What Mediation in a Labour Dispute Means
Mediation of an employment dispute is an institution defined by the Georgian Labour Code that exists precisely on the collective track. Under Article 63 of the Code, a collective dispute — a dispute between an employer and a group of employees (not fewer than 20 employees) or between an employer and an employees' association — must be resolved through conciliation procedures between the parties, meaning direct negotiations or mediation where one of the parties sends the relevant written notice to the Minister.
Mediation may be commenced at any stage of the negotiations: a party may send the Minister written notice aimed at reaching agreement and appointing a dispute mediator, and that notice is transmitted to the other party the same day. On the basis of the application the Minister appoints a dispute mediator in accordance with the rule approved by a normative act of the Government of Georgia, and in cases of high public interest may even do so on the Minister's own initiative.
The Mediator's Regime and the Parties' Duties
The effectiveness of mediation rests on the discipline the law imposes. The parties are obliged to participate in the conciliation procedures and to attend the meetings held by the dispute mediator; on the Minister's request the mediator must also submit a report on the dispute. The decisive element of the mediator's status is confidentiality: the mediator may not disclose information or documents that became known in that capacity — which is what gives the parties a basis for candid negotiations.
The procedure may be discontinued by the Minister's decision at any stage of the dispute, and the parties may also agree to refer the dispute to arbitration — mediation is not the only route through a dispute but one of its lawful stages.
Enforcing the Agreement Through the Court
An agreement reached through mediation is a legally complete document: a party to the dispute may apply to the court for its enforcement, and in that enforcement the rules established by the Georgian Civil Procedure Code apply. The court refuses enforcement of a mediation agreement only where its content contradicts Georgian legislation or the public order existing in Georgia, or where, following from its content, performance is impossible. The outcome of mediation remains on paper only where the parties themselves allow it.