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The Competition

The ICC International Commercial Mediation Competition

In the ICC Mediation Competition, students negotiate a complex commercial dispute and try to solve it through mediation.  The Competition is the largest and most prestigious of its kind.  The number of participants is more than 350 each year, while the number of universities they represent is limited to 48 worldwide.  The Mediation Competition is organized by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and their Mediation Rules apply.  The ICC is one of the leading providers of dispute resolution services.  The Competition is interdisciplinary and therefore open to students of every faculty.
 

Purpose of the ICC Mediation Competition

The ICC Mediation Competition is designed to facilitate the spread of mediation, in particular commercial mediation under the Mediation Rules of the ICC.  The participating teams exhibit their skills in representing the interests of their party in a practice-oriented mediation.  In doing so, they have to face and overcome the difficulties that go along with a dispute in which the parties have completely different backgrounds and origins.  In addition, the teams receive feedback from leading international mediators and establish contacts with professionals and other teams from all over the world.

Course of the ICC Mediation Competition

The ICC announces which universities will send student teams to the ICC Mediation Competition every autumn.  The University of Marburg has sent teams to participate in the Competition since 2012/13 (here the first team's report in German, here the version published in Marburg Law Review, here the second team's report, here the version published in Marburg Law Review in German, here the third team's report as published in Marburg Law Review in German, here the fourth team's report as published in Marburg Law Review, here the fifth team's report, here the eighth team's report and here the version published in Marburg Law Review in German).
 
In November, the eight commercial problems which will form the basis of the Competition are sent to the teams.  With each problem the teams receive general (disclosed) information as well as confidential information, which is specific to each party.  On the basis of this information, the competing teams work on mediation plans for each case, which are submitted in January.  At the same time, the teams work on their skills in order to best represent their client‘s interests in the mediation.  In February, the teams then compete against each other in Paris.