Civil procedure 449The Civil Mediation Council has set up a National Mediation Helpline to give civil
court users advice and information about mediation. The Helpline does not itself provide
mediation but, after having asked about the dispute, can pass the details on to a mediation
provider who has been approved by the Civil Mediation Council. Such a mediator will
provide services for a set fee and for a set time. For a small claim case the fee is £50 plus
VAT per hour and the time allowed is one or two hours. For a Fast Track case it is £300 plus
VAT for three hours. For a multi-track case it is £425 for four hours. Additional time is
provided at pro rata rates. However, when a claim is for more than £50,000 the parties to
the case must agree the fee with the mediator.
Often solicitors act as mediators. When this is the case they are bound by a Law Society
Code of Conduct and a high standard of service is therefore ensured. One disadvantage of
mediation is that the parties might enter into it without any intention of settling the case,
merely to find out more about the other party’s case.
Conciliation
Conciliation involves a conciliator bringing the parties together and suggesting a com-
promise which they might agree to. It is therefore similar to mediation, except that the
conciliator takes a more active approach, not merely passing on the other side’s point of
view but also actively suggesting the basis on which the dispute might be settled. In
employment cases conciliation has been around for a long time. An official from ACAS
attempts to conciliate before an employment dispute is taken to an employment tribunal.
Mediation and conciliation are not strictly defined, and not everyone agrees that mediators
do not suggest the basis of agreement whereas conciliators do.
Other types of ADR
There are several other widely used types of ADR. Early neutral evaluationinvolves an
expert telling the parties, at an early stage, what he or she thinks that the outcome would be
if the case were to go to court. This might well cause one or more of the parties to change
their approach and enable a settlement to be reached. Neutral fact findingis similar. An
expert gives a non-binding view of a technical matter which is in dispute. Again, the parties
might be more prepared to settle once they have heard the finding. Expert determination
involves an expert giving a binding decision on a particular matter, usually a technical
matter. Med-arbis a combination of mediation and arbitration. The parties agree to try and
settle the dispute through mediation but also agree that if this fails it will go to arbitration.
If the mediator and the arbitrator are agreed to be the same person, this may encourage
settlement before the stage of arbitration is reached.
Ombudsmen
Ombudsman is the Swedish word for a representative. As regards certain types of disputes,
Ombudsmen exist to investigate complaints which arise within a certain trade or industry.
The British and Irish Ombudsman Association will approve Ombudsmen only if it is
satisfied that they are independent, effective, fair and accountable.
Generally, an Ombudsman will not investigate a complaint if the complaint is currently
the subject of legal proceedings. Nor will the Ombudsman investigate a complaint until the
complainant has completely exhausted any internal complaints procedure which might exist.
Ombudsmen may be limited in the amount which they can award, but generally this
amount is fairly generous. As well as investigating a particular complaint, an Ombudsman