CIArb Updates its Mediation Rules

CIArb’s Practice and Standards Committee (PSC) has recently published its latest revamped Mediation Rules. The Institute’s previous set of Mediation Rules were drafted in 2000. They were based on the 1999 Mediation Rules of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, with minor modifications to reflect the Institute’s international mandate. 

The Board of Trustees has previously agreed that the Institute needed to review and update the Mediation Rules to reflect modern practice and latest developments in the field, while recognising and maintaining the need for flexibility for use internationally. Accordingly, a new Mediation Subcommittee was constituted with members representing eight different jurisdictions.[1] The Subcommittee has drafted the attached set of rules complying with this direction and taking into account the comments received during our public consultation period. 

The CIArb Mediation Rules are mandatory for mediations carried out under the Institute’s Dispute Appointment Service (DAS) and by individuals who are members of the Institute and practise as mediators. These Rules should be read alongside the Institute’s Code of Professional and Ethical Conduct for Members, and its Mediation Supplement. In addition, the parties to a mediation, their advisors and the mediator(s) are referred to the Institute’s Model Procedure for Mediations and its associated Practice Guidelines. 

The 2018 Mediation Rules contain new provisions that aim to provide flexibility, certainty and predictability. For instance, such new provisions aim to clarify when a period starts running under the Rules (Article 1.6) as well as when a mediation is deemed to have commenced (Article 2.3). Furthermore, the number of days given to the parties in the process of initiating mediation proceedings has been increased to 21, as the Rules are intended for international use and granting anything less than 21 days may be insufficient for these purposes (Articles 2.2 and 2.4). An express provision has also been included to note that a single mediator shall be appointed, unless the parties agree otherwise (Article 4.6). Finally, the Rules contain a set of model mediation clauses, which aim to provide guidance to the parties wishing to insert a mediation clause in their contracts (Appendix I).   

[1] The members of the Mediation Subcommittee are: Tim Hardy (UK), Chair; Anthony Gross (Kenya); Jane Gunn (UK), ex officio; Gordon Humphreys (Spain); Anna Stylianou (Cyprus); John Langlois (Channel Islands); Corrado Mora (Italy); Balasamy (‘Rajoo’) Rengarajoo (Singapore); and Geoff Sharp (New Zealand). The Mediation Subcommittee worked with David Richbell who assisted with preparing a first draft of the Mediation Rules.