigoron so we would like to have the final say but we intended to give you as much autonomy as possible you just had to run

this uh designs through us to meet the standards and you knew that while entering the contract it's not something we sprung upon you Later however now we've we're in front of a situation where two things have happened firstly of course unfortunately the pandemic which devastated many many lives and unfortunately a contract was one of those and the second thing was according to you are instructions were pushing up your prices It seems to me that the two of us have not really understood the contract in quite the sense is quite the same sense insofar as the

delay is concerned I know that the contract does not provide for it but isn't that why we're here in Natalie to discuss what we can do now now that the contract seems to be inadequate but the more important thing for me is that the ISA exhibition is happening not in 2022 but in 2023 and it still holds The same value for us and I do want that the changes and the specifications to the design that have been made they must be carried out and in a timely fashion and on these factors I feel like we

can have a very collaborative discussion today rest assured I'm here to hear your concerns about why this contract can cannot be carried forward or should be Carried forward in a certain Manner and I'm here to make sure that our relationship and this contract can fruitfully be seen through and I think I'll hand it over to my Council right now to get into the nitty-gritties of the legalities here thank you so much for that first off I would like to extend my thanks to Natalie and Austin here for accepting our invite and also to you Allen

for agreeing to mediate the Session I know it's 9 00 am on a cold Parisian morning and it's difficult for us to all assemble here and yet we are here now as you know I am the council for NTB today my role here is advisory in nature I will primarily be assisting in today's mediation and I will be advocating my client ntb's interest at this table Austin I'm sure you'd agree in law we speak of a lot of things in terms of Black and white but the way I see mediation Alan is that it helps

us transcend beyond the binary of black and white and to actually delve into the heart of the matter so when my client approached me about this issue I advised to take the mediation route because I strongly feel that what can be resolved through discussions need not go into a protracted litigation and that's Why we heard today to put forth our interests and also hear you on your concerns now machine has very eloquently put forth what are concerns here are but I will briefly for everyone's benefit sum up what our interests are today first our primary

interest is that the Showcase be completed in a timely manner ready for it to be displayed at the ice 2022 which is now to be held in 2023. second is about the design itself that it reflects the distinctive cultural values and vision of eriguron and the changes be incorporated into the final design third but definitely not the least while my client has agreed or is ready to address financial implications of this mediation pertaining to the design it is also Extremely important for my client for you to acknowledge that the nature of the wherewithal that we

are talking about today it's public money so at the end of the day my client is answerable for every penny that she's spending here Alan I know you've said that it's uh instead of setting an agenda we could just briefly talk about the interest and delve right into it and I think mahreen And I are completely on board with it so so to briefly speak about what our interests are today in just one word each it would be time design and money now Natalie and Austin we've given you our perspective and the floor is yours

to give yours thank you well first of all do you have any questions just to be clear you've understood what's been said before we Hear how you see things I think we're good thank you Mr mediator and thank you both for your remarks as I said my name is Natalie and I am speaking for the board of directors of speed exhibit today we are a contractor company with experience building designing constructing operating and then demolishing the Showcase buildings that you have discussed today the contract that we entered into for 12 Million euros was very exciting

for my organization we were excited to work with the National Tourist Board especially in this post-covet era where we are able to have these events again after not having them for a couple of years and although the event did have to be pushed off we are excited for this conversation today so that we can determine a way forward in order to be able to build that showcase for you for the 2023 so I'm very happy to hear that we have that shared interest right from the beginning the contract that we entered into did provide some

specifics regarding the size and some specificity as to the design however the primary design was left up to my company as well as the construction which is very standard as with our previous buildings it was our understanding that the goal is to produce a structure that is safely constructed that it is done in time for The event and for you to have time to prepare for the event and that it does our best to meet your interests I want to be really clear that we do want to continue working with you today and we want

to build the structure that you are hoping to have and I really want to help increase your number of visitors into your showcase and meet your vision but I do also need to be clear that there have been some barriers out of our control These barriers include the lack of access to materials across the globe the limit of our ability to have our labor force all intact together due to necessary safety procedures where our employees had to be separate as well as the delays from the event all of these barriers unfortunately come with a monetary

aspect it costs more money when there are less materials and when you have to work with your labor in different ways And I really do want to Echo that I understand you are utilizing public funds and I really appreciate your public commitment and your commitment to your country I also hope that you can reciprocate that respect that I am advocating for my employees for my board members and for everyone who relies on our organization and I really hope today that we can have our priorities align and that we can figure out the monetary compensation I

Do just really want you to know that we cannot continue Building without the 500 000 Euros that you're currently withholding due to the cash flow problem so any deal we discussed today unfortunately would not be able to move forward because we simply wouldn't be able to continue Building without those funds I hear your interests and I really do believe that discussing finishing the Showcase in a timely manner the design Itself as well as the monetary aspects seems like it will align great and so I'm looking forward to a very fruitful conversation today where we can

maintain our relationship and I will now pass it over to my Council Austin thank you Natalie for explaining your situation and thank you Alan for your assistance and thank you for requesting this mediation I believe it was a great idea and I truly believe that we can find a solution and as you said Collaborate and carry it forward with that being said as Council I'm here to support specifically more on the contractual and the legal issues however before coming here I highly advised one thing to my client that I want to share with the three

of you I highly advised a business solution to complete the original goal it is far more desirable than the lengthy and expensive litigation that Can ensue from such a grand project Council I heard you and I agree that we can work this out here and my client is ready to work with you and move forward touching on the legal claims I want to briefly touch on this iconic standard we have the utmost respect for the iconic standard that you want your country to be represented by however in the legal world that is extremely Difficult it

is inherently subjective we agree that it is very high but we also agree that we can meet such standards that standard contractually would be very difficult to figure out if it is met or not so I'd rather not take that route regarding the delay and the coven this is a turnkey contract for 12 million euros with that being said we are certain that you can have a completed project ready For the event the last legal concept I want to touch on is the year delay and that impact that that delay has caused my client my

client is still committed to completing this project it is a year of extra work increased cost and that being said if it were to go litigation or another route and we would be able to seek increased amounts for that extra year that she willingly decided to just put in put in The extra work all of that time however it is imperative for the 500 000 that is withheld for the cash flow that is going to solve our shared interest today the extra cost of the 1 million not important right now but the cash flow is

