LET THE RIGHT ONE IN – MEDIATORS’ CODES OF CONDUCT AND ETHICAL GUIDELINES
Mediation is recognised, both at domestic and international level, as a relevant and effective method of commercial dispute resolution. Even in jurisdictions that are traditionally less familiar with consensual approaches, and where litigation and arbitration are therefore heavily relied on by those involved in commercial disputes, mediation is increasingly a hot topic.
This positive trend is also noticeable in dispute resolution processes conducted under the auspices of the world’s leading international dispute resolution service providers, such as the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in France or the Vienna International Arbitral Centre (VIAC) in Austria. Increasingly, established methods of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), such as arbitration, are being combined in practice with non-confrontational methods by building ‘mediation windows’ into formal arbitration processes.
Furthermore, the adoption, by the United Nations General Assembly of the ‘United National Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation’ in December 2018, and the positive response since the Convention’s signing ceremony in Singapore in August 2019, has given fresh impetus to mediation as a tool of commercial dispute resolution.
Since the nature of mediation is quite different from dispute resolution before state courts or arbitral tribunals, it is difficult to carve out generally applicable standards in the sense of standard procedural rules. Considering that a key feature of mediation is procedural flexibility, extensive regulatory interventions at the procedural level are clearly counterintuitive. At the same time, however, where clear-cut procedural rules do not exist, ensuring that certain quality standards are adhered to, is paramount.
Apr-Jun 2020 issue
Vavrovsky Heine Marth Rechtsanwälte GmbH