Mediation (June 2009)

Court proceedings should normally be the option of last resort in the case of a dispute. Litigation is often time-consuming, expensive, stressful and uncertain in outcome.

Mediation is available as an alternative and, sometimes, as a complement to traditional court proceedings.

So what is mediation? Essentially it is a confidential meeting in which a trained independent 3rd party (the mediator) assists the parties to reach their own settlement, with or without the help of their lawyers. Mediation is more flexible than formal litigation as the parties and the mediator are not bound by the legal principles which limit the decision a judge can make in court. This enables the parties to reach an agreement which might cover matters, such as the basis of a continuing business relationship, which were not the subject of the dispute.

As well as being confidential a mediation is without prejudice to the parties’ right to litigate. So if the parties fail to reach a settlement in the mediation they do not lose their right to go to court.

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