what is and that is what will help reach your goal and allow my client to help reach your goal As we have all said we're here to collaborate we want to work together and run me to this situation thank you thank you for that um do you have any questions just to be sure you've understood what's been said so would I be writing saying that um both sides have a common interest in seeing completion of this in time for the 2023 exhibition That would be correct yes and that it be an iconic design whether or

not changes need to be made and that there be sufficient funding to enable all of that to happen within that time frame correct are there other interests that need to be met I think it checks all of our boxes yes I think it does Natalie yeah I think just adding to that just having a discussion as to how we can make sure our working relationship going forward is able to Remain amendable and that we can continue working together I think we're in agreement here and this is a shared interest that we would like to continue

working with you at least in principle such that we get the assurances that you know the work will be carried out the way we want to so yeah I think we have a mutual interest there great would you like that written down or are you happy to proceed on the basis I think we can continue yeah I think we Can present okay and see if I can do it legibly so can you see that from there yes thank you foreign foreign yes this is perfect what I'd suggest is now that we've identified those common Interests

some time to brainstorm um possible options and there are some rules of brainstorming I'm sure you're aware of them first one is nobody's to be taken to be making an offer or a proposal while we're brainstorming second one is there should be no evaluation either in Praise Or criticism of any ideas I can just put them up you can decide later whether any of them are worthy of being put forward as an offer the reason for that is if I come up with an idea and somebody snorts into Russian as they usually do and it's

my answer somebody else who might have been about to suggest something thinks well I don't really want anyone snorting derision at me so they don't put forward the idea and we've all seen the crackpot idea That everybody realizes will never work actually might prompt somebody else to think of an idea that does work which wouldn't otherwise ever have been articulated so if you're happy to do that let's have some time brainstorming and then later you can decide whether you're prepared to make any offers I think you're happy for me to write them up I think

we can have a discussion and Then we can disable it okay I agree okay so Natalie if I may I'm very happy to hear that you know you want to continue to work with us and I think we would like that to provided all our requirements are met and I'm happy to hear that we also share another mutual interest which is increasing the number of visitors there you know the entire purpose of coming to this exhibition for us is to make sure that we stand out amongst everyone else And we maximize the number of visitors

so yes indeed I'm happy that we can do this and you are interested in making sure that this exhibition is fruitful for us the waiters for you Austin I hear from you that you're willing to drop the 1 million euro claim could you please elaborate on that about the delays briefly before he gets into the legal claims just a little background on the delays because we will have our labor Forces working another year and because of the material shortage it increased our cost and we you know for the whole project and so that's where the

mill the 1 million number comes from and I'm sorry if it came off that way but I'm not speaking of dropping the 1 million claim at this moment but I'm saying that is not imperative to what is going to happen moving forward what is is the 500 000 of cash flow but I am letting you know what my client has Incurred what she is facing this isn't this is a tough thing to get through when you are lacking such funds what I'm saying is the 500 000 that is withheld is what is causing this disruption

that is what we need to move forward but I do want you to know that there is one million euros and damages that has been sustained but again I really don't want to get stuck on these legal claims and Concepts I really want to focus on my clients Cash flow that is what will help you all right thank you so much and in September 2023 could you please give me a timeline of when you expect that to happen so I can also touch on that because it's my designers my Engineers my construction team that will

ultimately results from our conversation today as I know there are some modifications you wanted to discuss and again if we can't have the increased the 500 000 then the timeline Would be very delayed so unfortunately I think I can't give you a specific timeline until after we've had this conversation today and then I'd be very happy to immediately meet with my Architects my Engineers all of my site managers and get you those very specific numbers thank you so much Natalie and Austin for addressing my client mahreen's questions here so what I hear from you is

that the 500 000 Euros is really important to inject liquidity into speed exhibit did I hear that correctly correct uh while that is being said um what I also hear is that this this discussion is not in relation to the one million that you that you had asked for already for the delays and that you do not have the specific numbers about how much it will cost you to complete the project is that am I hearing this correctly please feel free To correct me so yes the 500 000 is the payment that you are currently

withholding which it would be great if you could explain a little bit as to your reasoning behind withholding that because that is the 500 000 from our original contract that we agreed to and have not received payment for so if you could elaborate on that that would be great but just to touch on your question the other costs would be the increased building costs for the delay and then as Well as if there are any modifications to the design that's a separate cost does that clarify it [Music] first and then I'll respond to what I

think of your answer there so the calculation of the 500 000 Euros was based on a 10 week on a 50 week 10 000 per week delay course because these are the liquidated damages that we assessed as you know the exhibition was supposed to happen in September 2022 first and The contract was meant to be completed in that period of course none of us anticipated the pandemic and therefore neither did the people who wrote our contract and the delay was not envisioned within it therefore the one million claim and I come back to what I

think of your answer is not really based within the scope of our contract so which is why it sort of confuses both me and swathi where that's coming from I unfortunately right now Echo your Confusion a little bit as to the 500 000 that's being withheld because if the event was delayed I'm struggling and maybe maybe my Council understands it better than me I'm not a lawyer but I'm struggling to understand how that damage is really being felt um on the weekly delay because the event has not happened and we are still on track to

have the Showcase completed in time for the event on the date that the event is happening with time for you to Prepare the inside of the Showcase and if I may add I would really like to know what does holding withholding the 500 000 Euros do for you for your benefit should I answer my honey sure all right Natalie Austin we here are you the 500 000 is really important to you now I can go into the legal specifics of why that 500 000 has been withheld and honestly making a really good job at it

as well Um but specifically to give you an idea of why it happened it's because the project was not completed within the time that it was promised to be completed in and right now we hear first to discuss if it can be completed within that time secondly again what I hear from you about the one million that you were seeking is that that is again contingent to the modified designs that we have in mind and how we can incorporate that is That correct so no so the 1 million is for the increased year of Labor

