In recent years, CLDP has been working closely with the National Center for Judicial Studies (NCJS) to develop the capacity of Egyptian judges and enhance their understanding and implementation of Egyptian legislation in the areas of intellectual property, telecommunication, and electronic signatures. In April 2008, a new law was passed in Egypt establishing specialized economic courts at the circuit of jurisdiction of each court of appeal. The judges of first instance in these specialized courts also have the authority to mediate disputes between the litigants. If the mediation is successful, they will submit minutes of the reconciliation, signed by the parties, to the competent circuit. To build upon these technical assistance activities with the NCJS, and to continue to support the capacity of Egyptian judges to comprehend and apply newly adopted legislation, CLDP has designed a two-day workshop in Cairo for the 32 preparatory Egyptian judges to advance their skills in mediation and learn new techniques to make mediation a successful method of court resolved conflict. CLDP conducted a two-day workshops in Cairo on May 26 for 17 (one-half of the total) preparatory Egyptian judges, followed by a two-day workshop in Cairo on May 27 for the remaining 16 preparatory judges. The Egyptian judges worked through advanced mediations exercises, case studies, and in-depth discussions with a U.S. Federal Court judge experienced in commercial mediation.