Commercial mediation is a process that parties to a dispute can undergo, which is a way of attempting to resolve the dispute, the place an impartial third party is appointed to behave as a facilitator between them to assist them negotiate a settlement dispute. That unbiased third party isn’t a judge. They’re not going to make a choice on the proof or tell you who’s proper and who’s incorrect and who wins and who loses. They will enable you to see either party’s position and help them come to a settlement.

The process of commercial mediation

It’s a completely voluntary process. You shouldn’t have to attend commercial mediation, and if you end up at a mediation, you can depart at any time. However it is a great opportunity to have a commercial dispute case settled without the necessity for the proceedings to either, if they’ve already started, continue and continue at increased costs for both parties, or alternatively, have a mediation at an early stage before any litigation has started in an attempt to keep away from those prices starting or running away from the parties at a really early stage.

So, it’s a form of different dispute resolution, which is an umbrella term for a lot of strategies of trying to resolve disputes without having to interact in court proceedings, and it is becoming more and more prevalent in businesses’ minds after they’re having a dispute.

Slightly than, «Let’s have a big argument and spending plenty of prices and plenty of time in dealing with the dispute», «How can we get to the end of the dispute in a quicker way and a more value-efficient way?» And commercial mediation is a big part of that and a very good way of reaching that end goal in a a lot more cost- and time-environment friendly manner.

Do I’ve to attend commercial mediation?

Mediation is a voluntary process, but there could be adverse price penalties in litigation if a court believes that a party has unreasonably refused to mediate.

So, if one party to a dispute makes a suggestion of mediation, it can be very prudent, unless there’s an extremely good reason why the opposite party doesn’t need to mediate, and people reasons could also be that the other party’s case doesn’t have any merit or the value of the case involved would be such that the prices of mediation, even attending a mediation can be disproportionate to the worth of the dispute.

However, that aside, you would have to have a fairly good reason not to, to not mediate. Otherwise, a court could make an adverse costs order in opposition to a party who has unreasonably refused to mediate.

So, it is a case really that the court does expect the parties always and all stages of a dispute to aim to succeed in a settlement, not necessarily by way of mediation completely, but the court does count on the parties to try to reach a settlement. And mediation, as we’ve got already discussed, is an efficient way of doing that in a well timed and price-efficient manner.

Is the outcome of commercial mediation legally binding?

The end result of mediation would be legally binding in very particular circumstances, and that’s as soon as an agreement recording the position reached at mediation in a legally binding document.

So, it’s recorded in writing and signed by these parties to the dispute. Till that has occurred, the outcome of a mediation will not be legally binding, and it would be open to either party to the mediation to renege on the agreement or not enter into the agreement or seek to attempt to change the agreement for each in the course of the course of the mediation, up till the purpose that it is being recorded in writing and signed by the parties. And subsequently, we advise purchasers who are at mediation and have gone by way of the process of reaching a settlement at mediation to attempt their utmost to get that agreement signed on the day of the mediation. And sometimes, the recording of the agreement can take just as long, if not longer, as to truly the parties reaching the agreement at mediation themselves.