The Commercial Mediation Centre located at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce is now geared to handle mediations in English, Sinhala and Tamil. When two disputing parties are unable to settle a dispute of a commercial nature by direct negotiation, they can obtain the services of a neutral third party, a mediator, to help them in settling the dispute.

Unlike an arbitrator or a judge, a mediator does not impose a decision upon the parties. A mediator helps the parties to reach an agreement. The parties work together and not against each other. The parties themselves will decide how the dispute will be settled. Very often this leads to a win situation for both parties.

The mediators attached to the Centre are persons of eminence in the business community such as company chairmen, directors, general managers, lawyers, accountants, etc, who possess conflict resolution skills. Therefore disputing parties can place their fullest confidence in them.

When a dispute is referred to the Centre, and both parties agree to resolve it by mediation, the process starts immediately and there is no waiting period, because each dispute is handled by a separate mediator. There is no backlog of cases like in the courts. A dispute may be settled within hours, weeks or a maximum of three months. Therefore the process is quick.

The parties know the facts of their case and talk to each other with the help of the mediator. The need to prepare plaints or retain lawyers does not arise. Mediation therefore costs only a fraction of the cost of arbitration or litigation. It is the most cost effective method of dispute resolution.

A significant feature of mediation is that it is a private and confidential process. Only the parties and the mediators are present and no record is kept of the proceedings. The terms of settlement of a dispute, however, will be recorded and signed by the parties.

Mediation will work if the parties have a genuine desire to arrive at a settlement and to maintain existing relationships. They must focus on their needs and interests and not on positions. If parties take on rigid positions and try to establish those positions they are not likely to reach an agreement. There must be room for compromise.

If the parties cannot agree on a settlement, then there is no alternative but to try arbitration or litigation. The period during which mediation was attempted will be disregarded when determining the prescription period for any cause of action. (Press Release)