Concept

Mediation

Overview

Mediation is a form of dispute resolution that resolves disputes between two or more parties, facilitated by an independent neutral third party known as the mediator. It is a structured, interactive process where the mediator assists the parties to negotiate a resolution or settlement through the use of specialized communication and negotiation techniques. All participants in mediation are encouraged to participate actively in the process. Mediation is "party-centered," focusing on the needs, interests, and concerns of the individuals involved, rather than imposing a solution from an external authority. The mediator uses a wide variety of techniques to guide the process in a constructive direction and to help the parties find their optimal solution.

Mediation can take different forms, depending on the mediator's approach. Leonard Riskin distinguished between facilitative and evaluative approaches to mediation, among others. In facilitative mediation, the mediator assists parties by fostering communication and helping them understand each other's viewpoints. In evaluative mediation, the mediator may assess the issues, identify possible solutions, and suggest ways to reach an agreement, but without prescribing a specific outcome. Mediation can be evaluative in that the mediator analyzes issues and relevant norms ("reality-testing"), while refraining from providing prescriptive advice to the parties (e.g., "You should do..."). Unlike a judge or arbitrator, mediators do not have the authority to make binding decisions, ensuring that the resolution reflects the voluntary agreement of the parties involved.

The term mediation broadly refers to any instance in which a third party helps others reach an agreement. More specifically, mediation has a structure, timetable, and dynamics that "ordinary" negotiation lacks. The process is private and confidential, possibly enforced by law. Participation is typically voluntary. The mediator acts as a neutral third party and facilitates rather than directs what the outcome of the process must be.

Mediation is becoming an internationally accepted way to end disputes. The Singapore Mediation Convention offers a relatively fast, inexpensive and predictable means of enforcing settlement agreements arising out of international commercial disputes. Mediation can be used to resolve disputes of any magnitude.

Mediation is not identical in all countries. In particular, there are some differences between mediation in countries with Anglo-Saxon legal traditions and countries with civil law traditions.

Mediators use various techniques to open, or improve, dialogue and empathy between disputants, aiming to help the parties reach an agreement. Much depends on the mediator's skill and training. As the practice has gained popularity, training programs, certifications and licensing have produced trained and professional mediators committed to their discipline.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).

Possible passages

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We wish, as it were, to see the matter double, first in its immediacy, and secondly in its ground, where it is no longer immediate. This is the plain meaning of the law of sufficient ground, as it is called; it asserts that things should essentially be viewed as mediated. The manner in which Formal Logic establishes this law of thought, sets a bad example to other sciences. Formal Logic asks these sciences not to…
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, The Logic of Hegel
States what Mediation is; names Mediation.
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The annexing to the mediation the other (Austrian) Imperial Court entirely overthrew this plan.
Karl Marx, Secret Diplomatic History of The Eighteenth Century
Names Mediation twice; opens on Mediation.
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It is generally better to deal by speech than by letter; and by the mediation of a third, than by a man’s self. Letters are good, when a man would draw an answer by letter back again; or when it may serve for a man’s justification afterwards to produce his own letter, or where it may be danger to be interrupted or heard by pieces. To deal in person is good, when a man’s face breedeth regard, as commonly with…
Francis Bacon, Bacon's Essays, and Wisdom of the Ancients
Opens on Mediation; names Mediation.
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Related ideas

Place in the tradition

Part of Relativism.

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