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Talk, be heard or obtain an answer to that
difficult question or concern
The Institute launches its new Members
Discussion Forum
In February, the Chartered Institute launched its Members Discussion Forum. The idea is that members can leave messages and reply to others left by fellow members. These types of forums can be the way in which members can find the answers to key questions that they face. You can also demonstrate your knowledge, experience and insight by replying to messages put up by other people. At their best, forums can also be pleasant social "meeting places" for people with similar interests.
If you have strong views about something going on in the Institute or an article printed in Arbitration or News and Views, the forum can operate as an easy way to express your opinion, anonymously if want to. Finally, if you want to track what the Practice Committee is up to, the forum is usually a fairly good place to start. If you want to express a view for example on Peremptory orders or multi-party arbitration, two subjects currently under discussion, the forum is an excellent place to do it.
At the moment, the Forum has four sections, arbitration, mediation, adjudication and journal. This may change in the future, particularly if people ask for more. In practice, there is plenty of cross-over between the various topics and sometimes, the forum contains a message just diverting readers from one section to another.
In its first couple of months, we have already had discussions about the merits of consumer arbitration, adjudication, the European Convention on Human Rights, withdrawing from arbitrations, the Proceeds of Crime Act, capacity to enter into arbitration agreements and private international law, separability and disallowing costs for a refusal to mediate.
How to participate
The first task is to gain access to the Members section of the institute website. After a recent Practice Committee meeting, a small group gathered together around a PC and it became apparent how few people knew how to do this. On the front page of www.arbitrators.org, there is a "Click here to sign in" button. First time visitors then need to enter their membership number and then select a user name and a password. If you have any difficulty doing this, please ring Sandra David at the Institute who can easily tell you your membership number. It's also on your annual invoice. If you use Internet Explorer, you can ensure that if you type the beginning of your user name, the password pops up automatically.
Once you are into the member's section, click on Members Discussion Forum. This will take you to the four different parts of the forum. Choose whichever section you want to enter. You will see a list of topics on which people have already left messages. If you want to start a new one, click on "Post message", enter the subject of your contribution and type in your message in the large box provided. You do not need to give a name. When you are finished, click on "Post message" and your views will appear on the forum.
If you want to reply to an existing message, click on the topic that interests you and read the messages. At the bottom of the page, click on "Post reply" and type your message. Then click again on the "Post reply" at the bottom of the page and your view will go up on the screen.
Forums only work if interesting people post messages that are worth reading. This only happens where members are prepared to take a chance at expressing their views or asking important questions, using anonymity if necessary. This forum could make a significant contribution to Institute membership if people are prepared to give it a go.
I am the Forum co-ordinator at the moment. If anyone wants to know more or has queries about how to use the facility, do not hesitate to contact me on 0207 586 1938 or www.adamsamuel.com
Adam Samuel