Mediation overview:

Mediation is a voluntary and confidential process in which the mediator, an impartial third party, facilitates open and respectful communication between parties.

Mediation is not a contradictory process and is not meant to determine who is right or who is wrong.

In a mediation process, the mediator assists parties in reaching a solution but does not make decisions.

Therefore, only parties can agree on a settlement.

Mediation allows parties to better understand and express their respective needs and interests, to share their concerns and to define the issues in dispute more clearly. As opposed to a formal hearing where a decision is imposed to parties, in a mediation process, parties are to find themselves options that could lead to mutually acceptable solutions.