Conciliation

The format

In a standard conciliation process, parties will begin by delivering opening statements to the conciliator. The conciliator will then seek to facilitate a settlement between the disputing parties. If the parties cannot successfully agree on a settlement, the conciliator will make a recommendation which the parties will have a limited time period to accept or reject.

Any written record of a settlement reached will be signed on behalf of the parties, and will become binding.

If the conciliator’s settlement proposal is rejected, the confidentiality of the conciliation procedure will be respected by all parties, and neither any part of the process nor the conciliator can be brought into ensuing legal proceedings.

The Costs

In a standard conciliation process, parties will begin by delivering opening statements to the conciliator. The conciliator will then seek to facilitate a settlement between the disputing parties. If the parties cannot successfully agree on a settlement, the conciliator will make a recommendation which the parties will have a limited time period to accept or reject.

Any written record of a settlement reached will be signed on behalf of the parties, and will become binding.

If the conciliator’s settlement proposal is rejected, the confidentiality of the conciliation procedure will be respected by all parties, and neither any part of the process nor the conciliator can be brought into ensuing legal proceedings.

Differences between Conciliation and Mediationn

Although more formal, Conciliation is similar to Mediation save that the main difference between the two occurs when the process breaks down for example:

• if the conciliator considers it unlikely that a settlement will be reached, or
• a party refuses to abide by the conciliator’s instruction, or
• either party intimates that they don’t wish to proceed towards a negotiated settlement.

then, unlike a Mediator, the Conciliator can prepare a recommendation recording the Conciliator’s solution. Some forms of Conciliation continue to provide that in the event a recommendation is provided and neither party dissents from it within a specified period of time from the date of its issue either by referring the dispute to a formal dispute resolution procedure, then the recommendation becomes final and binding upon the parties.