Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta: Judicial Dispute Resolution Fundamentals 2019

Overview

This seminar focused on the fundamentals of leading a judicial dispute resolution process, with a focus on developing mediation skills. The program was intended for judges appointed within the last five years.

Objectives

The program provided judges with the substantive knowledge and practical skills to effectively manage judicial dispute resolution processes and an opportunity to discuss these skills with their colleagues and experienced members of the Court.

Summary

In this seminar, senior judges with experience in dispute resolution and experts in mediation shared their practical and substantive knowledge with newly appointed members of the court on the skills and practical issues involved in judicial dispute resolution. Sessions discussing the practice and procedure of judicial dispute resolution in Alberta, mediation skills, and considerations when adapting the process to a shorter timeframe were complemented by facilitated small group discussions, where participants had the opportunity to consider how to best apply these skills in the context of hypothetical fact scenarios. Designed to complement the national training provided by the New Federally Appointed Judges Seminars and the Court’s bi-annual education seminars, this one-day program provided participants with additional information on judicial skills and procedural and administrative issues.