Criteria for Assessment

The Assessment Criteria

After fulfillment of the minimum eligibility, the neutrals are assessed on the following grounds amongst others.

The Neutrals are assessed on the following criteria.

1. Neutral's Experience

2. Arbitration or Mediation Knowledge

3. Skills

4. Program Transparency

5. Program Integrity

6. Ongoing monitoring of Programs

7. Commitment to Diversity

General Knowledge Requirements

The following areas of practical skills are required for effective mediation advocacy. The list is offered as guidance.

• Knowing when mediation may not be a suitable process to address particular issues.

• Identifying procedural options and preferred processes for reaching optimal outcomes.

• Knowledge of hybrid dispute resolution processes (e.g., Arb-Med, Med-Arb, Arb//Med, Med-Con, Med//Con, MEDALOA) and their potential advantages and drawbacks in different circumstances.

• Understanding and applying the best timing for each Dispute Resolution process.

• Understanding of the nature, theory, procedure, practical application, methodology, appropriateness, benefits and disadvantages of the prevalent types of mediation, schemes or programmes, procedural rules and pertinent costs.

• Knowledge of negotiation and solution-generating processes, as well as party and participant dynamics, as contextualised by the choice of mediation process/vehicle.

• Understanding of the role of a mediator, and the palette of mediator methodology, psychology, core training, and practices.

• Knowledge of relevant laws affecting mediation practice including structure and enforceability of mediation agreements (where relevant), confidentiality and privilege /professional secrecy, and structure and enforceability of settlement agreements.

• Familiarity with methods of formulating solutions, including assessing alternatives (BATNA, WATNA, PATNA, RATNA [3] & preparing client and self for joint/caucus mediation meetings.

• Ability to assist parties in separating interests from positions.

• Ability to seek and understand the motivations behind individual positions as distinguished from the issues in dispute.

• Familiarity with techniques like questioning, summarizing, (active/effective) listening, framing and re-framing, reformulating, reflecting and paraphrasing.

• Ability to make strategic choices that can help strike a balance between positional claims that advocate the clients’ interests and creating value based on interests.

• Familiarity with cross-cultural settings and dynamics.

• Understanding of cross-border and multi-cultural mediation paradigms.

• Ability to adapt procedural parameters when dealing with multi-party or complex cases involving numerous participants.

• Understanding of professional and ethical standards and behaviors, and the use of ethics in generating, informing and/or setting norms.

• Ability to draft settlement agreements as discussed by the parties to the mediation.

• Ability to understand and interpret settlement agreements and procedural options.

• Ability to explain the nature, theory, procedure, practical application, methodology, appropriateness, benefits, advantages and drawbacks of prevalent types of mediation within or between relevant jurisdictions, court-connected mediation schemes, ad-hoc or institutional procedural rules, applicable costs, and professional applicable professional ethics codes.

• Knowledge of problem-solving, interest-based negotiation techniques.

• Knowledge of the distributive (adversarial) approach to negotiation, in addition to the problem-solving (interest-based) approach and knowing when and why to apply each. Knowing how to avoid and counter unhelpful adversarial attitudes, behavior and language.

• Knowing how to use techniques for productively supporting the parties, their representatives, the mediator and the process, and using the mediator and the process effectively to generate a mutually accepted outcome.

• Knowing how to effectively communicate with the mediator, prior to, during and after the mediation sessions.