In South Africa, there are various dispute resolution processes.
When many people hear these words, they switch off and stop listening because they think it’s all too complicated. Don’t switch off yet as we would like to simplify this for you.
In this article, we will touch on one of the ways one may resolve a dispute, namely through mediation. Mediation is a voluntary meeting wherein two or more parties attend to try and settle their disputes.
The mediation is run by a mediator who will attempt to identify key issues in the dispute with the intention of finding a solution that benefits all parties concerned.
One advantage of mediation is that it is generally a lot cheaper than litigating in court. The parties are generally jointly liable for the mediator’s fees, which are outlined in the mediation agreement.
A lot of contracts these days include a clause that compels parties to attempt mediation prior to approaching the courts. The idea behind this is to have the dispute aired and negotiated in front of an independent mediator so as to come to a speedy compromise with as little cost as possible.
Literally, any matter may be mediated from divorce to commercial matter to dispute regarding property transaction – the sky is the limit.
Please make sure that if you are going to attend mediation your mediator is duly qualified because an unqualified mediator may unsettle the matter further.
Should the parties reach a deadlock, the mediator must then send them onto the next process which is generally arbitration or to a court of law.
The government believes that mediation is such an advantage that it has introduced and applied “court-annexed mediation” which basically means the courts are referring matters to try to have them mediated prior to trial.
To conclude, should you have a matter or dispute that you feel may be settled without fighting, try and invite the other party to mediate the matter rather than fight about it. As qualified mediators, we at Tuckers Inc have seen many a matter resolved without having to air the proverbial dirty laundry.
For more information on this topic, you are welcome to contact our offices on info@tuckers.co.za or 011 897 1900.
Article contributed by Kenny Smith.
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