Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Mediation and Arbitration
Other languages of instruction: Catalan, English
Teaching staff
Reyes Alcón: ralcon@uic.es
Office hours: Monday to Friday from 9.30 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. In all cases an email should be sent in advance to arrange an appointment.
Introduction
The approach that the Master's Degree in Advocacy takes to the subject of Mediation and Arbitration is based on establishing the fundamental aspects of arbitration as a means of resolving disputes without resorting to ordinary jurisdiction.
Pre-course requirements
None required
Objectives
The main objective of this subject is to establish a strategy for conflict resolution together with negotiation, mediation and conciliation in the cases that will be dealt with in class.
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
- CA04 - Know the different techniques for reconciling conflicting interests and how to find solutions to problems through methods other than the jurisdictional route.
- CA05 - Know and be able to apply professional ethical rights and duties in the lawyer’s dealings with clients, third parties, courts, public authorities and other lawyers.
- CA06 - - Know and assess the different responsibilities associated with professional practice, including the basic principles of offering free legal assistance and promoting the social responsibilities of the lawyer.
- CA07 - Know how to identify conflicts of interest and know the techniques used to resolve them, establishing the scope of professional confidentiality and upholding independent judgement criteria.
- CA08 - Know how to identify the key requirements for the provision and organisation of legal consultancy.
- CA09 - Know and be able to apply in practice the organisational, management and commercial aspects of the legal profession, as well as company, tax and employment law and legislation on the protection of personal data.
- CA10 - Develop skills and abilities to choose the correct strategy for defending the rights of clients, taking into account the demands of the different areas of professional practice.
- CB07 - Know how to apply acquired knowledge and problem-solving abilities in new or little-known surroundings within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to their field of study.
- CB08 - Know how to incorporate acquired knowledge and deal with making complex judgements based on information which, being incomplete or limited, includes reflections on social and ethical responsibilities linked to how they apply their knowledge and judgements.
Learning outcomes of the subject
Students will learn how to:
Present to a potential client all the legal means of possible solutions to the legal conflict or the legal problem raised and, particularly, the mechanisms for alternative or non-judicial resolution of conflicts (in particular, mediation and arbitration).
Syllabus
• Basics of a strategic approach to the resolution of legal problems and legal conflicts.
• Alternative mechanisms to the Judiciary for the resolution of legal conflicts. In particular, mediation and arbitration.
Teaching and learning activities
In person
The University Master's Degree in Advocacy bases its methodology on the "case method" which consists in studying real-life scenarios and problems that law firms deal with. Students prepare and analyse cases, identify issues and, once in class together with the teacher, either individually or in groups, look for solutions and share the possible alternatives available.
Our intention with the case method is to help students acquire the main skills of a good legal professional such as logical reasoning, ease of oral expression and language proficiency, among others.
The module on Arbitration consists of 2 ECTS of which 20 hours are teaching and then a minimum of 30 hours work by each student on which they will be assessed.
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
The evaluation consists of two parameters:
• Participation in class: Accounts for60% of the final mark.
• Written examination (test and case study): Accounts for 40% of the final mark.
RULES AND EVALUATION PROCEDURES CORRESPONDING TO THE PRESENT STATUS OF ALARM AND THE MANDATORY HOME CONFINEMENT (PANDEMIC COVID-19)
1.- What is prescribed below does not alter the essential content of the standards and evaluation procedures of this subject, contained in the original version of this same section of the Teaching Guide, in its original version (this is at the end of this text).
2.- The final exam of the subject continues to represent 40% of the final grade.
3.- The changes concern, fundamentally, the way of taking the final exam, in a scenario of general and mandatory home confinement.
4.- These standards respond to the need to continue seeking academic excellence, but adapting the evaluation system to current teaching circumstances, in which classes are being taught in their online and non-face-to-face mode.
5.- Two tests will continue to be carried out, as the final exam, on the date established in the MUA Study Guide 19-20: one, type "test", and the other, type "individual practical case".
6.- The mark of both tests will average and this will be what the student will obtain as a grade for the final exam (40% of the final grade for the course).
