Representation in Arbitration and Mediation: What the Law Provides
Mediation and arbitration are private, agreement-based forms of dispute resolution. Unlike proceedings before a state court, the process here runs under rules the parties have chosen, which directly affects who expresses a party’s position and how. The Georgian Law on Arbitration regulates the right of representation directly: a party has the right to be represented by an advocate or by another representative at any stage of the arbitral proceedings. This settles representation at the level of the statute, so a party is never forced to conduct the case alone.
In mediation, the representative’s role is more negotiational: a party often shapes its position together with a representative so that the terms of a settlement are legally sound. In arbitration, built on the exchange of a claim and evidence, the representative’s skill is decisive for getting each procedural step right. Below we discuss the rights and default rules the law lays down for representation.