and materials due to the delay whereas the other money that we haven't even I think really started discussing the modifications if we were to implicate modifications to the design that would also cost more money so I think that's a separate conversation um if you wanted to yes maybe if we take a second maybe if we draw this and if we may use you Alan to help separate what Values are associated with what aspects of the contract um that that being if we draw it out so we could all see where the maybe the one million

is for would that help s how would you like that to be should we just have the numbers like for example the 500 000 is withheld for delay and then there is the 1 million for the Year Edition of time caused by the delay and then the modifications we can put it maybe a number symbol because there's going to be a cost to it we can discuss what modifications you want and go from there the one million for the additional labor costs did you have a number on for design changes I think we can just

leave that as a number for now that we can discuss once we understand And I think that's perfect yeah does that clarify kind of where the different monetary it does right so uh Natalie I I understand this now thank you so much and I do understand that the 500 000 that we had withheld and as both I and swathi try to explain was a part of the liquidated damages on account of the delay in the contract as you know every contract and I think swathi will be able to explain it better has a time period

in which it should be completed and Since we are not going to court and actually you know what you should take over this is your job no problem uh like I said again the reason why the 500 000 was withheld was based on the terms of the contract but again mahreen and I here are open to discussing Solutions which can get the ball rolling in the direction of completing the project within the time so on that note we hear that the 500 000 is important to You and be sure that we have taken cognizance of

it in addition to that I am please do not take my questions and my curiosity as a negative you know response to the 500k I am willing to inject that because rest assured we both have the same interest which is to get the project back to where it was and get the balls rolling so I am willing to inject it however for me I the 1 million does not make sense Because it wasn't envisioned in the contract the 500k was so simply in terms of the contract I think I will be willing to part with

it provided I can get some reassurance that we can figure this into the design cost somehow this remaining 1 million what do you think about that yeah I'll let my Council discuss the contract could you clarify the last part about using the 1 million for the design I think Swati you should do this this time right so what my Client mahreen here is suggesting is that we talk a little more about the design now the way we see the contract working out is the improvements would also include the cost of Labor right now that we

needed to make those improvements so we see the entire idea of moving forth and the cost of Labor all of this intertwined and we'd like to talk about the specific scope of design that we want improved Yes so like we've been discussing so far our showcase has two general aspects one is the general design of how the Showcase looks and then there is of course the intelligent facade which we as irregoronians are super super proud of and that is something that is very crucial to us however I understand that for you there are certain price

points which will be pushed if our iconic standard and the expectations that we have are supposed to be met so I want to Hear you as to what do you think are the possible things that we can do at this stage which serve both of our purposes which is a make it appropriate for the visitors and make it stand out among other countries but also be doing it within the restraints of our budget I think say one thing I just want to clarify and I want to repeat it back to make sure I understand where

that one million euros is going you are considering using those funds From your side of the table to move that number down to the design changes instead of us pursuing that claim you are willing to spend a million for the design changes for the completed for your goal correct um Austin I'm I'm sorry if I came across uh that way but what I'm you're almost there what we are suggesting is that instead of just separately talking about The labor costs that are incurred because you're working in this additional year we talk about the design itself

the proposed design that we want Incorporated and the costs associated with that which I'm sure would include the labor costs as well but that does not suggest that the cap here is one million or anything like that we broadly want to talk about the design uh the scope of the design and like your quote on how much it can be Done for I just wanted to clarify and I'm really excited to discuss the possible options and share our interests and talk about what your vision is but I do just want to make sure we understand

where we landed with the 500 000 that's been being withheld because like I mentioned we can't even consider continuing Building without that guarantee so I just maybe I missed it but I just wanted to make sure did we land that that's Something that you'll stop withholding yes I will just clarify myself here I said that I will be willing to release that amount given that we can discuss the payment so in principle I think I agree but let's put a pin on it for certainty until we discuss the design changes so I'm really excited to

hear what you have in mind for us before we do that Alan there's been a lot of uh back and forth and clearly there was a lot of confusion but hopefully I think We've cleared out the air Austin Natalie uh is there any more confusion about the numbers here I think we would either ways benefit from Alice yeah a summary from Allen [Laughter] as I understand it um you're saying that um provided you can be satisfied as to the design and the timing of completion You're willing to release the withheld five hundred thousand and to

pay an amount appropriate to achieve the design within that time which may or may not amount to or exceed what's been articulated as an additional labor cost so I mean one possibility might cost twice as much as the one million the main thing is to get it finished in time to the iconic design you have in mind and my understanding from your point of View before we arrived was that the changes to the design that were being made were costing you or going to cost you more than you had previously bargained for so if we

get into brainstorming it's a question of what design is going to be achievable within that time and how much is it going to cost and whether you're prepared to pay for it something like that yes that's actually quite accurate you Did it in five seconds it took us 20 minutes thank you we don't need to we don't need to call to designate those numbers under any particular heading it's rather a question of working out what you can do to complete the contract in accordance with a design that will work in time for the exhibition thank

you okay thank you I think you perfectly captured the essence of what we've been trying to talk about for the last 20 minutes So yes Natalie I'm excited to hear about the designs yes thank you and thank you very much for your summary I Echo you did it much more efficiently um as a contracting company that has over 12 years of experience and has you know built structures for events for the Ice event in the past we're used to having these TurnKey that's what my Council taught me about recently contracts and usually the way that

works is we have a Budget and we provide some of our ideas and you say yes no we talk it through and that's how this project had worked and then now with the delays and the increased cost of building and now we're learning that you aren't as happy with our plans going forward when my engineers and my Architects reevaluated some of the heightened ideas that were presented from your team it just is more expensive than we had originally planned on that we had originally contracted for And frankly in the time that we have left and

the foundation that we've laid as the project has begun you know the basis of the Showcase are there the expenses are out of our control as to if we can Implement exactly what you would like and so I would really like to hear if you have any specific requests about the rest of the building or if you have any areas where you think that we would be able to satisfy that iconic design standard that you haven't been able to Express so far thank you so much for that Natalie oh you know the entire intention of

coming to this exhibition and as I've mentioned this before is to stand out so I really want visitors to come look at it and not resist the urge of you know walking right in so I wanted to look perfect I wanted to look irresistible and I want everything that they can access From outside to look as if you know it's pulling them inside that's that's that's what irigron stands for it should it should stand for the green buildings for the sustainability and the environmental friendly uh architecture that we so so support but that is one

