When Mediation Is Not Right

We have seen the great benefits of mediation and its influence on settling disputes in an expedient manner. People resort to it when each of the disputing parties would want to see things get settled before the dispute goes any further. It allows for a third party to stand with neutrality and help both sides see the greater picture. In mediation, the mediator brings the two parties together to come up with favourable agreements for the much needed resolution. The success of the mediation lies on the ability of the mediator to fairly evaluate the situation and his capacity to disperse thoughtful advice on both parties to help the opposing sides to resolve the issue in as early as possible.
It will be such a disaster to see a mediation fail, and watch all the efforts crumble before your eyes in an instant. Mediation could take a lot of time, effort and emotion, and to see it suddenly head downwards is definitely heart breaking. This is what usually happens when mediation is not conducted the right way. Mediation follows a structural process, and failure to abide to such process may result to an inevitable failure. Inadequacy of the mediator and his lack of skill may also cause the mediation to fail miserably. It’s the mediator’s job and authority to peacefully make the parties agree on a resolution, but when he fails to establish that authority, everything else follows and success becomes unachievable.
There are also cases in which mediation fails because the situation does not merit mediation process in the first place. Mediation only becomes effective if both parties sincerely hope that the dispute will eventually be resolved or when the facts of the case do not have the elements that undermine the mediation and its purposes. The following scenarios are situations that should immediately tell someone that mediation is not the right strategy to employ:
• Superficial case – Mediation is not right for cases that are nonsense in nature. There is simply no sense mediating when one party only takes advantage over the other.
• Revenge – If one party expresses to seek only vengeance, then both of the disputing parties need more than just mere mediation.
• Refusal to participate – If both or either of the parties refuses to partake of the mediation process then mediation is definitely not the right course to take. Mediation only succeeds when all parties involved cooperate accordingly.
• Violence – Mediation must never be initiated if violence could easily erupt in the course of confrontation. Violence would render mediation useless.
• Biased mediator – The success of mediation depends on the authority of the mediator to effectively facilitate the entire process. But when the mediator becomes heavily biased, that authority will be undermined and mediation will eventually fail. Mediation is certainly not recommended for this situation.
Mediation should only be undertaken if all the necessary elements are present.


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.