Faculty Development Programme in Mediation Advocacy

Faculty Development Programme in Mediation Advocacy (FDPMA) 

A Professional Specialized Skill Training Program by Indian Arbitration Institution (IAI)

• Eligibility: Any Basic Qualification or any Formal Education

• Total Fees: Rs. 8,000/-
  (Everything Included from Admission, Course Fees and Delivery of Certificate, no additional Fees Apart from it)

• Mode: Online

• Study Material:  Will be provided through Learning Dashboard/Portal

• Learning Type: Self Paced

• Duration:  3 Months (Preferably, but can be completed anytime as soon as you give the Exam)

• Enrollment:  Any Time, there is no Fixed Enrolment Date or Day. A candidate can choose any time and the enrolment will be processed real time.

• Exam: One Online Exam, MCQ and Subjective Type Questions of 100 Marks. Passing Marks 40%. If unsuccessful, you can give additional two attempts.

• Procedure: Fill the Apply Now Form →  Pay the Requisite Amount of Fees by Clicking Pay Now Button → Then Click on Payment Confirmation button and fill the form with all the Details → Then login to the Dashboard.

Course Overview

The Faculty Development Programme in Mediation Advocacy (FDPMA), offered by the Indian Arbitration Institution (IAI), is an advanced, pedagogy-oriented training initiative designed to prepare educators, legal trainers, and dispute resolution professionals to teach and practice mediation advocacy. While mediation has expanded rapidly across global jurisdictions, conventional legal education largely continues to instruct law students and young practitioners in adversarial litigation tactics. This creates a critical institutional gap: law faculties often lack certified trainers who can instruct future attorneys on how to effectively represent clients within consensual, non-adversarial dispute resolution frameworks.

Mediation advocacy requires a fundamental shift from aggressive courtroom posturing to collaborative problem-solving, interest-based bargaining, and risk assessment. The FDPMA bridges this pedagogical divide by equipping academicians with modern curriculum design methods, experiential clinical teaching strategies, and the substantive legal frameworks governing modern mediation. Participants study how to design and evaluate simulation-based courses, develop dynamic role-plays, oversee clinical dispute labs, and guide law students in domestic and international mediation moots and competitions.

Substantively, the curriculum explores statutory frameworks such as the Mediation Act, 2023, Part III of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, the Singapore Convention on Mediation, and institutional dispute management rules. Educators examine the distinct procedural responsibilities of counsel before, during, and after mediation sessions: preparing client risk-benefit analyses, calculating BATNA/WATNA, drafting mediation briefs, managing opening statements, conducting effective private caucuses, and structuring durable settlement agreements.

In addition to classroom instruction, the program highlights the scholarship and research methodologies required to publish high-impact work on alternative dispute resolution (ADR). By engaging with interdisciplinary tools—such as behavioral economics, emotional intelligence, and cognitive bias management—participants learn how to teach dispute resolution holistically. Accredited by the Indian Arbitration Institution, the FDPMA empowers faculty members to modernize institutional curricula, direct university ADR centers, and train the next generation of dispute resolution advocates to thrive in corporate boardrooms, institutional panels, and commercial mediation settings.

Course Structure and Modules

The tentative modules are as follows:

Module 1: Foundations of Mediation Advocacy and the Changing Dispute Landscape

• Transition from adversarial trial advocacy to interest-based mediation advocacy.

• Statutory foundations: The Mediation Act, 2023, court-annexed mediation frameworks, and institutional mediation rules.

• The Singapore Convention on Mediation: Cross-border recognition and international enforcement.

• Ethical guidelines, advocate-client relationship, and confidentiality obligations in mediation.

Module 2: Pre-Mediation Case Analysis, Strategy, and Advisory Role

• Advising clients on dispute suitability: Selecting mediation over litigation or arbitration.

• Quantitative and qualitative risk assessment: Calculating BATNA, WATNA, and MLATNA.

• Drafting persuasive Mediation Briefs, Position Papers, and Case Summaries for mediators.

• Preparing corporate executives, clients, and technical experts for collaborative sessions.

Module 3: Advocacy in Action: Joint Sessions, Caucusing, and Impasse Management

• Delivering collaborative opening statements: Setting tone without compromising legal leverage.

• Strategic utilization of private caucuses with the mediator to test reality and test options.

• Overcoming tactical impasses: Anchoring, cognitive framing, and interest-based concessions.

• Managing power differentials, high-emotion conflicts, and multi-party negotiations.

Module 4: Drafting Binding Settlement Agreements and Judicial Enforcement

• Essential components, language precision, and enforceability of Mediated Settlement Agreements (MSAs).

• Preventing ambiguity, managing indemnities, and structuring conditional performance terms.

• Legal status of settlement agreements under Section 73 and Section 74 of the Act.

• Judicial enforcement procedures, grounds for non-enforcement, and challenging settlements.

Module 5: Pedagogy, Clinical Legal Education, and Simulation Design

• Designing undergraduate and postgraduate syllabi in Mediation and ADR Advocacy.

• Drafting balanced, multi-party role-plays, fact patterns, and confidential instructions.

• Facilitating classroom debriefs, self-reflection assessments, and peer reviews.

• Running campus ADR clinics, community mediation desks, and legal aid settlement programs.

Module 6: Coaching and Judging Mediation Competitions

• Rules and scoring rubrics of prominent national and international mediation competitions (e.g., ICC, CDRC Vienna).

