At a launch on 24 November 2016, the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) released updates for all of its main model mediation documents and rules. The updated documents are available on the CEDR website here (requiring free registration), including:
- ADR contract clauses
- ADR Notice
- Mediation Procedure
- Mediation Agreement
- Settlement Agreement / Tomlin Order
- Code of Conduct for Third-party Neutrals
(CEDR also provides employment mediation contract clauses as well as model procedure documents for other ADR processes, including expert determination and early neutral evaluation.)
The key changes from the 2016 versions of the documents are summarised in the accompanying notes, here.
CEDR has identified four main issues that the 2017 updates seek to address:
- The difficulty in triggering a mediation, especially where an ADR contract clause exists. This has been addressed with the option for tighter time scales in clauses and the process, stronger language explaining the purpose of mediation and the use of CEDR’s ADR Notice and new Extranet
- The growing practice of setting up mediation at late notice. To assist with this the rules give a clear statement on the purpose of mediation, with tighter timescales (e.g. delivery of papers) and instructions on what is expected prior to the day.
- A perceived growth in the number of mediations where getting parties to negotiation on the day is difficult. In response to this, CEDR now stresses in its documents that parties should attend in “good faith”, and provides clarity on what is expected at a mediation.
- The fact that although most mediations settle on the day, a proportion of the others will settle shortly afterwards (particularly with mediator involvement) yet there are often not clear rules for how to continue communication. To provide certainty for the parties and the mediator CEDR draws attention to the considerations on how to proceed and gives additional clarity on confidentiality outside of the mediation day.