Straus continues partnership with Brazil

November 1, 2016 -- On October 5 and 6, the Straus Institute was honored to be invited to participate in the II National Conference on Mediation and Conciliation in Brasília, Brazil.

The event, promoted by the Tribunal Superior do Trabalho (TST) and the National Council of Justice (CNJ), was the fruit of the hard work performed by Counselor Emmanoel Campelo, in his tenure as the President of the Commission for Access to Justice and Citizenship for the CNJ. Counselor Campelo has been a crucial promoter of dispute resolution methods in Brazil, and, consequently, of the Straus Institute and its presence in the country, through various collaborative partnerships between the two institutions.

The Conference was marked by the celebration of the 28th Anniversary of the Federal Constitution of Brazil, as well as by the signature of Resolution #174 of the TST – regulating mediation in the employment and labor courts throughout the country. Minister Ives Gandra, President of the TST, Minister Gilmar Mendes, Justice of the Brazilian Supreme Court (STF), and Dr. Cláudio Lamachia, President of the Brazilian Bar Association, were only some of the illustrious and key figures of the Brazilian Judiciary and Advocacy present in the Conference.

Straus Institute's Prof. Colin Rule, and Prof. Marcelo Rosadilla, who is still a member of the Brazilian Bar, received a special invitation to represent Straus in such a manganic event. The invitation was made by the CNJ, through Counselor Campelo, and the TST, through Justice Rogerio Neiva Pinheiro, Judge in the Vice-Presidency of the National Commission for Promotion of Mediation of the TST. Justice Pinheiro has also been a long-time friend of the Straus Institute, and one of the essential figures along with Prof. Rosadilla, in firstly establishing a relationship between Straus and the Brazilian Judiciary.

During the event, Prof. Rule and Prof. Rosadilla conducted a couple of lectures on the state of dispute resolution and ODR in California. In a pertinent format, they successfully conducted a subsequent live Q&A session, during which Prof. Rule answered the audience's questions via a live video feed.
The interest and speed in which the Brazilian judiciary has been implementing dispute resolution methods through regulatory and educational actions has been quite impressive. Consequently, the Straus Institute is proud and honored to play an essential part in that process, and will continue to increase its presence in the country through academic and professional programs, as well as in technology exchange opportunities, and immeasurable experiences such as the Congress.

The next such opportunity will be in December, when Prof. Rosadilla will be in Porto Alegre to speak at the International Mediation Congress, and in Curitiba, where he will be joined by Straus alumni Jair Gevaerd and Dorotéia Mota to teach mediations to judges of the TRT.