About this service
Corporate and commercial disputes — shareholder relations, supply contracts, partnership conflicts — are often exactly the category where mediation is the best instrument for preserving a business relationship. Several practical questions become decisive: who selects the mediator and how, which qualification criteria apply, and who finances the process — and the answers determine both the speed and the cost of the route. Articles 4, 5 and 11 of the Law on Mediation arrange these questions precisely, and our service helps companies apply this framework in practice.
Selecting and appointing the mediator
Article 4 begins with a simple rule: mediation may be conducted simultaneously by one or several mediators, and the parties agree on the choice of mediator, save for cases provided by law. In court mediation, the parties choose the mediator from the list of candidates proposed to them by the court, compiled on the basis of the unified registry of mediators, taking into account the mediator's area of activity; the Mediators Association may also set additional requirements — age, professional experience or higher education. If the parties fail to agree on a candidate from the proposed list within 3 days, an authorised person or body of the Association, upon a request from the court, appoints the next registered person from the registry as mediator within 3 days of receiving the request. In private mediation the parties themselves choose a mediator registered in the registry, and if they cannot agree, the Association's executive board appoints a mediator from the registry — unless the parties have established a different procedure.
Qualification criteria for the selection
Article 5 addresses the question that matters most in a corporate dispute: the parties — and the Association, when it appoints the mediator — must take into account circumstances that ensure the selection of an independent and impartial mediator. The law names the possible qualification criteria directly: experience in conducting mediation or another negotiation process whose content does not contradict the law, public order or moral norms; experience of participation in court proceedings or in alternative dispute resolution; experience of working on legal issues corresponding to the substance of the dispute; accreditation by a recognised mediation organisation; skills in conducting mediation effectively, professional reputation and authority; and any other criterion stipulated by the agreement on mediation. In a corporate dispute, this list is precisely the practical matrix for choosing the mediator.
Who pays for the mediation
Article 11 treats the question of costs separately. In private mediation, the procedure and terms of the mediator's remuneration are determined by an agreement concluded between the parties and the mediator. Unless the agreement on mediation provides otherwise, each party bears the costs it has incurred, while the common costs connected with the mediation process are shared equally between the parties. Court mediation follows a different model: the mediator is obliged, every year, to conduct free of charge the number of cases determined by the court mediation programme; apart from that case, the mediator's activity is remunerated from the state budget allocations made to the courts — unless the High Council of Justice has established a different rule based on the value of the subject of the dispute, and that rule too is approved by the High Council of Justice.
Frequently asked questions
When moving a corporate dispute into mediation, parties face these questions earliest, and the answers shape the plan of the process in advance.
What happens if the parties cannot agree on a mediator?
In court mediation, if no choice is made from the list within 3 days, an authorised person or body of the Mediators Association appoints a mediator within 3 days of the court's request. In private mediation this function belongs to the Association's executive board, unless a different procedure has been agreed.
Can there be more than one mediator?
Yes — the law allows mediation to be conducted simultaneously by one or several mediators. In corporate disputes this is often justified where the dispute has both a legal and a financial dimension at once.
How are the costs divided?
In private mediation, by agreement; absent agreement, each party bears its own costs and the common costs are shared equally. Court mediation operates through an annual quota of free cases and state funding.
Who sets additional requirements for mediators?
For the list of candidates in court mediation, the Mediators Association may impose additional requirements — age, professional experience or higher education; this is also possible where the mediator is appointed without the parties' agreement.
How We Help on Legal.ge
We help prepare and steer the mediation of a corporate dispute: we draw up criteria for shortlisting a mediator based on the specifics of your dispute; we define qualification requirements in the agreement on mediation; we plan the allocation of costs and the terms of remuneration; we represent you in the process and determine whether private or court mediation is more effective in your case. Contact us and receive an organised mediation plan for your business dispute.