aspect of it the other aspect obviously Remains the intelligent facade because that is again a key feature here today at the ice and in this discussion as well So do you have any ideas of how we can make the the facade look more efficient and have the same effect without making let's say deep structural changes which might not cost as much I hope thank you for that question yeah thank you and I'm really happy to hear that you would like your building to stand out and I know that's your intention and as you know as

our company needs to maintain our reputation in this Industry so we are trying to build the building that will get the most visitors to come and experience your your culture and with that being said we have the ability to consider those intelligent facade modifications um that would you know work with the environmentally friendly aspects and something that I think we could propose is implementing the south side of the building to have the prominent facade I mean the intelligent facade Um if that's something you'd be interested in however I do have to just note that the

modification would still cost additional money compared to the contract that we had originally entered into can you give me an idea of because I understand the South elevation is quite a limited space and if you're only working at the facade that's that's not very deep it's not a deep structural change so could you give me an idea of how much that would cost Me yeah so probably yeah so the range so we had with some of the considerations that we had for making these modifications we had been in the range of about 2 million for

for multiple different changes however with the facade and again I don't have my accountant up here or my Engineers but it would be about a quarter of that I would likely assume Natalie I'm sorry I couldn't catch the Number towards the end can you please repeat that within the range of the 2 million for the additions I would say that it would be about a quarter of that however again I would love to get those exact numbers to you after this meeting once we can discuss with our Architects um but principally the South facade right

I would just like to gain a small clarification here when we're speaking About the south facade are we speaking of purely improving or elevating the South facade or are we talking about integrating the um intelligent facade into the South elevation because what I understood maharin is that these two are separate things one would fall under General improvements and the other one specifically about the AI so if you can please just give me some clarity um I think it'd be great yeah it's Introducing the in the facade to the south side of the structure okay so

just to be clear here the intelligent facade which is the environmentally engineered interactive facade that will be put on the south elevation and the quote you're giving me is a quarter of two million and if my maths is correct 500 000 Euros thank you I think the best way to do the specific numbers would be to talk about the totality of the modifications that we Want to make and then we can provide the exact accounting and the exact engineering once we consider what we want to make I didn't come with those numbers today especially because

we didn't even know if we could move forward without that guarantee that we're so happy to have and so we do have that General quote that we had talked about but yes we can you know continue discussing all of the modifications with your total budget Natalie Austin again I'm really happy to hear that you do have some quotes but I would also like to just remind everyone here that this mediation is happening because this is a Time priest concern as well so it's really important for us to have all the figures in place and since

like both mahreen and I have emphasized so much that this is public money that we're spending and we are accountable for every single penny that's going out It's important that these costs do not inflate after this mediation as well I would just like to uh bring this up again and now I'm so sorry if you please go ahead Natalie and I will say that now that we have that gear that ability to have the 500 000 not withheld anymore I will give you my personal guarantee that we will have our employees working on this project

right away that we can continue moving forward and my you know good faith understanding of that so that Is really I I agree with the timeliness and it was unfortunate that the work did have to Halt without that money um so Natalie I I understand that the 500 000 is crucial to you but for me it is conditional unfortunately because as long as I don't know that the project can happen within the budgets the budgetary constraints that I have and I'm being a little Frank here it makes no sense for me to come to you

or stick with you right because as much as I want to believe me and please please do not consider this to be in any way a negative like connotation anyhow but uh if you if you you know you're talking about the one million you're talking about another 2 million if I'm catching all of that correctly so that's that's what we're looking at a total of three million in addition to the 500 000 and well I'm I'm a government body and we do have to ask around to make sure that We're getting the best price because

again public money we've said that enough I think from my inquiries I found out that even if I go with another contractor at this stage even after paying a premium price what I will be paying them will be to the tune of three million so sticking with you only makes sense to me if I know I'm getting a better deal because again I'm not doing this for Myself I have to get my government and I'm not just answerable to the public here I have to talk to the ministry the the ministers there you know I'm

answerable to everyone so I really need to know the numbers so that I can tell them that hey I'm making great views of your money and please you know let this happen with them because you know I know you you talk about your reputation and you know having this uh contract conclude and going to IC is extremely Important to your reputation as well so I think given the time press nature of this we would really really like to listen to some numbers associated with the designs I think you perfectly captured everything that we hear today

to talk about maybe if you can hear Natalie and Austin on that may I ask a question are you talking about Completing the project in accordance with design changes that have already been articulated not additional changes so we had specified a number of changes and they'd quoted about 2 million for it but now in this process as Natalie suggested we're willing to reduce those requests and come down to a number and design changes which would allow us to complete the project not just in time but also in less cost does that clarify right so You're

not requiring um speed exhibit to meet the demands that have previously been made no these are the demands that have previously been made we're just reducing them we're rather defining the scope everybody's clear on what they are and to what extent you're reducing them the first point of view I do I will say it might be helpful so the nature of Construction projects are that if you're making three modifications the labor the materials it works together right so the quote could come if we had a totality of an understanding of what you are looking for

so if you have any other interests but in addition to the intelligent facade that would be really great to learn about now so that we could work to try to provide an adequate quote all right you know I will very clearly lay down the requirements that I have and Then perhaps we can you know hear a number so like I mentioned before I want the building to look absolutely amazing from the outside so as you suggested the South elevation is the one that faces the general compound in the exhibit so I would like the southern

elevation to be to look great the rest of it I think we can let go at this stage this second thing that would be crucial to me is that we have a ground floor which leads to the restaurant where we Serve our rigoron Delicacies great food in fact you guys should come it's amazing uh I would like that ground floor layout to look absolutely amazing in addition to these two things of course the intelligent facade we've already discussed that so that's that and I don't think there's anything else that my board would require me to

bring up on priority all right so Alan could You please jot down these two three design changes that we've just proposed Marine would you want to design so the first one would be South elevation so generally the building looks amazing yeah yes so this first one is the South elevation looks amazing you're not worried about the rest of this yes and then the ground it will all look Great then the ground floor layout and the intelligent facade no that's not the same they said they'd integrate the intelligence that started at South facade is caused by

