It’s not breaking news that law school graduates generally have difficulty working with clients, don’t understand the “big picture” of client matters, and aren’t well trained in negotiation. The problem for law students and law schools is exacerbated by the transition to the NextGen bar exam and a movement in various states to use alternative … Continue reading Two Short Articles Proposing Courses Teaching Preparation and Advocacy in Dispute Resolution →

The Journal of Dispute Resolution recently released Issue 2 of Volume 2024.   Here’s a list of the articles in this issue.  Click here to access them.   Take a look. Alternative Dispute Resolution in Agency Administrative Programs by Kristen Blankley, Kathleen Claussen, and Judith Starr Arbitration and the Mandatory Law Problem: A Mixed Mode ADR Approach … Continue reading Latest Articles in Journal of Dispute Resolution →

Partnership aims to transform access to family law dispute resolution for underserved communities The American Arbitration Association and Suffolk University Law School are launching a pioneering Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) Innovation Clinic. This initiative combines Suffolk Law’s expertise in legal technology and clinical education with the AAA’s leadership in alternative dispute resolution innovation, technology, and … Continue reading American Arbitration Association, Suffolk Law and ODR.com Launch Online Dispute Resolution Innovation Clinic →

From my colleague, Rachel Wechsler: The Journal of Dispute Resolution is seeking articles related to labor and employment dispute resolution for its 2024 Writing Competition. The winners will be published in the Winter 2025 Issue of the Journal of Dispute Resolution. Writers should send submissions to umclawjournal@umsystem.edu with the subject line “2024 Writing Competition.” The … Continue reading Journal of Dispute Resolution Writing Competition – September 6 Deadline →

As the ruling party claims victory in Georgia’s disputed election, Western condemnation is no longer enough Expert comment LToremark 29 October 2024

As tens of thousands take to the streets to protest the election results, Georgia faces a familiar crisis – with a few key differences.

As the people of Georgia went to the polls on 26 October, many were hoping not only for a democratic change of government but also for an end to one-party dominance and a return to the path of European integration. The previously weak and divided opposition had grouped itself into four major electoral centres, promising a coalition government and framing these elections as a choice between Europe and Russia. 

Ahead of the election, President Salome Zourabishvili had put forward the Georgian Charter, a blueprint for a stable and democratic transition to a new style of governance and for initiating reforms to fulfil conditions for EU accession. It was signed by all pro-European and pro-Western opposition parties. 

The official election results gave the ruling Georgian Dream party a 54 per cent majority in contrast with exit polls that gave the opposition a 10 per cent lead. President Zourabishvili and the opposition parties refuse to recognize the results, beginning a long process of contestation with allegations of fraud and street protests. As the disappointment sets in and the streets once again replace the ballot box as a conduit for democratic change, there is a sense of déja vu.

Georgia has seen this before. A party sweeps to power on the tide of popular protest, initiates reforms to meet public expectations but, by the end of its second term, it takes an authoritarian turn. As it overstays its welcome, it starts manipulating elections to cling to power. People once again take to the streets and a new party wins by a landslide only to repeat the same cycle. But with each turn, the grip the ruling elites have on power gets stronger and the methods they use become more sophisticated. State security becomes equated with regime stability, leaving no space for normal democratic contestation or expressions of dissent. 

Although what is happening in Georgia fits this familiar pattern, there are some consequential differences. 

First, these were the first fully proportional elections. Previously, a mixed system of representation meant that the incumbency always had an advantage by dominating majoritarian districts. A new electoral system had created a not unreasonable expectation that these elections, if held freely, would result in a coalition government. The hope was this could help break the vicious cycle of Georgian politics, sustained by an extreme form of majoritarianism and a winner-takes-all political culture.

The Georgian Dream party was contesting its fourth consecutive term against a backdrop of falling popularity and growing societal mobilization in opposition to its authoritarian inclinations. Despite all this, it secured – some would insist manufactured – an absolute majority in elections that international observers say were marred by serious irregularities and fell short of democratic standards. 

