Dear members of the DIS,
Today, Dr Ramona Schardt, LL.M. (Virginia) takes office as Secretary General of the DIS. The Board of Directors warmly welcomes Dr Schardt and looks forward to leading and shaping the DIS jointly with her over the next years. Dr Schardt will make an excellent Secretary General. She will enrichen the DIS with her extensive and broad experience in dispute resolution and as in-house lawyer, contribute new ideas, and ensure that businesses’ interests remain a focal point of the DIS’s activities.
Together, the Board and Dr Schardt will continue the process of reforming the DIS and making the DIS a better service provider. We will expand the DIS as the leading German alternative dispute resolution institution and strengthen the DIS Case Management. To this end we will also incorporate the results of the 2018 DIS Arbitration Rules Clinic. We will review if the DIS’s existing tools and rules are meeting user needs or if amendments or new tools may be called for.
We will also jointly continue to work towards strengthening Germany as a place of arbitration. Together with our partners, we will seek to improve the framework for dispute resolution in Germany, as well as communication and marketing. We aim to strengthen networking among DIS Members as well as with the international dispute resolution community. To this end, we will devise new offers for companies, arbitrators, and party representatives.
Independence and integrity remain the foundation of the DIS. With a view to Dr Schardt’s previous in-house role, we have therefore enacted interim rules for the avoidance of conflicts of interest.
Open communication with you, the DIS Members, remains important for us. Please do not hesitate to contact us. Dr Schardt will also introduce herself again at the next General Meeting.
Best regards,
The Board of Directors and the Secretary General