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IAMA signs up for international cooperation

Australasian Legal Business - June 2005

The Institute of Arbitrators and Mediators Australia (IAMA) has celebrated 30 years practising Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) at their two-day national conference in Canberra.

The conference featured the who's who of ADR including federal attorney general Phillip Ruddock and William K Slate, who chairs the world's largest ADR organisation the American Arbitration Association.

The conference also set the scene for some major developments in bilateral and multilateral cooperation between ADR organisations, including a historic agreement with the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators. The memorandum of cooperation between the two organisations marks the first bilateral agreement for IAMA. IAMA is presently in a multilateral agreement with the 19-nation strong APRAG, and the bilateral agreement marks a new phase of international development for the body. The IAMA has also been appointed to oversee the arbitrations of both Australia Seed Federation and International Seed Federation.

The IAMA will be responsible for the resolution of disputes involving all exports of both bodies. IAMA president Tim Sullivan said the appointment "gives us a lot of kudos and links a lot of trade back to Australian shores".

We gratefully acknowledge the permission from Australasian Legal Business to reprint this article.