The second important difference is that these elections were not only about saving Georgia’s democracy but also about rescuing its European perspective. Since Georgia was granted EU candidate status in December 2023, its parliament has adopted Russian-style laws on foreign agents and combating LGBTIQ+ ‘propaganda’. 

It has also adopted a strongly Eurosceptic political discourse, pushing back on international criticism and accusing EU and US officials of interference in domestic affairs and disregard for Georgia’s sovereignty. In response, the EU has suspended accession talks with Georgia indefinitely while the US has imposed targeted sanctions on high-ranking Georgian officials and judges. 

Georgia’s democratic backsliding at home and its pivot away from the West are both simultaneous and interrelated. It was widely hoped these elections would be a course correction and return Georgia to the path of European and Euro-Atlantic integration. The election results, if they stick, will prevent this from happening. A Georgian Dream government will not work to fulfil conditions for EU accession, viewed as a challenge to its hold on power. 

The third and final difference is that these elections took place in the context of heightened geopolitical confrontation. The Georgian Dream ‘victory’ is a win for anti-liberal, conservative forces around the world championed, among others, by Hungary’s Viktor Orbán. He was the first to congratulate Georgian Dream for its declared success and even visited Tbilisi in a show of solidarity and ideological alignment. 

The election result is also a win for Russia. It strengthens Moscow’s influence in the South Caucasus, which has waned as a result of the war in Ukraine and the fall of Nagorny-Karabakh. Russian officials and propagandist were quick to congratulate Georgian Dream, wishing them success in standing up to Western pressures and offering help in case things got tough. 

From Moscow’s perspective, Georgia’s elections are part of a global hybrid war. They represent a local battle in the ongoing geopolitical contest between Russia and the West, between the rules-based global order and competitive multipolarity. 

As Georgia repeats a familiar pattern, what do the election results mean for its future? While clear predictions are difficult at this stage, it is worth bearing in mind that as the democratic resilience of the Georgian society has strengthened over time, so too has the state capacity to supress and control. 

The Future of Investment Dispute Settlement Regimes 30 June 2020 — 2:00PM TO 3:30PM Anonymous (not verified) 9 February 2021 Online

This event is part of the Inclusive Governance Initiative, which is examining how to build more inclusive models and mechanisms of global governance fit for purpose in today’s world.

Is an ‘atomized’ approach to cross-border investment dispute resolution inevitable? Has the multiplicity of mechanisms helped or hindered inclusivity in and transparency in governance? Is there a need for, and scope to, increase the international coordination of dispute resolution mechanisms? If so, what form should it take? What could be the implications for international economic law?

North Carolina officials' switch in reading-test vendors just weeks before the new school year got underway is spotlighting the often murky process of contracts and procurements for K-12 services.

The supreme court put an end to five years of legal wrangling that landed the state's public school system with millions more dollars from the state and teachers with a pay raise.

One week after the lockout began at B.C.'s ports, the federal labour minister is again urging the employers and the union, back to the table.

The Jharkhand High Court on Tuesday issued a notice to cricket star Mahendra Singh Dhoni in a case filed by his former partners Mihir Diwakar and Soumya Das.

Beijing — China has published baselines for a contested shoal in the South China Sea it seized from the Philippines, a move that's likely to increase tensions over overlapping territorial claims. The Foreign Ministry on Sunday posted online geographic coordinates for the baselines around Scarborough Shoal. A nation's territorial waters and exclusive economic zone are typically defined as the distance from the baselines. Both China and the Philippines claim Scarborough Shoal and other outcroppings in the South China Sea. China seized the shoal, which lies west of the main Philippine island of Luzon, in 2012 and has since restricted access to Filipino fishermen there. A 2016 ruling by an international arbitration court found that most Chinese claims in the South China Sea were invalid but Beijing refuses to abide by it. Ships from China and the Philippines have collided several times as part of increased confrontations, and the Chinese coast guard has blasted Philippine vessels with water cannons. China's move came two days after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed two laws demarcating the government's claims in the disputed waters. A Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said that the delimiting of the baselines was in accordance with a U.N. agreement and Chinese law. "This is a natural step by the Chinese government to lawfully strengthen marine management and is consistent with international law and common practices," it said. The statement added that one of the laws signed by Marcos, the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, violates China's sovereignty in the South China Sea. "China firmly opposes it and will continue to do everything necessary in accordance with law to firmly defend its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests," the Foreign Ministry said. China stakes claim to almost the entirety of the South China Sea. It has a series of disputes with several Southeast Asian nations including the Philippines and Vietnam over territory in the waters, which are part of a key shipping route in Asia.

