Consultation Paper on Alternative Dispute Resolution - Law Reform ...

that he or she withdraw from the case. For example, the Mediators Institute of
Ireland Code of Ethics states that ―The Mediator must act and be seen to act in
an impartial manner throughout the process of mediation. Impartiality means
freedom from favouritism, bias or prejudice. The Mediator must not take sides.‖
Similarly, the European Code of Conduct for Mediators states that ―The
mediator must not act, or, having started to do so, continue to act, before having
disclosed any circumstances that may, or may be seen to, affect his or her
independence or conflict of interests.‖ 204
3.187 The Commission provisionally recommends that the requirement of
neutrality and impartiality be included in any general statutory formulation that
concerns mediation and conciliation.
H Quality and Transparency of Procedure
3.188 To the extent that mediation resolves a dispute which may otherwise
have been decided by litigation in court, the questions of the training quality and
accountability of mediators are crucial matters. 205 Those who require to use
ADR processes are entitled to expect that mediators and conciliators involved in
providing those processes are competent, have adequate training and
expertise, and that their services will be of a suitable standard. Moreover, those
who may be involved in referring cases to an ADR process must be satisfied on
this matter. The transparency of the ADR procedure should also be guaranteed.
3.189 To ensure the quality of the ADR process information about the
procedure, including the costs involved, should be readily available to the
parties in simple terms so that they can access and retain it before submitting a
dispute.
3.190 The European Commission 2001 Recommendation on ADR in
consumer disputes states that information should be made available on: how
the procedure will operate, the types of disputes that can be dealt by it and any
restrictions on its operation; the rules governing any preliminary requirements
that the parties may have to meet, and other procedural rules, notably those
concerning the operation of the procedure and the languages in which the
procedure will be conducted; the cost, if any, to be borne by the parties; the
timetable applicable to the procedure, particularly with regard to the type of
dispute in question; any substantive rules that may be applicable (legal
provisions, industry best practice, considerations of equity, codes of conduct);
the role of the procedure in bringing about the resolution of a dispute; and the
204 Available at http://ec.europa.eu/civiljustice/adr/adr_ec_code_conduct_en.pdf.
205 See Chapter 10, below.
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