• Coaching advocacy teams: Advocate-client pairing dynamics, time allocation, and stage management.

• Objective evaluation: Assessing opening statements, caucus strategy, and teamwork.

• Establishing institutional competition rounds and inter-university advocacy tournaments.

Module 7: ADR Research Methodologies, Curriculum Development, and Institutional Leadership

• Identifying contemporary research gaps in empirical and comparative mediation scholarship.

• Publishing ADR research in peer-reviewed and indexed legal journals.

• Setting up and managing university-level ADR Centres and mediation clinics.

• Industry-academia integration: Structuring continuing legal education (CLE) workshops for practicing lawyers.

Importance of Doing this Course

Legal education systems worldwide are undergoing a paradigm shift. Regulatory authorities, university inspection committees, and judiciaries increasingly mandate ADR clinics and specialized mediation instruction. The Faculty Development Programme in Mediation Advocacy (FDPMA) offers critical value for career and institutional growth.

First, standard legal pedagogy remains heavily weighted toward litigation. Most law teachers possess extensive knowledge of substantive law and civil procedure but lack formal training in interactive mediation advocacy. The FDPMA provides structured pedagogical methodologies, showing educators how to transition from lecture-based instruction to experiential role-plays, clinical simulations, and real-time negotiation labs that engage students and meet contemporary accreditation benchmarks.

Second, the passage of contemporary mediation legislation (such as India's Mediation Act, 2023) has made pre-litigation mediation a formal requirement across commercial sectors. Law faculties and corporate trainers need immediate, up-to-date mastery of these statutory changes to align university curricula with actual market demands. This course ensures educators stay current with evolving statutory mandates, procedural guidelines, and international treaty standards.

Third, the program builds capacity for institutional mentorship. Student participation in international mediation competitions has surged, and universities require faculty coaches capable of training competitive teams. The FDPMA provides precise rubrics, scoring criteria, and coaching models used by premier international competitions, enabling faculty to guide student teams to success.

Finally, an institutional certification from the Indian Arbitration Institution enhances an educator's academic credentials. It validates subject-matter expertise, strengthens candidacy for academic promotions, administrative leadership roles, and grants, and positions the holder as a certified expert in dispute resolution training.

Career Prospects

Completing the Faculty Development Programme in Mediation Advocacy unlocks diverse career paths across higher education, professional training, and corporate consulting:

• University Faculty and ADR Chairs: Qualify for tenured, adjunct, and guest faculty appointments in national law universities and private institutions, heading departments of dispute resolution or ADR centres.

• Clinical Legal Educators: Direct campus legal aid clinics, student mediation cells, and dispute resolution incubation centres within law schools and university campuses.

• Institutional Mediation Trainers: Conduct Continuing Legal Education (CLE) programs and specialized skill workshops for state judicial academies, bar councils, and legal services authorities.

• Corporate Conflict and Negotiation Coaches: Serve as corporate trainers delivering executive workshops on conflict management, workplace negotiation, and settlement advocacy to multinational management teams.

• ADR Competition Coaches and Judges: Act as official faculty advisors, judges, and assessors for premier national and international moot court, mediation, and negotiation competitions.

• Policy and Curriculum Advisors: Consult for educational boards, bar associations, and international organizations on designing modern dispute resolution curricula and mediation training standards.

Necessary Details

The Indian Arbitration Institution delivers the FDPMA through a flexible, fully digital platform designed to accommodate the schedules of working professors, researchers, and legal practitioners.

Eligibility Applicants must hold:

• Any Basic Qualification or Formal Education with Graduation in any discipline, and

• Any prior teaching, academic, or professional work experience.

This qualification accommodates law teachers, university lecturers, dispute resolution practitioners, corporate trainers, and researchers seeking formal pedagogical credentials in mediation advocacy.

Total Fees The all-inclusive fee for the program is Rs. 8,000/-. This covers the complete program lifecycle: registration, digital learning materials, ongoing dashboard access, examination administration, and the physical printing and courier delivery of the final completion certificate. There are no additional fees, hidden charges, or exam retake costs.

Mode and Study Material The program is conducted entirely Online. Enrolled participants receive personalized login credentials for the dedicated IAI Learning Dashboard/Portal. Complete Study Material—including instructional design guides, mediation case templates, statutory texts, role-play banks, and pedagogical articles—is accessible directly within the dashboard.

Learning Type and Duration The course follows a Self-Paced learning framework. While the recommended study duration is 3 Months, candidates maintain complete flexibility over their learning pace. Participants may review the modules on their own schedule and sit for the final examination as early as they are ready.

Enrollment Enrollment remains open Any Time throughout the year. There are no fixed enrollment cycles, semester dates, or batch cutoffs. Applications are processed in real time, granting candidates immediate portal access upon confirmation.

Examination Structure The course concludes with One Online Exam carrying a total of 100 Marks:

• Format: A combination of Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) and Subjective/Pedagogy-Based Case Questions.

• Passing Marks: 40%.

• Re-attempt Facility: Candidates who do not secure the required passing marks on their first attempt are granted up to two additional attempts at no additional cost.

Step-by-Step Procedure

1. Complete and submit the official Apply Now Form on the IAI website.

2. Pay the course fee of Rs. 8,000/- by clicking the Pay Now button.

3. Click the Payment Confirmation button and submit the verification form with transaction details.

4. Log into the Learning Dashboard to access study modules and begin the course.