What Is the Role of the Mediator in My Commercial Dispute?

Running a business can be a hectic activity, and if you encounter any obstacles, these can create problems and take even more time. One type of problem that could occur is a commercial dispute. This is where you and another business disagree about business activities. If this happens, you want to resolve it as soon as possible and to avoid court proceedings. One way of doing so is to carry out commercial dispute mediation. If so, it is essential that you fully understand the process, which includes the role of the mediator. It is also necessary to consider legal advice. This article will explain the mediator’s likely role in your commercial dispute.

What is Mediation for My Commercial Dispute? 

Mediation is an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) for commercial disputes. It can also be used for various other conflicts, such as family disputes. Mediation is a flexible and informal procedure, and as it is not court litigation, it is confidential. When parties to a dispute choose mediation to attempt to resolve it, they do so voluntarily. 

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Mediation involves a mediator who will help you and the other commercial party resolve your dispute. It can take place at any point within the commercial dispute and is speedier and cheaper than commercial litigation. 

What Is the Mediator’s Role?

It is important to understand the mediator’s role in mediating a commercial dispute. This will help you determine whether mediation is right for you and help you ensure the mediation process stays on. Therefore, we explain the role of a mediator in a commercial dispute in detail.

What Are a Mediator’s Characteristics?

A commercial mediator in mediation proceedings is a partial and independent third party to the commercial dispute. Therefore, they must not be interested in or involved in your commercial disagreement. A commercial mediator does not have to know your business area or have expertise in it. 

What Does a Mediator Do?

A commercial mediator plays the role of a facilitator in the mediation process. Therefore, they help you and the other party resolve the dispute. Another way to think of the mediator’s role in commercial mediation is that they are enablers. 

Mediation, therefore, may not result in a resolution, as you and the other party may not be able to agree on one. However, in some instances, the role of a mediator may change slightly. This is because they may sometimes be asked to decide on some of the merits of the commercial dispute.

To carry out the role of a facilitator in a commercial dispute, there are specific actions that they carry out in their role. For example, a mediator must be informative, particularly at the start of the mediation process. They explain the nature of commercial mediation and your role as one of the parties in the dispute in developing a resolution.

Towards the end of the mediation process, the mediator’s role is as a messenger between you and the other party. Here, you will tell them about your offer to the other party, and they will suggest it to them.

What Should a Mediator Not Do?

To help understand the role of a mediator in a commercial dispute, it is essential to understand what they should not do as part of their role in commercial mediation. For example, a mediator must not create or find a resolution to the dispute for you. This differs from an arbitrator in commercial arbitration, who will decide on the dispute, which is an arbitral award. A mediator also should avoid assessing the party’s strengths in the dispute’s case.

Key Takeaways

If you have a commercial dispute with another business, you may decide to conduct commercial mediation to resolve your disagreement. Mediation is a voluntary and flexible process that is confidential and does not occur through the courts. A commercial mediator plays a crucial role in mediation. They are an independent and impartial third party who facilitates the mediation procedure. This means they listen to each party’s case and help them understand their strengths and weaknesses. They also play the role of a messenger by passing offers between parties. 

Ultimately, their role is to encourage and assist you and the other commercial party in making a decision on your case. However, there are also actions a mediator should refrain from taking – for example, they should not make a decision on the case for you. 

If you need help understanding the potential role of a mediator within a commercial dispute, LegalVision’s experienced disputes and litigation solicitors can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. So call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.