Mediation

• Mediation may be thought of as assisted negotiation with a neutral third party.
  Negotiation may be thought of as communication to reach a solution or at least an agreement. Hence:
• Mediation can be seen as assisted communication to reach a solution or at least an agreement.
• Mediation means a structured process, however named or referred to, whereby two or more parties to a dispute attempt by themselves, on a voluntary basis, to reach an agreement on the settlement of their dispute with the assistance of a mediator. This process may be initiated by the parties or suggested or ordered by a court or prescribed by the law of a Member State.
  It includes mediation conducted by a judge who is not responsible for any judicial proceedings concerning the dispute in question. It excludes attempts made by the court or the judge seized to settle a dispute in the course of judicial proceedings concerning the dispute in question.
  (This is the definition given in the DIRECTIVE 2008/52/EC on certain aspects of mediation in civil and commercial matters.)
• Mediation does not provide the parties with a solution to the dispute; the solution has to be worked out by the parties themselves by common agreement. The mediator helps with the process of communication and with negotiations and consensus. Unlike a judge, he has no decision-making powers and, unlike an arbitrator or a conciliator, he does not make any direct suggestions for the solution of a conflict.