Mediator Neutrality: Is it Possible?

Among the many qualities that the mediator must possess, foremost of these is neutrality. A mediator must be neutral at all times and must never show any form of bias towards or against any of the parties for which he sits as a mediator. That is why the mediator must be a non-relative to either of the two disputing parties unless the dispute is a family matter and all parties are comprised of relatives. When the mediator fails to become neutral, he could immediately lose his authority to mediate effectively and the mediation will not succeed. All the parties could lose their essential trust as well whenever the mediator starts to show some signs of bias.
The mediator’s neutrality is his key in helping out both disputing parties to come up with a solution that is agreeable to both, otherwise, hopeful resolution will be stalled. However, the term neutrality is a term that determines no exact boundaries. There is actually no way of telling as to how neutral a person is, just as much as it is equally difficult to gauge how bias any person could become. If what we mean by neutrality is the mere outward appearance of being balanced with your facilitation of the mediation, then that can easily be achieved, but how about the true sense of neutrality? Could someone really and honestly say that he has been neutral in thought while in the course of mediation? That not even once did he ever think that the other side should come out as the victor even if the actual duty of the mediator is to facilitate for fair outcome? If so then that would take so much proving because man is logical in nature and logic gives birth to bias. Although neutrality can be achieved, and the mediator can still provide fair mediation process, it is inevitable that the mediator becomes biased in the long run.
Mediators are still humans; logical and emotional in nature. A mediator in one way or another has a background and experience of its own. A man’s experience, logical thought and personal beliefs are what comprise of his opinions, perspective and principles. Therefore, even way before he already becomes a mediator, his mental faculties are already convinced of a particular thought or idea. A man who is born from a democratic country will by no means understand the culture of the communists; in the same way that a communist will never understand the true nature of rights and freedom enjoyed by people under democracy. This goes to mean that mediators are humans first, and that their ability to mediate will directly or indirectly be influenced by his personal experience.
This is not to discredit the capacity of the mediators to facilitate fairly but merely to state the facts of reality. As long as the mediator has an open mind, he could still achieve neutrality without actually giving in to his own prejudices, and that is if he chooses to.


Alternative Law has been appointed as a neutral government internal mediator. We mediate and settle cases for you, and also offer Business mediation services. Our Mediation Services are available across the country. We have a very high rate of client satisfaction, because of the success of our best practices and result driven settlement programs.