any chance integrating the intelligent facade on the south yes I think it will still be the same it will still be the same cost it's just Doing them the facade will make the South Side look amazing right they're a simultaneous project all right yeah yes yes but because it's the prominent facing side it makes the most sense to put it there I'll put an arrow up here thank you for laying out perfect thank you for laying that out I appreciate it yeah yes thank you very much and um it's great to hear that you're Interested

in making some changes to the restaurant um on the ground floor because that is something we had considered as we were in our conversations and I know you're representing um your the government and that its increase of Public Access is something that you would likely prioritize and so we were hoping to redesign the restaurant in a way that would increase that Public Access as well as you know The ground floor layout being truly amazing and hopefully after these mediations once we build the restaurant we could share a meal together would be loved so we can

definitely agree to the restaurant um ground floor layout and obviously you know we can we'll show the design I'm not the architect who will come up with it but we'll definitely get that is there an is there a cost that you can Estimate for retrieving all of that that you would need to receive in order to meet the time deadline thank you Alan that was going to be our next question I yeah I just wanted to make sure this was the totality of your modification request at this stage yeah looking at these specific requests we

can do the modifications for 1.5 million okay can I get it yeah can I get a breakdown of how that would work I don't Have the specific breakdown with me from my accounting team however that is something that we would love to get you an itemized options for after this meeting we could get it right after um because all we have are the quotes for the general project I may ask one question is one aspect more important than the other in terms of cost uh so um there is no so of course the entire thing

should look good and all of these things are the prominent facing Sites so we don't want to prioritize one over the other all of them are important but collectively the project should remain within our budgetary constraints so how how are we if I'm on that note yes the demands we had the agreement for 12 million and I'm sorry for getting back into the council position here um I really like the direction it's all going my client has been doing this for 12 Years has amazing trap foot traffic visitors come specifically for her exhibits she has

been putting the upmost effort in from what I have seen and I've heard your nation has very high demands higher than normal but we want to fulfill those desires the iconic standard from our point of view every design so far has been iconic yours is going to be super iconic so These editions there are costs just the reality but I believe that we can come to a number that works and if I could build on that very appreciated I maybe I misheard you when you were discussing potentially utilizing a different contracting company that your budgetary

con um opportunity with them would have been three million opportunity cost not the budget Ary so the opportunity cost but that is Not a budgetary constraint could you touch on your budgetary constraints at all in you know in hopes of a very open conversation so so our budgetary constraints are very particular to the kind of designs we're having so depending on the quote you have and depending on what we're willing to get our minister to approve is what our budgetary constraints would be but you best believe a budgetary constraint is the best deal possible so

And right now the 1.5 million with the 500 000 you need for liquidity and the additional 1 million for um the additional labor cost you're asking it's all amounting back to 3 million and again this is not something that's feasible to us right now but we're so glad that making so much Headway and having an open conversation here uh Austin just to like briefly talk about the iconic standard you mentioned We from our side feel that there was just not enough consensus or understanding as to what our requirements were in the first place to you

what is Iconic was not sufficient for my client and that is not to say that you did not do a good job but it is to probably acknowledge that we all come from different cultural backgrounds and here at the Forefront we'd like to present erigrants culture on the building facade Here which is why it's really important for my client to meet those requirements again we understand where you're coming from but we also hope you understand where my client is coming from with respect to the display of culture itself I think like with that probably we

can um get back to that that's on the board right now about the south facade ground floor Intelligent facade all right this one yeah this one yeah yeah I think it would help if you could clarify if your interest lies in lowering the cost or making the specific modifications that you want because unfortunately at the time we're at you know I think we just have to get on the same page with that so yeah yeah my original Original now you're telling me it still comes about right there so I'm a little uncomfortable about it because

this is nothing compared to what you know we've been talking about so far and you know Alan we've had multiple rounds of discussion before this but if if they this if the difference is not as much it really doesn't sit right with me so I feel like could you perhaps take another look at the numbers and perhaps you could give me a better quote I'm a little unclear with your question what would you be willing to pay if those were implemented perfectly I'm just going to have a quick chat here with Swati so swathi is

telling me that I can do one million here one million for the modifications yes except all three of the modifications that have been put on the board in in the effort of being able to go back to my board and I know you have a Ministry to be held accountable for I think these conversations have been very fruitful and will continue to be but I I don't really want to get stuck on these specific numbers because prior to coming in here today our work was stopped because of the lack of cash flow and we didn't

know specifically what you were hoping to modify and the nature of the Contracting industry really relies on labor costs material costs and now that We have a specific understanding of what you're hoping to get out of this and we understand that we will be moving forward with the work we will be able to provide those numbers very soon how about this so I understand the 500k was a problem for you how about I go back I give a call and Monday first thing you'll have the payment does that make your machine running does that it

definitely would allow us to be Running but it still wouldn't allow me to have the specific accounting numbers I'm sorry um so once that's there I give you one million up front and you get the project ready in time for me before September 2023. how does that sound in addition to that and because this is an extremely time breast issue for us and we are not willing to wait on it for too long because you see that you know We'll have to consider alternatives if this doesn't move forward or you know or else you know

the reputation of a rigor on at ice is in trouble I will throw in not five but four hundred thousand provided that the total number of visitors over there at the at our showcase exceeds 10 percent of the visitors at IC in total and like Austin said that shouldn't be a problem because you think our building is Iconic enough and the demand seems to be high enough So and we we meet quite close to each other then how do what do you think about that could you break down that are explained farther the four hundred

thousand numbers just so we don't summarize it I think it can clarify the offer in general okay I will just give a breakdown firstly the code that you had given us to make all the improvements that have been put on the board is 1.5 million is That correct but for both Mehreen and I today representing NTB that's simply like to be very transparent and forthcoming it's not feasible and we really do want to work with you we want to make Headway so the offer that we can put or the option right now like you said

nothing's set in stone until it is set in stone um so the option that we can have here is one million for all the improvements To 500 000 is to just inject liquidity complete the project in time and the additional 400 000 that Mehreen had mentioned is to perhaps help you meet that 1.5 we cannot meet that 1.5 yet but the 400 000 is something that you can get provided Your Design can actually capture the attention of more than 10 of the total visitors at the venue at the exhibition we just like to hear your

