Voluntariness of Mediation – The Mediator’s Perspective

Mediation is a process where parties meet with a mutually selected impartial and neutral person who facilitates the resolution of their dispute, with the aim of arriving at a self-determined outcome. The voluntary characteristic of the mediation process requires all sides to agree to mediate and have an equal stake in resolving the dispute. The parties in the dispute have the freedom to resolve the dispute in their time and terms. The right of the parties to reach a voluntary agreement is fundamental to the mediation process. Consequently, a mediator should act and conduct the process in ways that maximize its voluntariness. The mediation process is voluntary for the parties as well as the mediator. What is voluntariness from the mediator’s perspective? What situations warrant the exercise of the mediator’s voluntary rights? What are the implications of the mediator’s voluntary rights on the quality of the mediation process? This article addresses voluntariness from the mediator’s perspective, rationales for voluntariness and ethical concerns in the exercise of the mediator’s rights.