Independent mediator appointed to facilitate European club rugby Accord negotiations
Graeme Mew will perform the role of mediator to drive a fully independent process of facilitating negotiations regarding the formation of a new Accord for the structure of European club rugby tournaments for the 2014/15 season and beyond.
The Canadian’s appointment follows a request by ERC to the International Rugby Board (IRB) to recommend an independent mediator with exceptional experience in business, legal and sporting issues.
Mr Mew is a senior partner with the Toronto law firm, Clyde & Co, and is a vastly-experienced dispute resolution lawyer who has mediated a wide variety of civil disputes involving, among others, international and cross-border issues, commercial transactions and contract law.
He has a particular speciality in the area of sports law and in the resolution of sports disputes and sits on a number of prominent panels of mediators and arbitrators, including the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR).
Mr Mew will act as a neutral mediator and has outlined the need for the process to be “independent and confidential”.
The nomination of a mediator follows an ERC Board meeting (11 September 2013) during which it was agreed that ERC should convene a meeting as soon as practicable to reignite the negotiations, and should identify a mediator for the process.
Mr Mew will make contact with all 10 signatory organisations to the current ERC Accord with a view to seeking their engagement, and to understanding their positions and objectives. He will also outline his independent mediation strategy.
He will initially work with the parties to develop an appropriate process for the negotiations which is expected to feature individual meetings with each organisation followed by plenary sessions involving all parties at the next meeting of ERC stakeholders scheduled for Wednesday, 23 October 2013.
ERC independent Chairman, Jean-Pierre Lux, said: “The nomination of a neutral mediator and the creation of an independent and confidential process now provides for an opportunity for serious engagement and genuine decisive negotiations on the part of all ERC decision-makers.
“More than one year has passed since notice was served on the Accord and no proposal to date has received sufficient support to provide the basis for progress. Graeme Mew’s nomination provides a hugely valuable opportunity to find an agreed solution which will benefit all European club rugby stakeholders.”
IRB Chairman, Bernard Lapasset, said: “The IRB believes in a truly European competition and strongly urges all stakeholders to return to the table under a fully independent process for important and urgent discussions to work towards achieving a sensible resolution that is in the best interests of the European game.”
“The IRB proposed Graeme Mew as he is a leading international mediator with a strong and successful blend of sporting and business dispute resolution experience and he understands the governance structure of rugby.”
Graeme Mew profile
Graeme Mew is a member of the Chambers of Ben Hubble QC at Four New Square in London, England and is also a partner in the Toronto office of Clyde & Co Canada LLP.
He also serves as a member of a number of prominent panels of mediators and arbitrators including the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR) and the Sport Resolutions and the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC).
He was an Appeal Officer at the Rugby World Cup in 2003 (Australia), 2007 (France) and 2011 (New Zealand) and has served as a judicial and appeals officer for the International Rugby Board (IRB) since 2001 and as a member of the IRB’s Anti-Doping Advisory Committee since its establishment in 2000. He is a Specialist Member of the Football Association Judicial Panel and a member of the ad hoc panels of the Court of Arbitration for Sport at the Commonwealth Games in 2010 (New Delhi) and the Olympic Games in 2012 (London).
He has undertaken mediation work in the UK, Canada, the United States, Ireland, Switzerland, Australia, Namibia and France.
