Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Course
This course gives you the tools and strategies to manage and resolve commercial and contractual disputes effectively. You will learn to analyze a conflict from the evidence, negotiate and mediate, draft settlement agreements and arbitration clauses, understand how an arbitral tribunal is constituted and how proceedings run from the statement of claim to the hearing, and apply it all in a simulated case that ends in an award or agreement.
Prior knowledge check
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What is the Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Course?
This short course covers the full range of alternative dispute resolution with a strong focus on arbitration. You will study the nature and escalation of conflict, the systems available from negotiation and mediation to dispute boards and the courts, early dispute management, stakeholder and interest mapping, negotiation with BATNA and ZOPA, communication techniques and mediation, the legal nature of arbitration, arbitration agreements and clauses, types of arbitration, the constitution of the tribunal, procedural design, claims and defenses, evidence, hearings and interim measures.
What sets this course apart: a practical approach built around case studies and simulations; a clear progression from preventing and negotiating disputes to running a full arbitration; attention to drafting, from settlement agreements to arbitration clauses that avoid common pitfalls; communication skills such as active listening and de-escalation treated as part of the professional toolkit; and a final project in which you design the strategy, prepare the case and simulate the proceedings.
Program highlights
- Conflict analysis: parties, interests, power maps and evidence-based case building.
- Negotiation with BATNA and ZOPA, mediation and conciliation in complex disputes.
- Drafting settlement agreements and arbitration clauses that prevent new disputes.
- Arbitration step by step: tribunal, seat, rules, language and procedural timetable.
- Claims, defenses, evidence, witnesses, experts, hearings and interim measures.
- Final project: a simulated arbitration ending in a reasoned award or agreement.
Syllabus of the Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Course
5 modules. Select a module to see its content.
Legal, strategic and methodological foundations of dispute resolution in contractual, commercial and institutional settings
- 1.1. The concept, nature and types of conflict: origin, escalation, opposing interests and the dynamics of disputes in legal and commercial relationships
- 1.2. Dispute resolution systems: negotiation, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, dispute boards and the ordinary courts compared
- 1.3. Guiding principles of early dispute management: prevention, proportionality, confidentiality, procedural economy and preservation of relationships
- 1.4. Identifying parties, positions and interests: stakeholder analysis, power mapping, incentives and assessment of the real room for agreement
- 1.5. Structuring the dispute from the evidence: facts, documents, communications, chronologies and traceability of the controversy
Negotiation, mediation and dispute management techniques as steps before or alongside arbitration
- 2.1. Fundamentals of negotiation applied to complex disputes: preparation, BATNA, ZOPA, designing concessions and handling asymmetries
- 2.2. Communication techniques in disputes: active listening, reframing, emotional control, managing deadlock and de-escalation
- 2.3. Mediation and conciliation: structure of the procedure, the role of the neutral third party and the assisted construction of sustainable agreements
- 2.4. Drafting settlement agreements and memoranda of understanding: scope, obligations, compliance mechanisms and prevention of new disputes
- 2.5. Managing multi-party and highly sensitive disputes: coordinating interests, a common agenda and preventing procedural breakdowns
Fundamentals of arbitration, the arbitration agreement and the structuring of proceedings for the private resolution of disputes
- 3.1. The legal nature of arbitration: party autonomy, arbitral jurisdiction, effects of the arbitration agreement and the subject-matter limits of arbitration
- 3.2. Arbitration clauses and submission agreements: drafting, validity, scope, common defects and interpretation criteria
- 3.3. Types of arbitration: institutional and ad hoc, domestic and international, at law and in equity, and sector-specific arbitration
- 3.4. Constituting the arbitral tribunal: appointment of arbitrators, the duty of independence and impartiality, challenges and acceptance of office
- 3.5. Designing the arbitral procedure: timetable, applicable rules, seat, language, terms of reference and initial procedural organization
Conducting arbitral proceedings: statement of claim, defense, evidence, hearings and procedural management of the dispute
- 4.1. Drafting the statement of claim: relief sought, grounds, quantification, legal basis and initial evidentiary structure
- 4.2. Statement of defense, counterclaims and objections: defense strategies, defining the subject matter of the dispute and admissibility
- 4.3. Evidence in arbitration: documents, witnesses, experts, inspections, document production and the assessment of evidence
- 4.4. Managing hearings: examination, cross-examination, oral presentation of the case and efficient conduct of the debate
- 4.5. Interim measures, procedural orders and interlocutory decisions: preserving rights, securing evidence and controlling the procedure
Integrated dispute resolution and arbitration project: strategy design, procedural simulation and technical defense of the case
- 5.1. Identifying and characterizing the disputed case: parties, facts, documents, risks, amount in dispute and resolution objectives
- 5.2. Designing the overall dispute management strategy: negotiation, mediation, arbitration or a stepped combination of mechanisms
- 5.3. Drafting the arbitration agreement or reviewing the arbitration clause: scope, seat, rules, language and composition of the tribunal
- 5.4. Preparing the arbitration case: chronology, case theory, evidence matrix, relief sought and hearing strategy
- 5.5. Simulating the proceedings and drafting the final award or agreement: argument, assessment of evidence and a reasoned solution
Duration and format of the Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Course
It is 300 hours. Tell us how many you can study each week and we will tell you when you will really finish.
