At VCU this does give me problems.

By virtue of being an "instrumentality" of the state, we must take
positions that a government would: sovereignty; a part of the public good;
the maker and enforcer of law and justice; etc.  On the other hand, I am
bargaining in most ways as a "competent party" in a social and judicial
environment in which each party is considered to be on even terms.  So, it
is not equal -- but the inequality flows both ways.  I cannot agree to
binding arbitration -- but I must bear the cost and confusion of judicial
resolution, represented by the state's Attorney General, rather than
someone of my choice.

I generally find that openness about these conflicts and what they cost all
parties makes things move along.

To me, the larger concern is, "Should we be in this negotiation?"  My
institution fills the social roles both of university and of government.
Our environment (physical and social) is not the same as, for example,
industry's.  There is overlap.  If we can keep our interactions in that
overlap, we are creating a win-win situation.  When we slip out of the
overlap, the relationship becomes, at best, a zero sum game, in which I
must loose for him to win, and we should not enter or remain in that
relationship.  If a bargainer is adamant in the face of reasoned
justification, maybe the problem is that we've slipped into the win-loose
area.

If we are to remain in the win-win area, we must come up with imaginative
solutions.  Sometimes redefining the problem helps:  I cannot accept
binding arbitration, but I really do not want disputes to elevate to that
level, nor does my colleague with whom I am negotiating; how can we obviate
disputes, or defuse them early?

You have indicated some good ways of avoiding win-loose across some
interesting differences in environments.  If I'm prohibited from using them
because of a specific of my environment, I just have to find another way
that does work, by examining where the overlap of environments really is in
the case at hand.

Chuck

At 10:08 AM 4/2/00 +0100, you wrote:
>This is an interesting thread since I have been involved in efforts to
>encourage greater collaboration between US institutions and their
>counterparts in the European Union.  I would therefore be interested to
>know how you deal with international agreements in terms of governing
>law, jurisdiction, arrangements for arbitration etc.
>
>>From where I sit on a small island that is a member of the European
>Union through which we have many research collaborations with partners
>in other EU countries, we have had to develop a measure of flexibility
>in how we approach these issues.  As you can imagine, if being asked to
>accept the law/jurisdiction of the state next door which operates within
>the same legal system and in the same language gives rise to
>difficulties, within Europe with its multiplicity of legal codes and
>languages this is a non-trivial issue.
>
>It may also be of interest to know that in many parts of the world,
>where there is not the same confidence in the impartiality of the legal
>process, it is not unusual to draft agreements so that any legal
>proceedings will take place in a neutral third-party jurisdiction.
>
>Best wishes
>
>R
>--
>Richard Tomlin                       |    Centre for Higher
>                                     |    Education Research,
>tel: (+44)(0)191 222 6820            |    Joseph Cowen House,
>fax: (+44)(0)191 222 8170            |    University of Newcastle,
>e-mail: xxxxxx@ncl.ac.uk     |    Newcastle NE1 7RU, UK.
>
>                 http://www.staff.ncl.ac.uk/richard.tomlin
>
>
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