Mediation in Great Britain

What makes mediation a particularly effective ADR method is that it affords the maximum degree of flexibility to all its participants. Depending on a dispute’s nature & value, mediation in Great Britain may occur in the presence of lawyers or other experts & professional advisors. Parties, who are normally accompanied by their own lawyers, should give early warning to mediators (& one another) of who’ll be participating in the process.

Rules

Initiation of mediation procedure in Great Britain isn’t governed by any specific rules (except for cases where settling a dispute through mediation in Great Britain is carried out pursuant to a specific institution’s rules). However, there may be conditions in a mediation agreement pertaining to the mediation procedure. In particular, they apply to:

• preparing case summaries & position statements;
• preparing essential documentation.

The documents usually includes:

• contractual documentation;
• correspondence;
• case files & other necessary documentation (if it’s been agreed to settle a dispute through mediation in Great Britain).

Stages

Here’s what typical stages look like:

• Parties come to the site of mediation & consult privately with their lawyers in separate rooms. Following that, mediators enter the rooms & introduce themselves to them.
• Parties converge in one room where mediators notify them of conditions applicable to initiating mediation in Great Britain. They also inform them of the need to maintain confidentiality. Parties, in their turn, explain their concerns & voice expectations (that stage is called opening statements).
• After parties leave, mediators begin to assess problems faced by each of them, weighing out all pros & cons. Following that, proposal & counter proposals are made for settling the dispute in Great Britain.
• Once a proposal is accepted, lawyers of parties hold a joint meeting during which they draw up a mediation agreement in Great Britain in which they lay out terms for peacefully settling a dispute by mediation in Great Britain.
• Parties sign an agreement in writing.

Mediation Clauses

Enforcing mediation clauses in Great Britain requires compliance with no specific requirements, except for the general provisions of English contract law. What that means is that each stage of the process must be clearly defined & timed.

If a court cannot decide whether to uphold a settlement clause, it should be guided by the factors determined by England’s High Court, namely:

• there must be a binding obligation in a contract requiring parties to participate in peaceful resolution of disputes through mediation in Great Britain;
• there must be no ambiguity in expressing the said obligation prior to initiating litigation or arbitration in Great Britain;
• there must be a mechanism in place determining any required steps & eliminating the need for signing any additional agreements;
• proceedings may be suspended if a procedure for resolving a conflict through mediation in Great Britain has been breached.

Confidentiality

Normally, confidentiality applies to anything that takes place during the mediation (which includes any kinds of settlements). There’s penalties for breaching confidentiality, and they’re normally enforced pursuant to the relevant provisions of contract legislation In addition to clearly stipulated terms of confidentiality, it’s clear that that's a process whose primary goal lies in settling a dispute in England.