Event
15 April 2024

104th Café de la Médiation et de la Négociation on UK, French and German Practices in Mediation

On 11 April 2024, the 104th Café de la Médiation et de la Négociation was held in Paris by the Institut de Formation à la Médiation et à la Négociation (“Ifomene”). This discussion centered around the commercial mediation practices in Europe and notably the shuttle mediation process.

 

On 11 April 2024, the Ifomene of the Institut Catholique de Paris, held its 104th Café de la Médiation et de la Négociation. This conference led by Chimène Bocquet, Director of the Ifomene, centered around the different practices of commercial mediation in France, the United Kingdom and Germany. It welcomed Susanne Schuler, lawyer and mediator, Director of Training and Consultancy with the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (“CEDR”), who discussed her significant experience handling mediations in the United Kingdom, Germany and Switzerland.

The participants noted generally that commercial mediation, as a dispute resolution process, can help preserve business relationships by addressing disagreements often rooted in misunderstandings.

Susanne Schuler then presented the method of “shuttle mediation” used by the CEDR. This method focuses on facilitation of the discussion by the mediator through private meetings with each party. This secure and detailed process is aimed at building trust between the parties and the mediator. She explained that plenary meetings are limited in time and number. While she recognized the importance for everyone involved in the process to be able to meet, she noted that they are seen as inefficient for dispute resolution purposes, and usually focus on procedural aspects. Private meetings focus on a more transactional process and help the mediator to identify each party’s goals and motivations and share relevant information to the other party. She noted that the role of the mediator, in general, is that of a process manager rather than an advisor. She contrasted the strict approach of the shuttle mediation with the process used by French mediators which have more freedom to adapt the process and focus more on plenary meetings.

The conference participants emphasized the issue of confidentiality, which is central in any mediation. It noted that in shuttle mediation, mediators must be mindful to preserve the confidentiality of information of any type – including emotions, which involve issues of culturally sensitivity – which they gathered in private meetings. It advised caution and to work on the assumption that everything said in those meetings are confidential and that nothing would be revealed to the other party without the first party’s authorization.

Finally, the conference discussed recent evolutions on mediation in the United Kingdom and in Germany. Susanne Schuler explained that, in the United Kingdom, it is frequently used as an alternative to court proceedings notably to reduce the case load, a trend which is also seen in France. In Germany, it was explained that mediation is less developed notably because commercial justice is efficient and there is less of an advantage to use this alternative. Finally, it concluded that the Singapore Convention on Mediation, which provides a harmonized framework for the enforcement of mediation agreement, which will help the international development of the process.