The Mediation Committee of the Bundestag and Bundesrat reached a compromise in the dispute over the new Mediation Act on 27.06.2012.
The settlement proposal makes it clear that internal dispute resolution by a conciliation judge will continue to be possible. This judge may use all methods of dispute resolution, including mediation, in the conciliation hearing. However, the term mediator will in future be reserved for out-of-court arbitrators.
An opening clause allows the federal states to make their own cost regulations in order to reduce fees when court proceedings are concluded by mutual agreement.
With its proposal, the Mediation Committee is partly taking up the criticism of the federal states regarding the original Bundestag resolution – they had criticized the fact that the law would only allow out-of-court mediation after a transitional period, although in-court mediation in particular had become a successful instrument of dispute resolution.
The proposed agreement still has to be confirmed by the Bundestag and Bundesrat.
Source: Federal Council press release no. 97/2012 dated 27.06.2012 Mediation Act, Mediation Committee, CenaCom, conciliation body