thoughts on This and if I may add the 10 will also I don't know I don't want to use the word incentivize but encourage you to make our building a little more iconic than you've been doing so far yeah yeah okay thank you for that so long as you do slow careful breakdown I appreciate it so you're offering 1 million for the improvements the 500 000 for liquidity one day and then an additional 400 000 correct Yes okay and that is that four hundred thousand in addition to let's say the total of now 12 million

plus one million yes the rest of it has been paid already okay great and then that the just to clarify the 400 000 was your contingency with the 10 of visitors yes the great news that I could offer is that we do historically have at least 10 percent of the entire um event going through our showcases so That's wonderful because we're always striving to improve that number and like you said it will be great encouragement maybe it'll be in the 12s 13s I don't you know it could be a great year so that that seems

like we're really on the same page with the contingency I have one second I have a quick idea thank you very much for that offer I did just want to add one concept that might really work on improving the visitor numbers and this is some an opportunity That we could add to the design if you are interested and if not I think the groundwork we've laid was great but in you know in the hopes of continuing to work together I just really want you to be happy with the result and we have an opportunity where

we can Implement very recent technology that would allow robotic construction and what that is is that a robot would be doing some of the work and be filmed and then the visitors can watch how this happened and it's Been a very popular you know it brings in kids it brings in people who are excited about engineering and robots and it's something that we could do in addition to those modifications for a what but the total would increase of the cost obviously if we wanted to implement it so it would go towards your goal of increasing

your visitors but the cost Would increase so if that's something you're interested in we'd be happy to discuss it Natalie I think this is a very um exciting prospect for maharin and I here but can you please help me understand how the introduction of this robotic um machine is different from the intelligent facade that we already agreed to install so it would be in addition to so it's a Way where visitors can watch the technology so if I get it correctly thought is an environmentally engineered and Interactive facade so it just seems to me that

this robotic idea of yours would fall within that Ambit um I just please help me understand how it's different it's like an app it would fall together it works with the artificial intelligence facade It was the robotics is going to be included in its creation setting it up which will be filmed and the idea is that this will be an exhibit in addition to the structure that is being built and we hope and believe that this could be something that you can bring back as a great idea that your government will approve I know hopefully

it's the latest technology not to mention it is green technology so it meets your sustainable interests And we hope it could bring more traffic to meet the 10 plus that you're looking for and we bring it up now because we understand your interest in increasing that visitors to pass 10 and it's just an idea we have to increase that number so what I think about that uh Alan I'm going to have you pull you honey I'm going to have to pull you in here and just have you summarize everything that has gone in before I

can think about that because it's getting a bit too much For me here I don't think you're the only one um as I understand it [Music] um those are the design ingredients that the South facade will become an amazing looking intelligent facade it'll be a change to the ground floor Layout um that you would pay the 500 000 up front um I think you were saying that if you'd be prepared to pay a million up front to make sure it's done by September and an addition of four hundred thousand um those numbers appear to be

acceptable to you and you're in addition you're offering Um a robot to do some of the work on the intelligent facade which would then itself become a movie that would interest spectators um but they'd have to be an additional payment for that to happen which hasn't yet been articulated [Music] um so I hope that's a summary I'm wondering why you want to demolish this Building once it's been built all that not me okay it's the nature of the business does that summarize where you're up to yes yes thank you thank thank you so much Alan

so that brings me back to the robotic experience so help me understand a little more about it is this robot going to replace some labor or is it just an additional feature I'm a little lost here it's an additional feature that brings more people to want to go to the showcased building it's It's new it's Innovative especially after you know the delays it's just something we've been floating around as a way to bring more people to be interested in that technology so it's very interesting to me and since my entire premise my entire idea intention

coming here was to get the maximum number of visitors so that you know we can have more Investments more trade that sounds incredibly exciting to me but again I come back to the thing that I've been doing like a broken radio here but uh what are the costs again I will give you the exact specifics but our quote would be 500 000. Swati what do we think about that okay let's just let's just like revisit the numbers a bit here um so far our option the one that we put forth has been one million for

the three improvements South Intelligent ground floor injecting 500 000 liquidity and incentivizing with you know the four hundred thousand and now another five million 500 000 sorry that would be so that would be an expensive robot five hundred thousand and I also gathered that we're yet to discuss about The possibility of any inflation the costs which is something that we absolutely cannot warn we just cannot have that at this stage if if just an assurance these numbers are going to be the numbers in case we agree upon them yes oh okay yes and I just

want to reassure you as well because I know time is a worry yes as long as this is on paper by February 28th it will be ready all right in time for you to prepare how are you going to deal with the Possibility of a recurrence of the kind of pandemic that we've had if this should happen between now and September I mean I leave that up to the lawyers yeah but I think Austin that's yours when I look at the contract I see that it's supposed to be ready within a specified timetable how I

read it it has to be ready for the opening that is what we abide by when this was Written it was to be opening in 2022 to be frank I don't know if it would have been the best project if we had it ready with the short materials and laborers and they would be sitting there for a full year so with that being said I think the prospect of covid we should maybe amend it so it's ready for the open Open name apologies so I'm glad that you brought that up because instead of the opening

this time and you know we made that we made that choice in our previous contract instead of that let's make a different Choice here today and just specify for September 2023 that ways we have a distinct date and if the if there's any other reason doesn't have to be covered it could be something with the exhibition itself because of which it Gets delayed let's not leave it up to you know fate to decide when this contract ends just hopping right up from your suggestion let's put it as first September 2023. how does that sound is

that even possible legally Swati yes absolutely it's just setting things in certainty on people um and just to add to that we also wouldn't want it to be ready and operational at the nick of time Right so first September is when we wanted to be on display but I think at least a month prior to First September we'd be looking at having a ready functional model yeah if I may if we agree on the specifications which you have the final say on then we will be able to have it ready by that date the issue

previously was the design was never approved so with that being said In remarks to the time constraint if we do have this agreement in place by the date I mentioned February 28th we should be able to have it ready within a time frame between July 21st 2023 and between between then and August 18th 2023 that works perfectly for us but I think we should Circle right back into the design changes and the costs because like you said you know earlier the issue was also you know the back and forth About the design so as long

as we're clear about the designs and I think we'll be sticking to one agenda here we can also come back to the time what do you think Natalie yeah I think that's great and he was very correct on the projected timeline so okay so just one final quote about the Robotics and then we can decide whether we want it or not and let just yeah let us know if you have any questions more about the robotics or the cost Uh the costs I think the only question I have is can you do it for Less