7.- Test type examination:
(i) Same format as in the exams of the first call (number of questions, multiple statements and answers, discount due to errors, etc.).
(ii) On the day and time set for the final exam of this subject, students will take the test using the tool provided by UICbarcelona (according to the email from the Rector's Office on April 17, 2020). Students will receive detailed information in this regard.
(iii) The exam will last 30 minutes.
(iv) During the exam, all students must be connected to the videoconference platform indicated through an ad hoc collective invitation to the exam session. It is about being able to observe them - and listen to them - while they carry out the test (UICbarcelona has an anti-fraud device called "Smowl").
(v) Regarding the origin of the test-type questions (past editions of the State exam and / or questions designed by the teachers), each subject will apply what the coordinating teacher of the subject has and, in any case, what he manifested to the students in class about this extreme.
8.- Case study exam:
(i) At the beginning of the test, an e-mail will be sent to the entire group with the statement of the case in "pdf" format.
(ii) Simultaneously with the shipment (at the scheduled time and communicated to the students), all of them will have to connect to a videoconference platform (which is indicated by the MUA Coordination), upon invitation to all students to join the communication.
If a student already knows that they do not have internet access, they must notify the coordinating teacher of the subject immediately and the means of communication to take the exam will be the WhatsApp videoconference platform, on the date, time and other circumstances. that the professor prescribes, although the defense of the case will be oral.
(iii) At the scheduled time, students will connect. During the entire videoconference, the student's microphone must be open and the camera activated.
(iv) The student will be able to have the technical-legal support material (standards, notes, etc.), in paper or digital format, which the coordinating professor of the subject would have initially consented to in this Teaching Guide or, in its defect, that communicates to the students in due time. It is expressly and specifically pointed out that the legal rules, all those that are wanted, the student must have downloaded in "pdf" format (it is recommended to use the source: BOE.es) in a folder on their computer or electronic device that use to take the test, prior to the exam.
(v) No communication may be maintained in any way with anyone during the course of the test, or talk. The teacher may request any student to activate the "screen sharing" mode at any given time. The teacher will record the video conference. UICbarcelona has the anti-fraud tool "Smowl".
(vi) The test will have the duration that each coordinating teacher of the subject has expressly stipulated or provides, and with due notice, to the students. During the development of the test, the student will solve the case and write the handwritten answer in a maximum of two pages on both sides.
(vii) When the student has finished or, in any case, after the given time, the student must photograph with his mobile the four faces of the page and must immediately send them to the professor of the subject (with a copy to Doña Reyes Alcón, as mere guarantee mechanism), so that it can be corrected. If you have scanning mechanisms, you will prefer and must follow this system for registering and sending the exam.
(viii) The photographs of the faces of the exam will be converted into a pdf document, on which the teacher will correct, introducing the correction marks in «comment» format.
9.- Regarding possible incidents, the following are considered as possible, together with the way in which they could be resolved:
(i) In case the student is unwell, for health reasons, a medical receipt will be required.
(ii) If you have any incident with access to the official examination platform and / or the video conferencing platform, you must immediately take as many screenshots as necessary and send them to Reyes, Anna Marín and Carlos de Miranda (the technical services of UIC will enable mechanisms for these incidents). Likewise, the recovery test or exam for the first failed student will be oral and via videoconference.
(iii) Students who, from now on, know their internet connection problems, must inform them, as soon as possible, including, from now on, the indication that, in such case, they will be examined individually, orally and through Audiovisual communication available on mobile phones (facetime, etc.).
10.- If a student is detected who, individually or collectively, carries out any suspicious process of fraud during the exams - any procedure of those not specified at the time of carrying out the test - he will be suspended in both tests of the final exam, regardless of whether fraud has been detected in only one of them.
The exams will be corrected with special caution and subjected, where appropriate, to the plagiarism control tool "Turnitin". In case the teacher has doubts about a possible plagiarism, he / she will be able to contact the student so that they can proceed to make an oral justification of their answers. In the event that the suspected fraud is confirmed, the student (s) involved will be immediately suspended.