Dr Rajesh Sharma

Associate Professor, Criminology and Justice, RMIT University, Melbourne.

Dr Rajesh Sharma

By Lachlan Ly – ADC Intern and Final Year Combined Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Laws Degrees, University of Sydney

In this edition of ADC’s Bulletin’s series that celebrates Australian ADR Award recipients, ADC Intern Lachlan Ly spoke with Dr Rajesh Sharma, who was named ADR Academic of the Year in 2022 and 2024. Dr Sharma has extensive experience in ADR, with formal training in arbitration, mediation, and negotiation from renowned organisations and educators including WIPO, ICC, and Harvard Law School. As an academic, Dr Sharma has conducted extensive research on mediation and arbitration across the Asia-Pacific including China and India, with multiple publications on dispute resolution. He has also provided valuable expert comments to UNCITRAL on mediation and conciliation and is currently preparing additional commentary on the Singapore Convention.

As an educator, Dr Sharma has helped develop many rising stars in the field of ADR, having taught courses on arbitration, mediation and negotiation and helped run a number of moot competitions for students, including the ADC-ICC Asia Pacific Commercial Mediation Competition (APCMC), where he serves as a member of the Steering Committee, and the ‘Asia Pacific Vis Pre Moot’, which he established to help students with disabilities gain opportunities to learn and experience arbitration advocacy. Currently, Dr Sharma teaches students as an Associate Professor in the Legal and Dispute stream of Criminology and Justice at RMIT University, Melbourne.

Our Q&A with Dr Rajesh Sharma

What drew you initially to start researching and writing about ADR? Is there a matter you have written on relating to ADR that you have found the most interesting to research?

Like many others, I began my career as a lawyer. However, during that period I began researching the process of arbitration, and shortly after, started learning more about mediation and negotiation. That journey made me realise the value of ADR, and as a result I began devoting my time to researching and writing in the area.

Although I have written several articles and books related to ADR, one of the most interesting matters I have researched is the Singapore Convention on mediation, which has recently been adopted and represents a landmark law for mediation. I am currently writing commentary on the Convention, including a transcript of all preliminary discussions that can be used by lawyers, judges and mediators to understand how the Convention works, the reasons for its adoption, and how certain text should be interpreted.

How has being named ADR Academic of the Year influenced your continued academic work on ADR?

First of all, I want to express gratitude to the Australian Disputes Centre for launching this award. In the ADR field, we commonly see awards for ADR professionals, such as arbitrators or mediators. Recognition for ADR academics is rarer, which is why I appreciate ADC for establishing this particular category.

As for how receiving this award influenced me – before coming to Australia I worked in Hong Kong. During that period, I regularly admired and learned from the work of Australian academics. Receiving this award after coming to Australia gave me confidence that I was on the correct path and should continue.

As a professor who has extensive experience teaching and training students in the ADR sphere, what do you believe are the keys to success for the developing the next generation of ADR practitioners?

I always tell my students that if you desire to work in ADR, you need to have the passion for it. As a mediator, your client is in the foreground. This means you must have the capacity to listen to their problems, be responsive to their emotions, and fully understand their situation. This is not possible to do unless you have a passion for it. In this way, it is different from standard legal practice which focuses on fact-finding, research, and presenting a case of dispute resolution rather than other factors like emotional management.

As teachers, our role is to help students discover and nurture that passion. For example, after teaching a class about the court’s decision in a specific case, I will often ask my students if they can think of any other solution to the dispute. Such questions can then prompt students to gradually develop a passion and interest in ADR.

How do you foresee the developments in artificial intelligence in recent years affecting the future landscape of ADR? Do you envision that AI will become an integral part of future ADR processes?

When people discuss AI, I always reminisce to when the computer was first introduced to the public. At that time, people were worried it would replace humans. Instead, once introduced, people started doing more with the assistance of computers. I cast doubt on statements about how AI will replace ADR practitioners, based on my past experience on how society adapts to new technologies.

For example, AI can replicate the work of research assistants who locate sources, provide summaries, and present information concisely. However, this does not mean that human research assistants will become redundant, as there will always be a need to cross-check whether information provided by an AI is correct or not.

In mediation, I foresee that AI can assist in option generation, as it has the capability to quickly present possible solutions to an issue. However, a human mediator must still assist the parties to understand those options, modify them if needed, and ultimately reach a consensus. Similarly, AI can assist with drafting mediation agreements, but a mediator must still communicate with the parties to ensure that they understand the agreement and its consequences.

I believe that AI is an ‘intelligent assistant’ which can assist in ADR but ultimately cannot replace the fundamental work of ADR practitioners.