a list of internationally recognised arbitrators if they pass a series of exams given by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIA).

Lawyer Ms Keren Lomas, joined fellow litigators Mr. Saul Froomkin QC, Mr.

Jeffrey Elkinson, Mr. Kevin Hastings-Smith, Mr. Nigel Howcroft and Mr. Jan Woloniecki on the course which ran from August 6-11.

Legal executive Mr. David Addington and Mr. Paul Lowry, a quantity surveyor, also attended.

They left Bermuda on August 6 and traveled to Vail, Colorado. There, they took the special fellowship course which is made available to professionals with more than ten years experience in specialised fields such as law, surveying, engineering, architecture and patents.

The Bermudian contingent was the largest of an international field that had professionals from Hong Kong, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and the United States.

The CIA is based in London but it recently formed a North American branch and the Bermudian contingent wanted to take advantage of this opportunity.

Ms Lomas and Mr. Elkinson also took the tutor's course in international commercial arbitration.

If they are successful in their examinations, the local group will be entitled to add the designation F.C.I. Arb. to their names and they will then be placed on a list held by the Bermuda International Business Association.

That means that they could be used as mediators or arbitrators in international or local disputes.

"I took the special fellowship course which involved role playing as an arbitrators or as an advocate at an arbitration,'' Ms Lomas explained.