Mediation In the event of any dispute arising under or in connection with this Agreement, before either party may initiate arbitration pursuant to Section 5.2 below, ICANN and Registry Operator must attempt to resolve the dispute through mediation in accordance with the following terms and conditions:
Arbitration Board If the grievance is to be heard by a three-member arbitration board, the Union and the Employer shall each appoint a member of the arbitration board within five (5) days of notice of arbitration in accordance with Article
Mediation/Arbitration Employee agrees that prior to filing any motion or claim against the Company or any of its employees, Employee will offer to engage in informal mediation. Each party shall bear its own costs of mediation and one-half of the cost of the mediator. Additionally, any claim by either party arising out of or related to this Agreement, or its breach, or related in any way to Employee's employment or its termination (except claims of employment discrimination under local, state or federal laws, and requests for equitable relief under Section 9 above), shall be settled by arbitration using a single arbitrator and administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Employment Dispute Resolution Rules. Any arbitration shall take place in Seattle, Washington, and the parties waive the right to a trial de novo or appeal, excepting only for the purpose of enforcing the arbitrator's decision, for which purpose the parties agree that the Superior Court for King County, Washington shall have jurisdiction. The nature, proceedings and results of the mediation or arbitration shall be kept confidential and kept from public disclosure to the extent possible.
Arbitration Disputes arising under or in connection with this Agreement that are not resolved pursuant to Section 5.1, including requests for specific performance, will be resolved through binding arbitration conducted pursuant to the rules of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce. The arbitration will be conducted in the English language and will occur in Los Angeles County, California. Any arbitration will be in front of a single arbitrator, unless (i) ICANN is seeking punitive or exemplary damages, or operational sanctions, (ii) the parties agree in writing to a greater number of arbitrators, or (iii) the dispute arises under Section 7.6 or 7.7. In the case of clauses (i), (ii) or (iii) in the preceding sentence, the arbitration will be in front of three arbitrators with each party selecting one arbitrator and the two selected arbitrators selecting the third arbitrator. In order to expedite the arbitration and limit its cost, the arbitrator(s) shall establish page limits for the parties’ filings in conjunction with the arbitration, and should the arbitrator(s) determine that a hearing is necessary, the hearing shall be limited to one (1) calendar day, provided that in any arbitration in which ICANN is seeking punitive or exemplary damages, or operational sanctions, the hearing may be extended for one (1) additional calendar day if agreed upon by the parties or ordered by the arbitrator(s) based on the arbitrator(s) independent determination or the reasonable request of one of the parties thereto. The prevailing party in the arbitration will have the right to recover its costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees, which the arbitrator(s) shall include in the awards. In the event the arbitrators determine that Registry Operator has been repeatedly and willfully in fundamental and material breach of its obligations set forth in Article 2, Article 6 or Section 5.4 of this Agreement, ICANN may request the arbitrators award punitive or exemplary damages, or operational sanctions (including without limitation an order temporarily restricting Registry Operator’s right to sell new registrations). Each party shall treat information received from the other party pursuant to the arbitration that is appropriately marked as confidential (as required by Section 7.15) as Confidential Information of such other party in accordance with Section 7.15. In any litigation involving ICANN concerning this Agreement, jurisdiction and exclusive venue for such litigation will be in a court located in Los Angeles County, California; however, the parties will also have the right to enforce a judgment of such a court in any court of competent jurisdiction.
