All those who come to a point of a dispute, and want to settle their differences, have few viable venues available. One such option is mediation. The best thing about mediation is that it is cooperative in nature, as opposed to being competitive like arbitration or trial court. It is also informal, and saves participants money, time, and often headache.
Even during mediation both sides present their cases, but the essence of this process is completely different, because in the end the mediator won’t make any decision, so there won’t be any winner or loser.
So what’s the job of mediator?
Well, a mediator is impartial third party that facilitates cooperation for both the parties. A mediator will also help both the parties to the dispute to clearly define the points of disagreement and also pinpoint all issues that are vital for each side.
The best thing about the mediation process it’s a pure teamwork where everyone works closely to come to a reasonable settlement that everyone can agree to. The mediation is successful only when the two parties voluntarily agree to a solution.
Mediation is helpful in many situations where trial is not conducive, such as solving disputes between parents and their children, or peer-mediation (in-school mediation). The basic structure of mediation process is cooperative, and all those who participate find that they’re able to come to solutions that they might not have been able to arrive at without the mediation process.
All in all, mediation has the benefits of taking some of the best aspects of both trial court and cooperative negotiation. The third party in the mediation process keeps both the parties focuses on resolving the issues at hand, and mediation also encourages compromise and cooperation without declaring any loser or winner.
Sometimes the mediation process actually improves the relationships between the disputing parties.