To help grow mediation in Bosnia Herzegovina the International Finance Corporation engages CEDR

• Wednesday, 22 November 2006

Last month CEDR (Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution) successfully conducted training in Bosnia of local commercial mediators in Advance Mediation Practice for the Private Enterprise Partnership Southeast Europe (PEP SE) division of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group.

Two three-day training courses in the cities of Banja Luka and Sarajevo were part of a programme to add to existing skills relevant to mediating in commercial disputes and assist mediators in developing their practices. The PEP SE programme supports the mediators of Bosnia Herzegovina in becoming more self-financing and financially successful, which in turn will benefit wider alternative dispute resolution for local Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

Wilma Van Benthem, the PEP SE Project Manager, said “Time-consuming and expensive court proceedings are creating enormous damages to SMEs in Albania, Bosnia, FYR Macedonia and Serbia, causing mounting costs and blocking sizable assets in business hindering commercial litigation. To help SMEs cut through judicial red tape and unlock these assets, the IFC is helping introduce Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms in the region. PEP SE has helped draft ADR legislation, trained participants and raised awareness on the benefits of using ADR and mediation in particular. The mediation pilot projects that were recently launched with two Bosnian courts have helped resolve around 300 commercial disputes within two and a half years, releasing assets in the amount of approximately €8.5 million.”

Commenting on it involvement in the project its leader at CEDR, Director, James South said: “The key challenge for CEDR was to not just export our mediation procedures and practice. Cultural differences demand a course that allows the fundamentals of mediation to be adapted for integration into the local culture and business practices. In the past eight years CEDR has been very active in promoting and growing mediation throughout the Balkans so it has been a pleasure for us to be involved in this project.”

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Notes to editors:

About CEDR

CEDR is an independent non-profit organisation supported by multinational business, leading professional bodies and public-sector organisations. Its mission is to encourage and develop mediation and other cost-effective dispute resolution and prevention techniques. CEDR Solve is the dispute resolution and prevention arm of CEDR. With over 15 years unrivalled experience in helping parties resolve disputes in over 11,000 cases, it is recognised as the UK’s leading commercial mediation provider. www.cedr.com

About the IFC

The International Finance Corporation is the private sector arm of the World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. IFC coordinates its activities with the other institutions of the World Bank Group but is legally and financially independent. Its 178 member countries provide its share capital and collectively determine its policies.
The mission of IFC is to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing and transition countries, helping to reduce poverty and improve people’s lives. IFC finances private sector investments in the developing world, mobilizes capital in the international financial markets, helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability, and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses. From its founding in 1956 through FY05, IFC has committed more than $49 billion of its own funds and arranged $24 billion in syndications for 3,319 companies in 140 developing countries. IFC’s worldwide committed portfolio as of FY05 was $19.3 billion for its own account and $5.3 billion held for participants in loan syndications.

For more information, visit www.ifc.org.

For further press information please contact:

CEDR
Alice Tapfield
Phone: + 44 2075366042
Email: atapfield@cedr.com

This press release was distributed via Response Source, a service from Daryl Willcox Publishing, on behalf of Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR). For more information visit http://www.dwpub.com/pressreleasewires