The 2001 memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Thailand and Cambodia regarding territory claimed by both sides in the Gulf of Thailand provides a framework for negotiations on two main subjects: maritime demarcation and economic benefits from the development of energy resources, said Foreign Affairs Minister Maris Sangiampongsa.

WASHINGTON — For U.S. presidents, meeting the families of military personnel killed in war is about as wrenching as the presidency gets. President Donald Trump’s suggestion Monday that his predecessors fell short in that duty brought a visceral reaction from those who witnessed those grieving encounters.

“He’s a deranged animal,” Alyssa Mastromonaco, a former deputy chief of staff to President Barack Obama, tweeted about Trump. With an expletive, she called Trump’s statement in the Rose Garden a lie.

Trump said in a news conference he had written letters to the families of four soldiers killed in an Oct. 4 ambush in Niger and planned to call them, crediting himself with taking extra steps in honoring the dead properly. “Most of them didn’t make calls,” he said of his predecessors. He said it’s possible that Obama “did sometimes” but “other presidents did not call.”

The record is plain that presidents reached out to families of the dead and to the wounded, often with their presence as well as by letter and phone. The path to Walter Reed and other military hospitals, as well as to the Dover, Delaware, Air Force Base where the remains of fallen soldiers are often brought, is a familiar one to Obama, George W. Bush and others.

Bush, even at the height of two wars, “wrote all the families of the fallen,” said Freddy Ford, spokesman for the ex-president. Ford said Bush also called or met “hundreds, if not thousands” of family members of the war dead.

READ MORE: What Trump said about his drug czar pick, health care fixes

Obama’s official photographer, Pete Souza, tweeted that he photographed Obama “meeting with hundreds of wounded soldiers, and family members of those killed in action.” Others recalled his frequent visits with Gold Star families, and travels to Walter Reed, Dover and other venues with families of the dead and with the wounded.

Retired Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed these contacts, tweeting: “POTUS 43 & 44 and first ladies cared deeply, worked tirelessly for the serving, the fallen, and their families. Not politics. Sacred Trust.”

Trump addressed the matter when asked why he had not spoken about the four soldiers killed in Niger. They died when militants thought to be affiliated with the Islamic State group ambushed them while they were patrolling in unarmored trucks with Nigerien troops.

“I actually wrote letters individually to the soldiers we’re talking about, and they’re going to be going out either today or tomorrow,” he said, meaning he wrote to the families of the fallen soldiers. He did not explain why letters had not been sent yet, more than a week after the attack.

“If you look at President Obama and other presidents, most of them didn’t make calls,” Trump said.

Pressed on that statement later, he said of Obama: “I was told that he didn’t often, and a lot of presidents don’t. They write letters.” He went on: “President Obama, I think, probably did sometimes, and maybe sometimes he didn’t. I don’t know. That’s what I was told. … Some presidents didn’t do anything.”

Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said later that Trump “wasn’t criticizing predecessors, but stating a fact.” She argued that presidents didn’t always call families of those killed in battle: “Sometimes they call, sometimes they send a letter, other times they have the opportunity to meet family members in person.”

She said anyone claiming a former president had called every family was “mistaken.”

Bush’s commitment to writing to all military families of the dead and to reaching out by phone or meeting with many others came despite the enormity of the task. In the Iraq war alone, U.S. combat deaths were highest during his presidency, exceeding 800 each year from 2004 through 2007. The number fell to 313 in Bush’s last year in office as the insurgency faded. Bush once said he felt the appropriate way to show his respect was to meet family members in private.

