糖心原创

Earlier this fall, the Center for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution (CNDR) at 糖心原创 (UC Law SF) proudly hosted the 2025 edition of its signature International Mediation Development and Leadership Institute (IMDLI), a premier training program featuring judges, lawyers, government officials, court administrators, World Bank researchers, and academics from around the world.

Participants and session leaders pose during a visit to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

This year鈥檚 participants hailed from countries such as Brazil, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Fiji, the Republic of Georgia, Kenya, Pakistan, Romania, Thailand, the Ukraine, and the United Arab Emirates.聽 It included the former Chief Justice of the Rwandan Supreme Court, a former judge of the Zambian Constitutional Court, and counsel at the Legal Affairs Department of the Government of Dubai responsible for spearheading a new mediation center in the emirate.

Conducted each fall at UC Law SF, IMDLI is one of few international trainings focused specifically on mediation reform鈥攐n how to improve the uptake of mediation in challenging environments though the establishment of public and private ADR centers, legislation, and other top-down and bottom-up reforms. The program reflects CNDR鈥檚 role as a global hub for innovation in negotiation and dispute resolution scholarship, policy, and education. Constantin-Adi Gavril膬, Senior Mediation Expert at the ADR Center in Rome, called the Institute 鈥渢he most significant effort to recognize and promote ADR policies.鈥�

The five-day program, in partnership with the JAMS Foundation, provides participants a rare opportunity to look behind the curtain of mediation and dispute resolution systems across the United States and the world. Participants heard from current and former administrators of private and court-annexed mediation programs in California, New York, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Italy, and Singapore.

CNDR Faculty Director & Professor of Law Hiro N. Aragaki leads a session on the role of law in mediation reform

Highlights of the week included roundtables, tours, and the opportunity to meet with judges at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

A defining feature of the IMDLI experience is the development of a community of thought leaders and practitioners that endures well beyond the participants鈥� short time at UC Law SF. Institute alumni regularly return to San Francisco for additional training opportunities, rely on connections born at the Institute to advance their work, and share updates through the broader IMDLI online network.

Dr. Nudrat E. Piracha, a Senior Weinstein-JAMS International Fellow from Pakistan, summed up participants鈥� reactions to the program concisely: 鈥淸IMDLI] is a must-have for policymakers, reformers, judges, and champions working towards reforming legal systems.鈥