Irvine, Calif. – The nonprofit JAMS Foundation announced today that it has selected 11 fellows for the 2014 Weinstein JAMS International Fellowship program.
The Fellowship program, named to honor the contributions of JAMS mediator Hon. Daniel Weinstein (Ret.), provides opportunities for ADR professionals from throughout the world to learn more about dispute resolution in the United States. Under the guidance of the JAMS Foundation and seasoned JAMS panelists, Weinstein Fellows pursue projects of their own design that advance ADR practices in their home countries.
In August 2013, Judge Daniel Weinstein partnered with the JAMS Foundation to donate $3 million towards the Weinstein JAMS International Fellowship Program. Judge Weinstein’s generous contributions will help support the Fellowship program over the next 20 years.
“The Fellows selected this year are an amazing group of ADR professionals,” said Judge Weinstein, a retired San Francisco Superior Court judge and a member of the JAMS Foundation Board of Directors. “The depth and experience we continue to see in each of the Fellows far exceeds our expectations and we’re honored to have them as a part of our program.”
“We thank Judge Weinstein for his generosity and support for this program and look forward to seeing the successful projects that come out of this group of talented fellows,” said Chris Poole, JAMS president and CEO.
“We are very pleased to be able to support the development of ADR around the world,” said David Brandon, managing director of the JAMS Foundation. “We welcome this opportunity to share our ADR experience and expertise with this diverse group of Fellows and look forward to learning from their experience as well.”
In the coming months, the 11 Weinstein JAMS Fellows will arrive in the U.S. to begin their fellowships, which will last between one and three months, and each will be based in a JAMS Resolution Center. In addition to their affiliation with JAMS, most Fellows will have other commitments, including participation in university-based dispute resolution programs. The following individuals have been selected for the 2014 Weinstein JAMS International Fellowship Program.
- Sabawoon Ahmadzai (Afghanistan) – Mr. Ahmadzai is the Senior Project Manager of the Afghanistan Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution, a nonprofit ADR provider that facilitates the resolution of commercial disputes. While in the U.S., he will study best practices for the institutionalization of commercial ADR to efficiently resolve business disputes, preserve judicial resources and reduce private sector expense. After returning to Afghanistan, he plans to develop a legislative framework for ADR.
- Francis H.V. Belle (Barbados) – Mr. Belle is a trained mediator and High Court Judge of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. As part of his fellowship, he will study court-connected ADR models in the U.S. for application to courts in the Eastern Caribbean to promote awareness of mediation throughout the region. He also plans to expand the reach of existing court-connected ADR programs to include rural districts through community mediation initiatives.
- Sherif Elnegahy (Egypt) – Mr. Elnegahy is a newly-appointed judge at the Egyptian Ministry of Justice and an accredited mediator at the Cairo Regional Center for International Commercial Arbitration. Currently a doctoral candidate in law at Strathclyde University, he will continue his research to assist the judiciary in Egypt with the establishment of court-connected mediation programs. Upon his return, he will also participate in the drafting and implementation of a new Egyptian Mediation Act.
- Francisco Giménez-Salinas Framis (Spain) – Mr. Framis is a lawyer, mediator and conflict facilitator, currently working in Mexico, where he has facilitated the resolution of disputes involving local communities affected by daily conflict as well as participated in the design and implementation of multi-party public interest dialogues. As part of his fellowship, he plans to develop guidelines for the management of conflict, involving local communities and international companies for use throughout Spanish-speaking countries.
- Ihsanullah Khan (Pakistan) – Mr. Khan is an international human rights lawyer and certified mediator who currently serves as national field officer for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Pakistan. He intends to conduct a comparative research study of ADR practices to develop a legal framework for the recognition of ADR as an effective conflict resolution mechanism in Pakistan.
- Bonginkosi Petros Mkhize (South Africa) – Mr. Mkhize is founder and chairman of the Mandulo Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on community development and access to justice initiatives. A mediator with more than 20 years of experience, he will assist the judiciary in the implementation of court-connected ADR initiatives as well as develop community mediation programs in conjunction with local law schools to reach underserved rural populations.
- Parichart Munsgool (Thailand) – Ms. Munsgool is a judge of the Court of Justice of Thailand, currently on educational leave to complete her doctoral degree in environmental law at UC Berkeley School of Law. Upon her return to Thailand, she intends to further the development of court-connected dispute resolution mechanisms to address the increasing number of complex environmental disputes in the country.
- Ignacio Ripol (Spain) – Mr. Ripol is a lawyer and ADR practitioner at Oversea Law Practice. He is also a lecturer in arbitration and mediation at University Abat Oliva-CEU. In collaboration with the commercial courts of Barcelona, he plans to promote and expand ADR processes in Spain through the introduction of mediation in bankruptcy and insolvency procedures. Additionally, he plans to develop a post-graduate ADR program for law students.
- Aleksandre Tsuladze (Georgia) – Mr. Tsuladze is the Deputy Head of the Analytical Department of the Supreme Court of Georgia, responsible for recommendation of court reforms, including court-connected mediation initiatives. As part of his fellowship, he intends to meet with ADR practitioners and experts and observe court-connected mediation programs in the U.S. to create a best practice guide for the Georgian judiciary and draft a future mediation law in Georgia.
- Hauwa Yakubu (Nigeria) – Ms. Yakubu is a lawyer and Senior Registrar at the Port Harcourt Division of the National Industrial Court where she is in charge of expanding the NICN’s court-connected ADR pilot project to include an ADR center in her region. While in the U.S., she will further develop her skills as a mediator and study court-connected ADR models to provide further training and information to the court upon her return to Nigeria.
- Farjana Yesmin (Bangladesh) – Ms. Yesmin is a Senior Judicial Magistrate of the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court of Mymensingh. Following her fellowship, she intends to continue her work at the court in the design and implementation of ADR procedures with particular focus on family matters to better promote and enhance dispute resolution mechanisms for the advancement and empowerment of women in Bangladesh.
About the JAMS Foundation (www.jamsfoundation.org)
The nonprofit JAMS Foundation is the largest private provider of ADR-related grants in the world. The Foundation was established in 2002 by JAMS, The Resolution Experts, the premier provider of alternative dispute resolution services worldwide, and is funded by JAMS mediators, arbitrators and employee associates who contribute a percentage of their income. The JAMS Foundation has provided more than $5 million in grant funding since its inception. Founded in 1979, JAMS and its more than 300 full-time mediators and arbitrators are responsible for resolving thousands of the world’s most important cases. JAMS is online at www.jamsadr.com.