READ MORE: What the Bannon vs. McConnell fight means for Trump and the GOP

Obama declared an end to combat operations in Iraq in August 2010 and the last U.S. troops were withdrawn in December 2011. As Obama wound down that war, he sent tens of thousands more troops into Afghanistan in 2009 and 2010, and the death count mounted. From a total of 155 Americans killed in Afghanistan in 2008, which was Bush’s last full year in office, the number jumped to 311 in 2009 and peaked the next year at 498. In all, more than 1,700 died in Afghanistan on Obama’s watch.

Among other rituals honoring military families, the Obamas had a “Gold Star” Christmas tree in the White House decorated with hundreds of photos and notes from people who had lost loved ones in war. Gold Star families visited during the holidays, bringing ornaments.

Trump visited Dover early in his presidency, going in February with his daughter Ivanka for the return of the remains of a U.S. Navy SEAL killed during a raid in Yemen, William “Ryan” Owens.

Trump’s relations with Gold Star families have not always been smooth, dating from his belittlement of the parents of slain U.S. soldier Humayun Khan, who was Muslim. Trump was angered when the soldier’s father, Khizr Khan, was given a platform to criticize him at the Democratic National Convention.

Owens’ grieving father said he didn’t want to talk with Trump at Dover. But the sailor’s widow, Carryn, attended Trump’s address to Congress and wept as he thanked her.

___

Associated Press writers Robert Burns and Jesse J. Holland contributed to this report.

The post Trump’s claim about predecessors, fallen troops disputed appeared first on PBS NewsHour.

Canada Post workers might soon be putting down their mailbags and grabbing picket signs

Contract negotiations in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia's ports since Monday have been called off. It comes as more than 100 organizations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.

Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon has sent labour disputes at ports in Quebec and British Columbia to binding arbitration and has ordered people back to work after the disputes reached what he called a "total impasse."

The Centre has directed the field offices under the office of the Chief Labour Commissioner to speed up the resolution of industrial dispute cases to improve the business climate in the country as this would spur growth.

Lawsuits against X (formerly Twitter) will soon be heard in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The shift was first announced last month as part of a broader set of changes to X’s terms of service and privacy policy. Now, with the changes set to take effect on November 15, The […]

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Haldwani Land Dispute: उत्तराखंड के हल्द्वानी में रेलवे की जमीन पर रह रहे 4365 परिवारों को उत्तराखंड हाई कोर्ट ने जमीन खाली करने का आदेश दिया है। उत्तराखंड हाई कोर्ट के इस फैसले के बाद से पिछले कुछ दिनों

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar calls for an amicable resolution to the Houston Rath Yatra controversy, emphasising the importance of sentiment in celebrations.

Expresses solidarity with the agitating families

MVA constituents Congress and NCP (SP) too were gunning for the seats.

The minister was replying in the Rajya Sabha to a question about whether the government has taken cognizance of the mass layoffs in various multi-national and Indian companies.

Petitioners challenge a civil court’s dismissal of a petition filed by them seeking to execute the decree that was passed before the commencement of the Waqf Act. HC asks munsiff court to proceed with the execution petition and pass an order in three months

Students and teachers from two schools stage a protest over the result in the best school (athletics) category leading to police intervention during the valedictory function of Kerala School Sports & Games.

A DRC may make modification to the variations in the specified order and decide to grant reduction/waiver of penalty and prosecution

Delegates gathering in Baku are hoping to resolve the summit's top agenda item – a deal for up to $1 trillion in annual climate finance for developing countries

Fishermen from both sides of Palk Bay must meet to resolve dispute

Shraddha’s ‘Aurangazeb’, for the lovers of history

Spring water case an example of kind of legal tangle that can await foreign investors

Members Event

Event participants

Parag Khanna, Author, Connectography: Mapping the Global Network Revolution

Nepal protested India's inauguration of a new road to China that passes through territory claimed by Kathmandu on Saturday, with police arresting dozens demonstrating close to India's embassy. Indian defence minister Rajnath Singh on Friday inaugurated via video link the 80-kilometre (50 miles) long road from Ghatiabagarh in northern Uttarakhand state to the Lipu Lekh pass high in the Himalaya. The pass is claimed by Nepal based on an 1816 treaty that defines its western border with India.