The Entry Level Course, the Special Members Course and the Fast Track to Fellowship Course will be held in Sydney on 17, 18 and 19 October 2008.

Course application forms will be available shortly.

Please contact us if you wish to be added to our distribution list for future courses.

This intensive course in International Commercial Arbitration is offered over two weeks at post graduate level. Participants will be taught the practice of international commercial arbitration, including all major forms of arbitration and related dispute settling mechanisms such as WIPO and WTO. Participants will gain the ability to appear in or act as an arbitrator in such arbitrations in different contexts.

The course assumes graduate knowledge of law, either from a law faculty or some other discipline such as economics. This course is accredited for Post Graduate Law studies and can also be done in conjunction with the Masters of Legal Studies course designed for non-lawyers to obtain the desired legal background.

Click here for the course information and a registration form

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This course is designed for those with little or no knowledge of dispute resolution. The course concentrates on the procedure of arbitration, with lectures covering the law and practice of arbitration, with particular reference to Australian law.

The course's program includes a pre-course assignment, lectures, tutorials and a two-hour written examination at the end of the course. It is the principal means of qualifying for Associate Membership of the Institute, which entitles you to use the letters ACIArb and is the first step towards Fellowship/Chartered status.

Sample Entry Course information and application form

This course is designed for non-lawyer Associate Members. By successfully completing this course, non-lawyer Associates qualify to undertake the course for full membership of the Institute.

It covers the General Principles of the Laws of Contract and Tort, Rules of Evidence and Principles and Practice of Arbitration based on the Uniform Commercial Arbitrations Acts.

It is a 6-month course including take home workbooks, assignment and exam, as well as attendance at 2 seminars.

Practising lawyers, those with law degrees and those who pass the non-lawyer course may qualify to become Members of the Institute by attending and passing the SMC. This is a lecture style course that provides the opportunity for the Institute to evaluate and assess your knowledge of basic law and arbitration. The course consists oflectures andoral assessment workshops. The evaluation and assessments are based on Arbitration legislation and those taking part will be expected to have a reasonable knowledge of the legisation as well as arbitration practice and procedure.

A list of pre-course reading and a pre-course assignment will be sent to you in advance of the course to assist in your preparation for the workshops, which include oral assessment, discussion and role play.

This course is also often run as a weekend course and a pass allows you to use the letters MCIArb.

It has been recognised that the standard route to Fellowship of examinations and assessments may not be appropriate for experienced Lawyers and Arbitrators who have been in practice for at least ten years. This Programme is open to members of the Chartered Institute as well as non-members who are experienced arbitrators with an approved legal qualification or lawyers with experience of dispute resolution. Experienced arbitrators who do not have an approved legal qualification will be required to pass the non-lawyer course (on Contract, Tort and Evidence) before undertaking the Fast Track Programme.

The Institute provides specialist training for mediators. The primary course lasts 5 days and uses role-play exercises, interactive group exercises, video clips, demonstrations and formal lectures. Successful completion of the five-day course will entitle you to apply for Associate Membership of the Institute.

The five-day course may be followed by a two-day accreditation course, successful completion of which will entitle you to apply for Membership of the Institute. It also allows you to make an application for an interview to be included on the Institute's Panel of Mediators, once you have satisfied the requirements to become a Member of the Institute.

Attendance at the courses alone may not be sufficient to succeed at the interview. The panel must be satisfied that you have the depth of understanding of mediation required. The best method of attaining this experience is by undertaking mediations or by attending mediations as an observer.

The Institute recognises a number of qualifications granted by external bodies as being of sufficient standard to grant the holders of those qualifications exemption from one or more Institute examinations.