I can what I can do is I can ask my Engineers who you know especially with the Robotics and we will prioritize doing everything that we can at the most cost you know at the lowest cost that we can for you as I understand you're serving a large government but the numbers I have are the numbers I have right now let me just ask you this one question what impact exactly do you see In terms of um the increase in the number of visitors can you project if we introduce robotics here as I said before

we um our previous exhibits have had that 10 percent of visitors and although I because it hasn't happened yet this technology didn't exist you know prior to this upcoming showcase so we don't have any past specific percentages that I can Talk about I will say my marketing team and my Engineers have all expressed their reassurance of their excitement of the ability to bring in visitors and I think especially when you have the improved restaurant and the amazing facade that's going to be super iconic it will just increase the numbers but again because this is so

new and Innovative we don't have that specific percentage to give you well that's interesting that's Definitely something for us to think about um how about I tell you and I'm being completely sincere and honest and Frank and transparent here my upper limit for this robotics project this enhancement would be about 300 to 350 000. and if we can do it under that I would be happy to do it but like you said the 400 000 which is contingent on the 10 visitors that's not an issue for you at all because your Exhibits have in the

past anyways you know garnered those that that much attention so if you can do it within that I think swathi and I will be happy to consider that and just to add to that if the um robotic installation is done within 300 000 I'm just clarifying the number here 300 000. um this would be the total cost that we're willing to invest into this project And we really hope that here we can reach that middle ground because marine and I have come a long way in how much we can spend and again there is a

Ministry to go back and answer to that is the public whose money we are spending here a lot of accountability that's there on our side and we also just need a reassurance that Beyond this the costs do not spill out thank you for that with being open and Honest about your upper limit really really helpful what would the total amount be for all the improvements including the robotics would it be 1.7 do we have that correct yes that's like an absolute upper limit that is 1.3 million and 400 000 contingent to the 10 visitor requirement

so saying 1.7 isn't really accurate right now 1.3 plus 400 contingent plus the 500 plus the 500. thank you so much Well what would we do with our Island yeah I think that especially with the 500 000 guaranteed after your phone call on Monday I think that we can definitely make your improvements happen within that 1.7 total cost and we would be looking forward to having our designers you know give you the specific designs that you can look at them and that we can figure out those exact specifics but I think we've came to a

great agreement here yes so that's A total of 2.2 all together if you take everything into account yes yes 1.7 1.8 plus yeah okay okay 1.8 plus 400 000 contingent to the visitor requirement if you if you if you agreed we need the lawyers to write it down yeah and we can also write down the time frame that um Austin was suggesting first July 2023. uh let me get the exact dates again it's on another pad In the time frame between July 21st and August 18th that time frame works perfectly for us wonderful great and

I think if I just look back to the interest that we've set money is taken care of time has been very kindly taken care of and Designs you know if we're able to work this out taken care of so I think swathi we've had quite a collaborative discussion I'm so happy we could do this Natalie do you want to just lay everything down so that all of Us can remember it in the same way again like just make sure all of us are on the same page yes yes yeah coming into this discussion initially itself

I had said that we primarily want to discuss about time design money and I think we checked all three boxes so for that we're extremely elated and thank you so much for being collaborative I've just got one more question I'm sorry I understand for some reason or rather the building is to be demolished eventually Um is that at an additional cost or does somebody else do that that's a donkey contract yeah we do that but that is already accounted for it's already taken into account okay well done yeah I see Alan's really early you should

definitely come and visit it Ortiz before smallish then we'll take lots of pictures before we demand well the lawyers have five minutes to write up the settlement yes good luck quick just brief point so About the time like Austin had suggested July 21st to August 28th of sorry August 18th my bad of 2023 this year to be ready for the exhibit on 1st September 2023 about the design Improvement there's South elevation integrated with the intelligent facade there is the enhancement to the ground floor layout which gives access to the restaurant please do come and visit

and additionally there's this new and Exciting offer to introduce robotics an interactive robot to enhance the visitor experience so these are the four yes 3.5 uh improvements that are in the Anvil and lastly about the money 500 000 for the liquidity 1.3 for the 3.54 uh Improvement updates and the 400 000 contingent amount for meeting or 10 percent visitor aggregate with the reassurance that the amount Doesn't further spill out if we're on the same page about this Alan I think like this has been a great session yeah thank you I agree on down yes and

we will be visiting or we built we're going to build it so we will be at the restaurant we will be at the restaurant well we should adjourn to the restaurant yes thank you so much [Applause] Can you please take your seats so um I would like now to kindly ask Mr Ronald Austin to please join me on stage Ronnie represents Clifford chance the headline sponsor of the competition and we'll say a few words about the competition Ronnie the floor is yours [Applause] well first of all it's it's great to be back live in Paris

I mean I only live around the corner but some of you have Come a long long way but this competition needs you in order to survive and I'll explain that this competition has been what I call the Davos of the mediation world with a full-blown education educational and social programs which have attracted students and professionals from all over the world at their own expense now the universities pay registration fees but that in no way covers the cost Of this competition particularly in its past Glory and this year's sponsors together with Clifford chance we can't make

up the shortfall on our own and this is where you can all come in because the competition provides a wonderful um a wonderful Vector to promote a brand to an international and an an intergenerational audience and I'd like to tell you a story which happened During the competition a few years ago there was a mediator who was mediating uh obviously two teams and one of the teams was a team from Bucyrus University in Hamburg and the mediator suddenly realized that he had a major German international fund client in Hamburg so he contacted the client and

they came to see the competition and then they agreed to be a sponsor so what I'm saying is that each of you Whether you're professionals but also whether you're still students you must this is an international commercial competition so you have your relations in the commercial world in the world of business think whom could you contact and then share your thoughts with um Aliyah and her team now that being said I'd like to say thank you very much indeed to the the organizing team of Alia the new Lady Elizabeth Stephanie who's been here since time

