Efforts of the Idr Led To the Passing of a Law with Global Impact

The Applied Research Division of the Institute for Dispute Resolution [at the NJCU School of Business] diligently pushed for and contributed to a New Jersey legislative bill to accommodate international business disputes. The bill encourages a framework that would promote international mediation in New Jersey. On February those efforts paid off as the governor of New Jersey signed into law bill ‘S602” as the New Jersey International Arbitration, Mediation, and Conciliation Act.

Karen DeSoto, the co-founder and co-director of the Institute for Dispute Resolution, recently stated that bill S602 had strong bipartisan support, from both Senators Sandra Cunningham and Tom Kean Jr. As per DeSoto, the law intends to position New Jersey as a hub for business meditations from around the world, which will really help in increasing global trade for the state.

She was pleased with the efforts of the IDR and said, “There was previously no mechanisms in place for businesses to settle disputes in New Jersey outside of full legal actions. This will greatly enhance the use of mediation as a dispute resolution tool. And New Jersey is now one of only ten states that have passed such legislation. I’m very proud that the Institute was able to contribute to this legislation in a positive way.”

The Institute for Dispute Resolution (IDR) has also seen success in mentoring its students who have faired well in international mediation competitions. In 2015 the students won an award at the Vienna competition. Karen DeSoto has recently been interviewed about the IDR by Brie Austin. .

Insight into the Institute for Dispute Resolution

In 2014 Karen DeSoto and David S. Weiss wanted to find a vehicle to help promote New Jersey cross-border trade. They then co-founded and developed the Institute of Dispute Resolution at New Jersey City University (the School of Business).

What is the Institute’s purpose?

To promote international negotiation and mediation techniques in order to manage disputes in cross-border commercial, investor-state as well as general conflict resolution forums.

To that end, the Institute engages in applied research in the fields of negotiation and mediation studies, to apply these principles:

The Institute’s mission is “to promote trade and commerce applying international mediation from a business school prospective, and to promote New Jersey as a place to conduct cross border disputes”.

How does the Institute plan to accomplish its mission?

To be able to successfully accomplish the Institute’s mission, several key objectives include program initiatives such as applied research in the field of mediation, seminars and programs, exchange programs, field work, and publications. Along with that, the Institute also aims at achieving its mission by engaging in legislative policy initiatives.

To date the Institute for Dispute Resolution at NJCU contributed to state Bill S602, which was signed into law February 2017.