This is the pace at which most students finish. It fits well with the installment plan.
Academic leadership and faculty
The Navalis teaching team: working professionals who teach and supervise the programs.
Dr. Marina AlcoverAcademic Director and Head of Quality Assurance
Eng. Diego CifuentesSenior Lecturer in Naval Welding and Non-Destructive Testing; Head of QA/QC for Welded Joints
Capt. Javier Abaroa (MCA)Senior Lecturer in Ship Handling, Electronic Navigation (ECDIS/Radar/ARPA) and GMDSS; STCW Compliance and Bridge Resource Management Coordinator
Dr. Pau FerrerSenior Lecturer in Naval Architecture and Simulation; Director of the Hydrodynamics and CFD Laboratory
Dr. Nuria LlobregatSenior Lecturer in Marine Meteorology, SAR and Operational Safety; Navigation Risk Management Coordinator
Eng. Javier BañulsSenior Lecturer in Electrical Engineering, Automation and ETO Engineering; Electronic Integration and Engine Alarms Coordinator
Eng. Sofía MarquinaSenior Lecturer in Materials, Composites and Corrosion Protection; Coordinator of the Advanced Paints and Coatings Line
Eng. Tomás RieraSenior Lecturer in Propulsion, Alternative Energy and Hybrid Systems; Energy Performance and Vibration CoordinatorObjectives of the Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Course
Career opportunities after the Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Course
Questions about the Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Course
To reach a mutually acceptable solution that meets the needs of the parties involved, ideally at lower cost and with less damage to the relationship than litigation.
Dispute resolution covers a range of methods for dealing with disputes, such as negotiation, mediation and conciliation; arbitration is one specific method in which a neutral third party issues a binding decision, the award.
The course teaches the techniques and the arbitral procedure. Appointment as an arbitrator, and any registration or official status as a mediator, depends on the parties, the arbitral institutions and the rules of each jurisdiction.
It covers commercial and contractual disputes in general, so the methods apply across sectors, including shipping, ports and the wider maritime industry.
You take a disputed case, design a resolution strategy, draft or review the arbitration clause, prepare the case and simulate the proceedings up to a reasoned award or a final agreement.
Fully online, through a virtual campus available 24/7, with live sessions that are recorded and tutorials with the teaching staff.
The course comprises 300 hours of study across 5 modules of about 60 hours each and ends with an applied project. You can progress at your own pace within the schedule set when you enroll.
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Admission process
No waiting for a call back. If your documents are in order, you can enroll in the same session.
- Profile: aimed at legal professionals who want to specialize in alternative dispute resolution, managers and team leaders who want tools to prevent and manage conflict in their organizations, negotiators, consultants and advisers who need a solid understanding of commercial arbitration, students of law, business and related fields, and anyone who wants to improve their negotiation skills; a background in law, political science, sociology, psychology or related areas, or experience in mediation, negotiation or conflict management, is helpful.
- Language: sufficient command of English to follow the classes and the technical documentation.
- Technical resources: a computer with camera, microphone, a stable internet connection and an up-to-date browser to take part in the live sessions and the negotiation and arbitration simulations.
- Admission: online application, review of your profile and a short interview with the academic team.
- 01ApplicationYour details, background and documents.
- 02Instant reviewWe check that everything is complete and in order.
- 03EnrollmentChoose full payment or instalments and reserve your place.
Admission is provisional until the committee validates the documents provided. If you do not meet the requirements, the full amount is refunded.
Ask us before you enroll
Leave your details and admissions will write to you to answer any questions. If you are already sure, you can apply and pay in the same session.