Immemorial and Eva a new lady and also to say thank you to the volunteers who do a very Prof in my view a very professional job Indeed so on that note I'll let you carry on with I know you don't hear me you really want to know the results but they are coming soon thank you [Applause] thank you Ronnie now I would like to I would like you to please welcome Mr Alexander festas the director of ICC Dispute resolution services and Secretary General of ICC Court of arbitration who will be conducting the awards ceremony Alex

the floor is yours [Applause] and live in Paris we are and how interesting and fantastic it is to be doing it uh again in 2023 in person in Paris now I'm I got a little rusty at this because the last time two times I did it was uh through a Live uh stream uh online um that was on YouTube I think from uh our headquarters minus two and as I was speaking there was a background a slightly smaller and probably a little bit less heavier than this one I think but it fell on me so

I and there's an outtake somewhere about that from that so I'm hoping now that we've gone through 90 minutes and maybe a little bit more of time here that all of this Wonderful structure is going to hold uh so good morning everyone I'm Alex visas I'm here in my capacities director of ICC dispute resolution Services I work with Alia and her fantastic team on matters related to mediation and other forms of ADR like expertise dispute boards and a host of other services I won't take too much of your time but I would like first of

all to Echo the wonderful message that Ronnie already relayed to all of you the competition is A wonderful opportunity and I think unique actually for students their universities professionals and also our organization to actually get together for something really good I was hearing as I was coming in um a student congratulating one of the finalists today saying uh congratulations for your performance and I thought that was a wonderful thing to say But bear in mind that ultimately mediation is about managing risk it's about companies engaging together transacting Trading and as you very uh aptly saw

today having issues and potentially disputes that can be resolved in a host of different ways and what we have been trying to do through this competition and more broadly at ICC is explaining to the Future practitioners and those who actually Already work within companies at law firms and other service providers how to manage that risk and where possible mitigate that risk and our students and our fellow colleagues of Tomorrow you are also here for that and uh to the professionals we owe it to those students to actually ensure that this competition Will Go On now

we had 27 countries represented this year among the 47 competing teams a total of about 170 students present Throughout the week we welcome for the first time uh the Royal Institute Colombo from Sri Lanka I don't know if they're here there you are welcome Strathmore Strathmore from Kenya good morning [Applause] and Hanoi from Vietnam [Applause] 120 professionals mediators trainers and of course also those who took undertook the former roles of of Judges time Keepers and so on and so forth and about 40 volunteers helping with all of that am I doing well okay good now

excuse me this year is also very special for us at ICC because it's the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the ICC Court International Court of arbitration and just for those of you who may not know arbitration if this had failed which wonderfully didn't the parties may have resorted actually Either before a court to litigate or they could have gone before a private Justice Forum to resolve this dispute and probably they would have seeing the characteristics and of course their level of of expertise and we have been doing that since the very early 1920s serving

the same goals basically that we serve through providing mediation services and all the rest access to Justice and it it seems rather simple or maybe broad but it's so true what we Have been doing is actually providing Avenues if you like options for parties to again use as a framework to resolve their disputes and sometimes even prevent them all together and in the context of the Centenary of the Court we're really looking Beyond just arbitration or just typical dispute resolution but again we want companies to use and lawyers of course to use all tools in

the toolbox and that's where Mediation and all the other ads Services come into play and we also know that in order to do that it's not just providing the access to Justice there's more that we need to do namely capacity building education like the mediation competition building the global community and again if we look at the representation from the many many parts of the world here today we understand how this Global Community comes together and really nourishes and Informs our understanding of business around the world and of course diversity and inclusion um this would not

have been possible without our sponsors and you will see all of them I think flashing by in a minute I would like of course to thank particularly Clifford chance our headline sponsor and also and uh Professor Diego fernandesaro who's also the director of the llm on International arbitration and dispute Settlements um who uh gratefully mediated for us to be hosted today here at this wonderful Hall um all volunteers teams coaches and Professionals of course particularly the working groups uh on rules uh with Ronnie Austin Natasha tonko Joy Davis Gary I don't know if Gary burnberg

is in today uh and claudama the working group on problems uh with Greg Bond and uh Chris Myers now you've already Heard others uh dear friends uh speak of Chris's and his very sad departure we are indeed very saddened to learn of his passing just a few days ago Chris was a very experienced dispute resolution expert in various fields of of uh of various types of uh different procedures he had formed his own company in the late 90s which then a few years later merged with hka and he was a permanent picture of the competition

and indeed a great Contributor to the working groups of this competition to make it work and we will very much miss him I would like to call now the organizing committee uh Elizabeth [Applause] christova [Applause] there you are [Applause] Jimmy [Applause] Stephanie gubell and Rachel Sim [Applause] Rachel oh you're up there okay well maybe it might be difficult for you to come down here but now they have been working for the better part of 12 months to put all of this together so I they they deserve all our thanks and and gratitude so thank you

so much together with their Colleagues across Global events sponsorship um it's really you know the ISD team it's it's been it's been wonderful to see this flourish again and uh and under the Battle of of you Elizabeth particularly thank you oh there you go [Applause] thank you now I'm going to try something different may I may I do it yes are we Okay good so what I will try to do is move over here I think you manage to do this before I don't know if I can do it again let's make it work oh

it's always ah wonderful so first of all some words to congratulate of course the um University of Auckland and the University of Toronto for [Applause] For the wonderful performance the competition and the ability is this better yes thank you and and and for reaching I'm really sorry uh third and fourth position respectful respectively and of course and of course the moment we have all been waiting for uh the announcement of the really sorry leave it to an arbitration lawyer to uh To mess it up um may I please uh I have your attention for the

announcement of this year's winning team as you know the finalists were nalsar University of law India and New York a law school from thank you from the United States and the winner of this year's ICC mediation competition oh there's a drum roll Is nals are University [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] foreign [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] foreign [Applause] New York Please come to the stage [Applause] [Applause] [Applause]